You're right. I didn't mean to make it sound universal, because it's not. What I meant to say is that even though you can keep up on IRC and other instant medi

You're right. I didn't mean to make it sound universal, because it's not. What I meant to say is that even though you can keep up on IRC and other instant media, the fact that they are instant often drives you to communicate reactively, instead of reflectively. Does that make more sense? Sure, you can be asynchronous if you don't look at your messages or regulate yourself so you have time to process before you reply. But I think no matter what, the instantaneity drives us to be reactive, even the most mindful among us.