’lectronic linkups

There’s also a little distance when you read (an) e-mail. You are not seeing a face, listening to a voice. You are just reading, and the written word (when not handwritten) is impersonal. And that slight distance can’t hurt when you get something shocking on the mail.

When the e-mail revolution started a few years ago I couldn’t quite understand it. So I called my cousin, Premal, 15 years younger, who had mastered the technology. He came to set up an Outlook Express account for me. And soon the world opened up. Friends were literally a click away. Now, with broadband, it’s of course so much simpler.

The mobile phone, in contrast, is ubiquitous and completely in-your-face. Zuckerman in the new Roth book, Exit Ghost, says that it is our answer to loneliness. Maybe he’s right. Actually, Roth’s always right. But I feel I could do with a little loneliness when the bank calls, offering me loans. First, I want to tell the bank that it is completely irresponsible to offer me a loan. So I refuse the loan and offer to buy the bank. That has ended many a conversation.

Of course, e-mail and the mobile phone meet in the SMS. The SMS is both polite and rude. For instance, when the beep goes off when you are in the middle of a conversation it can be a show-stopper and sometimes, when you are expecting a message, a heart-stopper.