Personal choice
I have no doubt that many people use chat effectively in communication, but I personally find it distracting. It may be the editor in me, but I cannot willingly type mistakes and let them go out in a message, which means I am constantly editing my chat stream. I feel the person on the other end waiting for my reply and feel the pressure as I edit for the nth time the way I want to phrase a sentence. Most people are content to just hit the send button, poorly formed phrases and typos be darned,
I'd much rather get a question in an email where I can respond thoughtfully. It's a personal thing to be sure. I am just curious if I am alone in this regard.
