Information can come to our devices (Telephones, Laptops, etc.) from diverse places such at the Internet, email. or Facebook. When we see the information we can use the device quickly to respond, almost a reflex, often without thinking too deeply. The sources can be your family, friends, acquaintances, organizations we belong to, or some entity that wants to influence our thinking or to sell us something. Some of these sources can be annoying or at their worst dangerous. Often they give you mandatory instructions. One email I recently received had the header "Read it", "say Amen", “Forward”, “Tell all your friends”, etc.
These things are rude and inconsiderate. Other examples are, "A MUST READ", "IMPORTANT". Such instructions mean to me: “I will not read it because it is insignificant.”
Some times the information can be advantageous as in the case of an emergency or an urgency. Cases of urgency do require response. The best course is to give some thought before responding.
Let’s face it: many times the urgency is really not necessary, meaning it is not really urgent. It just seems that way because of its appeal to respond right away. We feel the pressure to provide an instant reply as if the requester were talking face-to-face with us. An instant response may lead us to say something careless, something ill-thought out. We may regret the answer when given time and hindsight.
We have complete control over most of the time we are given. Let us not be bullied by appeals through our devices masquerading as emergencies.
