The instant nature of email is truly bitter sweet. Turn back the clock a couple of decades and the anxious Fulbright hopefuls waited for their notifications to come via the mail. I can see them peering out the window, or calling home after they thought that the mail had arrived; the mail arrived at a predictable hour in those days. When they raced to the mailbox, and discovered the letter had not come, they were likely to gain some level of peace, until the next day started the cycle all over again.
Today, every ping of the email sends one running to see if the notice has arrived. It is death by a thousand cuts.