Washington wins the award for “most e-mail addicted” city in the country, according to a new study released Thursday by Dulles-based AOL. Atlanta, New York, San Francisco and Houston rounded out the top five. Of Washingtonians who have a portable e-mail device, 29 percent say they can’t live without it.
With the prevalence of mobile devices, people can check e-mail from virtually any location.
The study showed that 58 percent of Washingtonians check mobile e-mail in bed in their pajamas and 58 percent check it in the bathroom. Other locations include church (18 percent), in the car while driving (45 percent) and at the dinner table (47 percent).
The mobile phenomenon is similar to when the Internet debuted. Everyone would leave his or her computer on and check e-mail periodically, a practice Regina Lewis, AOL’s online consumer adviser, terms “snacking.”
“Portable devices now allow snacking on steroids,” she said.
Washington ranked first in part because it consists of a “pretty connected crowd … an audience that puts a premium on real-time information,” whether it’s politics, gossip, news or financial information, Lewis said.
The volume of e-mails people receive is increasing, but not all of it is personal. Many are customized newsletters from news sources that can cut down on search time and can “lend itself to consolidation,” making it easier for people to stay informed, Lewis said.
Additionally, people employed by the government automatically have multiple e-mail addresses, often due to requirements. The study showed that 82 percent of Washingtonians fell into this category, the highest percentage of all cities.
The study also broke down results by gender, but the findings didn’t reveal much actual difference in terms of addiction levels.
While more women are apt to describe themselves as “addicts” and spend more time e-mailing, men are more likely to have mobile devices. This is common, as males tend to be the early technology adopters, Lewis said.
The survey was conducted online in June in partnership with Opinion Research Corporation. A total of 4,025 respondents 13 and older in 20 U.S. cities participated.
