[1] This type of mentoring relationship is said to be most successful when conducted during a transitional period on the life of the mentee (e.g. during an application to a university for admission, career decision-making).
First used for programs connecting schoolchildren with business people, e-mentoring is now popular throughout the US, the UK, and some parts of Europe.
[citation needed] Many early e-mentoring programs used email communication to link mentors and mentees.
One of the first e-mentoring programs was developed in Canada in 1990, where teachers from schools in British Columbia were given online support and training by experienced peers.
The medium limits the ability to pick up on visual or social clues, makes immediate feedback difficult, and can often be seen as impersonal.