Today’s younger generations would go through withdrawal symptoms if they had to communicate strictly by snail mail. Instantaneous information, drawn from multiple sources, is at everyone’s fingertips. Phones are turning into mini-computers, and even images, photographic or drawn, can be sent and received in a moment. Waiting for an older computer to boot up can cause serious frustration!
The letters from World War I were sent by mail and this caused many an anxiety disorder. The letters from FM McKiernan at Camp Gordon , to Mrs. C.U. Scripture of Mils, Maine
First would be the actual reliability of the mail service. Never knowing if a letter was received would be a serious consideration. Would this mean anything other than the letter was lost or would it mean something more serious of the writer from the war, such as injury, missing in action, captured, or dead? Not receiving a letter from home would be just as agonizing to a soldier as this could possibly mean there are family problems.
Letters were the only way to receive and send information. As in the case of McKiernan, he was trying to comfort the mother of his bunkmate, who she hadn’t heard from for awhile. Even though he assured her that her son was probably ok, and possibly better off than himself, he still brought up the possibility of injury. In was impossible for people to help one another in a timely way.
Finally, not being able to provide instantaneous emotional support and/or comfort to a grieving loved one would be a huge disadvantage to such slow news. Hearing horrific, and sometimes good, news without being able to share it with another person can be quite discomforting. Overall, being able to communicate information quickly can be quite advantageous.
Nature Vs Nurture: An End to the War? – Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human, Matt Ridley, 2004, Gale Group
