One potentially delicate issue to deal with around election time is the barrage of spam that friends and family members send on various campaign issues. I get a ton of them at work, but I figure that’s part of the job. It’s more of an annoyance, though, when I have to wade through them in my personal email at home.
So far, I’ve dealt with this by just deleting them. I’ve known of some family members or friends who have written back to spammers and (not always politely) told them to quit spamming. I find the sociology of political spam kind of fascinating – sending sometimes extreme views via email to friends or family whose views you are not familiar with. Do spammers wonder if they’re offending the recipient? Do they care? Or do they hope the email changes the recipient’s view?
I’ve never been able to figure out the purpose of political spam. Or any spam, for that matter. I rarely, if ever, forward any of the thousands of emails – jokes, photos, scams, urban legends, news-that’s-not-really-true, cartoons, etc. – that clog the world’s servers. I never feel the urge to “send it on” to 20 friends or relatives. It seems like a better idea, if you’re going to take the time to attach so many names to an email, to just send a note instead and ask, “How are you?” To opt instead for some substantive social interaction.
I’ve always believed political views are very personal, and I can’t imagine sending email like buckshot to dozens of friends or family members whose beliefs I don’t know. Judging by the inbox, though, not everyone shares that feeling. Do most of you mind getting those emails? If it bothers you, how do you handle it?
3 Comments
Sherry, I DO mind it and thank you for bringing the issue to the limelight. What disturbs me most, however, is when people forward political emails that they have not taken the time to verify. Usually, I take the time to research the content, frequently discovering that it’s false — political attacks without merit or fact. On those occasions, I send back what I’ve discovered — and find myself at times responding to an entire group of people I don’t even know! But spreading the truth is worth it and from time to time, I even receive a “thank you” from strangers. People, stop sending me your political opinions (I have my own and often disagree with you anyway) and PLEASE stop forwarding unsubstantiated political claims. It is indeed annoying.
Amen to Progress. It’s the untrue emails that cause me to jump back at friends. I lose respect for them because they believe and send on such trash.
Lonny and Progress,
Thanks for your thoughts. It’s good to know others have the same reaction. It’s amazing how many emails get forwarded to hundreds of people one thread at a time, and the senders haven’t taken the time to verify any fact whatsoever. Political season makes it all the worse, and the volume of emails like this is only going to increase until November.