Back in the digital saddle again finally.
I heard an interesting commentary today on my local NPR station about old letters and postcards. The commenter talked about how she likes to revisit her old letters from time to time to remember those events, and people that had an impact on who she is today. Although she said that she loved the efficiency of e-mail and other modern forms of communication she said that it’s not the same as receiving a physical letter. Is this true?
As a Digital Daddy I could easily dismiss her (and her generation) as a quaint old lady of the past reminiscing about how things use to be when people actually took the time to sit down and write you a letter. But, I would be wrong. I too have letter from my past. My wife and I use to be pen pals 25 years ago. I still have those letters in several shoeboxes in my closet. And although I am a Digital Daddy who totally embraces digital communications(like this blog) I still wish for the time when people use to spend time writing you a letter. But, those times are gone.
The only thing we can do is try to merge the past with the new technologies of today. I recently converted my wife’s old letters and postcards over into a digital flipbook. Now I can access these letters anytime or anywhere I want from my computer or mobile device. Is it the same as having the physical letter in my hands? No, but I now have access to them whenever I want to. And I don’t have to worry about a fire, flood, earthquake, etc destroying these gifts from the past.
We do indeed live in digital times. The days of writing and receiving physical letters are almost at an end. But instead of being sadden by this fact lets look at the possibilities of the digital future. I (and my generation) may miss getting physical letters, but our kids and grand kids will not. Their future is digital and if you want them to be able to read your old letters and postcards from the past they better be digital!
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