2011

In an era where there is a need for fast, inexpensive communication, e-mail communication has thrived. While many assume that e-mail emerged in the latter part of the 20th century, in reality, the first e-mail was sent in 1971 (Finn, 2006). From its beginning in the business community almost 40 years ago, e-mail communication has rapidly expanded. Shaw and Shaw (2006) reported that in 2001, 57% of the respondents to their survey (U.S. survey) indicated that they communicate by e-mail. In 2008, Parks reported that the percentage of e-mail users in the U.S. had increased to 72.5%. According to the Radicati Group (2009), an estimated 247 billion e-mails are sent each day. By 2013, this figure is projected to be 507 billion. The Radicati Group predicted that the number of worldwide e-mail users will increase from 1.4 billion in 2009 to almost 1.9 billion in 2013. This figure indicates that about 20% of the world’s population uses email.