Should Friends Really Email Friends Chain Letters?
Posted: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
by Gerry Charbonneau
http://nibblednews.typepad.com
"A lady inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Husband Wanted". Next day she received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine." - Anon.
Have you ever received a chain letter emailed from a long time and trusted friend that was so compelling, intriguing and inspiring that you seriously wrestled with the notion of whether or not to send out a copy of this letter to your own close friends and people you care about?
An effective chain letter is somewhat similar to the advertising content of an infomercial viewed on television. The opening lines of the letter immediately attract your attention. The content is both visually appealing and emotionally captivating. The message is repeated constantly and subtly throughout the body of the letter.
A person has a difficult time deciding if the letter should be deleted from their mail box or saved and submitted for future reference. In this instance the sender's credibility had an impact on my decision.
This chain letter offered both a blessing and a warning. There were three pictures of religious content spread throughout the letter. If I read the letter, followed its directions and sent it along to people I knew and cared about I would be granted many blessings and good health.
If I decided to disregard the letter and delete it from my email there could be dire consequences for me. The chain letter had already been distributed to over 400 recipients all of whom had faithfully followed the email's instructions. Would I be brave enough to delete this message or wimp out and follow the crowd of believers?
The purpose of any chain letter is to inspire the reader to take some form of action either negative or positive. A few of the more dire consequences of ignoring the letter were generously sprinkled throughout the middle of the letter. The positive side of following suite and emailing the letter was also highlighted.
A person's gullibility, overall superstitious nature and in this instance religious beliefs come to play in making a decision. The reader notices that the number of past recipients is prominently listed near the end of the letter. This number could be fabricated since the person who sends you the letter cannot be a recipient of the same letter from you.
This type of chain letter is relatively innocuous and in a sense intimidating. You realize that a friend who cares about your welfare is sending you this letter.You also appreciate the fact that after you have read the letter you are left dangling there on your own and need to make some kind of decision.
Many chain letters are somewhat akin to the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The player tries to make some sense of the piece of the puzzle he/she has and tries to connect with someone else who may have the needed piece they need to complete their skewed portrait of reality.
In case you were wondering I deleted the email and appreciated the underlying sentiment involved from the person sending it to me. The intent of sending me the email was undoubtedly honest and caring.
Realize that other forms of chain letters can be much more manipulative and coercive in nature. It pays to use common sense when responding to these electronic messages.
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