Communicating the Old Fashioned Way?

Some of the younger generation seem to think that communicating the old fashioned way will soon be a thing of the past. With texting and instant messaging, email and face-to-face contact seems to be going extinct. Some younger ones think email is too formal and less convenient. They are using social networking sites and blogs to catch up with what their friends are doing.

Even some not-so-young are getting tired of the hundreds of spam emails received daily and are using other forms of communication. Some even view email as a last resort.

Email does have advantages, though. It can be ignored. It is an office mainstay. It can be easily saved, stored, and searched. It provides a record of communication that is considered as good as paper in business.

Whatever happened to communicating the old fashioned way? How much time do you save emailing your colleague in the next cubicle when you could just walk over and tell him or her in person? Are we losing the personal touch by texting instead of picking up the phone and making a short call? Is there value in sending a hand written letter instead of a lengthy, formal email?