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# Can You Use Slack Too Much?
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/can-you-use-slack-too-much/
- Published: 2019-06-19T19:37:04.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-02T02:50:24.000Z
- Description: Thoughts on our reliance on apps and screens.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Collaboration, Communication, Message Not Received, Slack, Slack For Dummies, WFH

## "We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us."

 —Marshall McLuhan

I'm hard-pressed to think of a tool that I enjoy using more than Slack. I'm an effusive advocate. It doesn't surprise me that, for the last year and change, the most popular post on my blog has been [How I Use Slack Inside of the Classroom](https://www.philsimon.com/blog/higher-education/use-slack-inside-classroom/).

As I write in *Message Not Received*, Slack and its ilk are just like any communications tool: You can use them too much when in-person conversations make far more sense.

It's hardly a revolutionary thought, but think about that when you're spinning in circles and you're unable to get a simple answer to a question. Along these lines, from an excellent recent piece by [John Herrman](https://twitter.com/jwherrman?ref=philsimon.com) in *The New York Times*:

Slack also defies the social customs and expectations of email, codified over decades of use and misuse. Some employees — and, crucially, employers — are still learning how to establish rules and boundaries around real-time chat. “I personally felt so much anxiety over Slack,” Ms. O’Quigley said. “I love my job, but nothing triggers alarm bells like when you receive a message from your team or boss after work hours.”

## Simon Says

Herrman's article is fascinating. Read it and you'll discover that many of the problems that excessive e-mail causes Slack doesn't necessarily solve. In some cases, employees have just moved the headache from one medium (e-mail) to Slack.

Brass tacks: [Slack breakups](https://ux.useronboard.com/slack-i-m-breaking-up-with-you-54600ace03ea?ref=philsimon.com) aren't necessary if people move a discussion to more appropriate medium. Sometimes, it's best to just talk to someone. If I were king at any organization experiencing Slack fatigue—yeah, that's a thing—I'd have them immediately implement [my three-message rule](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-3-email-rule-2015-5?ref=philsimon.com). Think of Slack as just one communication club in the bag.