The millennial generation communicates with each other on a daily basis through a variety of different platforms, whether it is on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, SMS, MMS, IM, DM or ?even email.
The one mode of communication we don’t use is good old-fashioned mail. Remember those pesky little boxes that sit outside of your house, just waiting to be hit by a bad driver?
The mailbox has become synonymous with our elders, people who still receive glossy catalogs and letters with cordial sentiments from their twice-?removed cousins.
The last time I stuck a postage stamp on an envelope was in the fifth grade when my friend Liza went to camp located in Middle of Nowhere, U.S.A. For millennials, writing a letter is a last resort. It’s archaic to say ?the least.
Even though we sent letters to our friends at camp when we were younger, the closest interaction we have with the Postal Service nowadays is when we get stuck behind the mail truck that’s driving at a glacial pace.
At college, I receive tons of packages from my family. Not once have I thought to send them a thank-you note back. I always send them a thank-you text message, or if I’m feeling extra-thankful, I might even call them.
For kids growing up now, the abbreviation USPS might be mistaken for the newest Play Station model.
Today when we receive mail, it flies in tiny little invisible particles across the airwaves into our inboxes.
I like email. It’s quick, efficient and easy to use. But now and again I grow ?nostalgic, wishing I grew up in a different era where penmanship looked like an art form and crisp paper letters could be kept in a box with heartfelt sentiments.
What ever happened to the love letter? Unfortunately, the barbaric modern-day equivalent has been termed a “sext” full of kissy ?face emojis.
What ever happened to the birthday card? I yearn for the cheesy hallmark greeting cards full of X’s and O’s — and maybe the occasional check. Now all people do is write on my Facebook wall and Instagram heinous pictures of me.
The other day at my internship, a fellow intern and I were tasked with mailing ?a package.
For the life of us we couldn’t figure out how to print the shipping label. The simple task ended up being quite difficult, and I realized that because we are so tech savvy we don’t know how to manually do anything.
Although we’re constantly communicating with others via photos and short texts, the content isn’t substantial. We don’t put a ton of thought into our conversations with others because they’re so shorthanded.
If we were to actually sit down and write a letter to someone we care about, just imagine the effect it would have on the addressee.
Nobody writes letters these days because it’s less direct and not “in the moment.” But what we fail to recognize is that handwritten letters are touching, ?romantic and thoughtful.
jlkarl@indiana.edu
