If you were lucky enough to be born before 1990, you remember mail. That exciting time of the day when you get to physically tear apart an envelope and open a letter, handwritten or typed, receiving mail has always been an emotional experience; however, times have changed. Receiving a letter is rare, traditional mail has been segregated to junk, advertisements, and birthday cards from elderly relatives who don’t have computers.
This is depressing to me because the Downtown Santa Monica USPS is officially closing its doors, along with many other post offices around the world. Mail is being retired, and technology has finally dominated for exchanging information.
I am frightened for this coming generation. As they charge forward into a future engulfed by technology, they are aided in every way possible. Kids of this generation have every answer (Google) to answer every question at their fingertips. This creates a sense of security where there is no incentive to actually retain knowledge.
Years ago if you wanted an answer, it required lots of work. Getting the spelling of one word meant finding and flipping through a dictionary. This work made generations want to learn in order to bypass the work in the future. Today an email will have spell-check and hyperlinks to give you everything you need. To everyone out there, please continue to encourage your kids and yourself to keep writing and reading, try solving math problems without a calculator. I promise you, It’ll pay off.
