Why instant messaging sucks, and email is better for most things

These days, many people default to sending a text message, Telegram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Signal, or some other type of instant message for just about any sort of communication.  Some even consider email to be old-fashioned. 

I think this may be a product of the attention-deficit millennial generation, many of whom have not learned how to focus or manage their time and mental energy well.  Each IM provides a little burst of excitement and instant gratification, which people come to crave.

Here’s why this is wrong.

Why IM sucks

1. My time and attention are a scarce and valuable to me. Instant messaging is interruptive.  If I’m going about my day or focusing on some work and a non-urgent IM chimes my phone or pops up on my computer, chances are it’s going to slow me down and waste my time.  Yeah, I can try to ignore it, but every noise my phone makes saps a little bit of my mental energy and attention from what I’m doing.  Sure, I can silence my phone and the half-dozen apps on my computer, but I shouldn’t have to, and I might miss something that actually is important and time sensitive.  Multiply this by 10s or 100s of times per day and it really makes a difference.
2. Once read, IMs require an immediate response or action, even if it would really be more convenient to do that later.  This is primarily because most IM systems don’t have a good way to mark messages for future follow-up.  If I’m in the middle of writing an essay about the appropriate use of messaging technology and someone texts me and I read that text (just to see if it’s urgent), now I’m stuck having to stop what I’m working on and respond to the message right away or else risk forgetting about it forever. If the same person sent me an email and I wanted to delay my reply, I could just flag it or mark it as unread and know that I’ll see it again the next time I scan my mailbox.  Granted, some apps like Telegram let you flag conversation, but that's not as useful as flagging a specific message.
3. Whenever I come back to my computer after having been away for a while, I triage my email.  I can scan it and respond to the easiest or most urgent things right away, while saving the more difficult or less urgent things for later.  And if there's a long message I want to read that isn't urgent, I can save it as unread and read it later.  This ensures that the use of my time is properly prioritized, yet allows me to deal with everything appropriately, in time.  There is no good way to do this with most IM apps, and totally impossible when using multiple apps.
4. I type quite fluidly on a regular keyboard, but I *hate* typing on my phone. Especially when I’m sitting in front of a computer with a full size keyboard and a large screen, and someone sends me a text message, and then I have to awkwardly peck out a reply on my phone screen. 
5. Sometimes #2 and #4 combine: while I’m out and about, someone sends me an IM which requires a polysyllabic reply, and foolishly I read it.  Now what do I do: a) stop what I’m doing, grimace, and try to peck out a reply on my phone, b) plan on replying later from my computer but know that I’m almost certain to forget?  Often, I opt for c) copy and paste the message into an email to myself so that I’ll see it when I’m at my computer and can reply more comfortably.
6. IMs are not a good way to organize and archive and search for information.  If you email me some info that I’ll need later, I’ll probably be able to find it when I need it with a quick inbox search and scan of subject lines (or maybe I’ll even have flagged it).  If you IM that to me, I’ve got to try to remember what IM platform it was in, then scroll or search through our chat history to find that thing.  It’s not as efficient.
7. Often, when sending a lengthy message via IM, people tend to send it as multiple short messages in a series.  This causes my phone and/or PC to repeatedly solicit my attention, which can be super annoying, especially if I’m busy with something else.  People don’t usually do this with email; they will send one long message which does not interrupt me.
8. IMs in the middle of the night from people in other time zones sometimes wake me up.  Yeah maybe I could silence my phone at night, but then I might miss a call or something that is actually important and time sensitive.

Why email rocks

1. I decide when to look at my email.  Other people do not decide that for me. I check it when I’m switching tasks and it’s convenient for me, or when I sit down at my computer, or when I finish something else, or when I just need a distraction.  I do check my email about 1000000 times a day, so I’m going to see your message pretty quickly.  But this process doesn’t break my flow, distract me from something more important at the moment, or waste my time (as much).
2. It’s multi-threaded.  I can carry on several different conversations with you (and possibly others in a group) simultaneously, at different speeds.  One conversation may progress over the course of hours or minutes, while another may go on for months with only occasional replies.  These conversations do not get mixed up.  I know you can approximate this with things like Telegram chat groups, but it doesn’t work as smoothly.
3. My inbox is my to-do list.  Not the only one, but one of the most important.  If I think of something I want to do later while I’m afk, I just email myself a note.  If I need to get back to someone about a project, I just mark their email as unread or flag it for follow-up.  It’s a very efficient system which ensures that I almost never forget about something that I want to remember to do.  With IMs, these tasks are much more likely to fall into cracks and be forgotten.
4. It’s universal, and interoperable, and even somewhat decentralized.  Everyone has email.  I can choose from many hosted email services, or run my own.  I can choose from many different clients. It’s not a walled garden like most of the IM systems.  And there’s only one email network.  I don’t have to install 5 different apps on every device and constantly switch between them to use it.
5. It’s a chronicle of my life. I have email from 25 years ago that I can still search and read.  Do you think you’ll still have access to your Telegram or Skype chat history 25 years from now?

Why email sucks

1. Security.  We all know that the NSA and probably a bunch of other people have access to your email (unless you use PGP, which is a nightmare).  Not all of the IM systems are better, but some are.
2. When you have an urgent question or time sensitive message, it may not get attention fast enough.  But really, how often is this a problem? 
3. Spam.  It’s annoying.  But spam filters are pretty good these days, and if you are diligent about unsubscribing from the newsletters of every web site you visit, it’s not a problem.

What IM is appropriate for

1. Text messages and the like are perfect for short but time sensitive queries or bits of information, like “I’ll be there in 5 minutes” or “I’m at the store, what kind of milk should I get?”
2. IM is great when you are having a real time (or near real time) conversation with someone, and you are devoting most of your attention to that conversation so you’re not being interrupted by the messages.
3. Prolonged group discussions involving more than 4-5 people

What email is better for

1. Everything else!