Last week, I found myself driving my 12-year-old daughter to what felt like her 500th dance class while simultaneously leaving a voicemail for a friend—multitasking at its finest! “Hey, it’s Jamie. Just saw your email. Give me a call.” I finished the call, short and sweet.
Then, from the backseat, my daughter erupted in laughter. “What?” I adjusted the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of her expression, but all I could see was her focused gaze on her phone. She was likely absorbed in a group chat with her friends or watching yet another viral video. “Ugh, Mom!” she exclaimed, finally looking at me through the mirror. “Only old people use email.”
And there it was—an eye-opening moment.
I remember the thrill of creating my first email account back in 1994. Fresh out of journalism school and newly hired as an editor at a sports magazine, email was revolutionary. My colleagues and I spent our breaks sending messages, sharing gossip about the latest episode of Melrose Place, and planning after-work outings. Email was essential, and if your workplace didn’t embrace it, you were at a disadvantage.
Fast forward to today, and email has lost its charm. After years of subscribing to endless newsletters and promotional offers, my inbox has turned into a daunting archive of over 10,000 unread emails—filled with updates I ignore and reminders for events I’ll never attend. Sifting through this clutter to find the one important message is more of a chore than a joy. I click to open my inbox, scroll aimlessly, let out an exasperated sigh, and close it again.
I’m not alone in my sentiment. A recent article by John Anderson in Inc. predicts that email may become obsolete by 2025. “Businesses are already shifting away from email as their main communication tool,” he notes, highlighting the availability of alternatives like texting, Twitter DMs, and Facebook messages. Email has morphed into a black hole of communication. Responses are slow or nonexistent; conversations get tangled in multiple threads, making clarity an elusive goal. Spam filters grow more aggressive, and we waste precious hours managing unimportant messages. By 2025, it’s likely someone will develop a more efficient way to communicate digitally.
Could that “someone” be our children? My kids, at 12 and 9, have already realized that texting, Facebook, Snapchat, or a host of other social media platforms are the quickest ways to connect. This trend is increasingly evident in workplaces too, as companies adopt streamlined communication tools like Campfire and Slack, which we use at Home Insemination Kit. Is this the future? Are we clinging to email simply because we’ve been using it for so long? Perhaps we’re hesitant to adapt because we feel “old.”
When my children were born, I eagerly secured Gmail addresses for them, thinking I was super savvy. Now, I can’t help but wonder if they’ll ever actually use those accounts.
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In summary, while email once ruled the communication landscape, its relevance is waning, especially among younger generations who favor quicker, more engaging platforms. As we embrace new methods of connection, it raises the question of whether we’ve become too accustomed to our old ways.