I have a thing for mail. Each
day I look forward to getting the mail – even though it’s mostly junk and goes
into the paper recycle bin. We no longer get mail of value very often as all of
the credit and utility bills are electronic. The only physical bill I get is
our supplemental insurance and it’s set up for automatic payment each month. The
City of Woodland and Pacific Gas and Electric still mail me supplemental
information though about usage compared to prior years. Since they send the
bills electronically, I am not sure why they send the reports through the mail.
DMV registration documents and drivers’ licenses still come in the mail. I
recently opted in to get DMV renewal notices via email My recently renewed
passport came via U.S. mail.
I love getting mail! My favorite
mail over the years have been letters from nieces or nephews (school projects –
write a letter to someone in another state) and a request from my great-nephew,
Tatum, a few years back to help with a school assignment by providing
information on California. Oh, and don’t forget Christmas cards!! Cards are a fun
treat.
I have never understood why
people don’t process their mail daily. The people who let the mail sit in their
mailbox for days must have incredible restraint. For me it’s a matter of, “It
has my name on it. I need to look at it and take care of it right away.” While
growing up in Ney, Ohio one of us had to walk down the street to the post
office to retrieve mail from our box (P.O. Box 102). As an adult, I’d visit my
mom and sister and they’d wait a week before collecting their mail. Before they
finally moved to town (Bryan), they were getting warning notices from the post
office as the time between trips had extended to a few weeks and the box was too
full to put more mail into it.
As is my nature, I got to
wondering why getting mail makes me happy and so I Googled “the psychology of
mail.” Unbelievably there is actually information on it. I am not doing a deep
dive – just a cursory glance and came across several references to how a piece
of mail usually starts with an elongated, several minute relationship with the recipient
while handling it and deciding whether to open it or not. The mail piece can engage
many senses – touch, scent, and vision. Then there is the process of opening
which is an interaction. In general engagement with mail is more positive and
memorable than with email.
The desire to engage us explains why we still get our Raley’s ads in
the mail each week. Marketing experts contend that it is too easy for readers
to delete or skip over electronic ads. When we have the ads in our hands,
though, we may stop and check for sales. I know Joe and I read it each week.
I think I read our
newspaper more thoroughly when it was delivered to the door. Now it’s online and
I kind of just skim over the few articles that spark my interest. I no longer read
the comics which were my favorite part, along with Dear Abby, for decades. The comics
simply don’t interest me in digital form. Maybe my brain has been warped by
memes. Or maybe not holding onto a piece of paper has caused me to lose the
connection with my sense of humor.
❤
ReplyDelete