Has social media and texting really replaced letters?

We have been sending letters and notes to each other for centuries, and the delivery methods have changed rapidly. While the intent of increasing the ease of communication may have been to bring us closer together, I wonder if it really just helps to push us apart due to forgetfulness?

Back when you had to wait for the pony express to pick up your letter, and the steamship to cross the ocean to correspond with your pen pal we had to expend some effort. Now, just pick your favorite messaging app and tap out a few characters or maybe just an emoji.

I really feel that I actually talk to people less now that I can easily reach them. Conversations are simple, and never really go in depth. We even abbreviate most of our words rather than explain our full thoughts.

People tend to get lost in the long list of ongoing text messages. Forgetting to follow up with people once an email is read happens often. We have become so distracted.

While we might connect to people all the time, have we lost the ability to communicate with them effectively?

Do you find yourself getting antsy when a text or IM is not returned immediately?

What happened to the days of mailing letters and holding ongoing conversations over a lifetime?

While we keep copies of all these digital communications, it would be hard for descendants or any others to experience these interactions if they cannot be found in a desk drawer or journal… Not to say many would be too interesting to read these days anyway.

I miss going through an old box and coming across a note from a schoolmate written a couple decades ago. If it wasn’t for memories displayed on FaceBook I would forget about entire events completely.

What about all the pictures we take with our phones. Videos shot of every occasion. How often do we go back and look at them. So many of them just filling space on some hard drive never to be viewed again. So many lost memories.

I think I’ll start to write folks again, simply to say hello. Even if my penmanship is poor, I think people still appreciate holding a letter in their hand.