High Tech Replacing Familiar Favorites, But Low Tech Will Live On

Technology is advancing at warp speed, and the way we live is changing constantly. Indeed, what was once lifestyle bedrock is now going the way of the dinosaurs.

For example, when I backpacked in Europe more than three decades ago, I kept in touch with my family by way of aerogrammes and postcards. Those days are gone. My daughter just started her study abroad program in Copenhagen, and within hours of hitting Danish soil, I heard from her by way of Facebook messages and mobile telephone calls via Skype.

On top of this example, I recently read an email that is spreading across the Internet that suggests the imminent disappearance of certain aspects of life that we have been accustomed to for a very, very long time.

The first email suggestion is that the U.S. Postal Service will not survive. Email, text messages, social media communications, FedEx and UPS all will wipe out any marginal remaining post office viability. It is true that the postal service has been impacted greatly, and we will see if it remains in force, at least to some extent. There may be some continuing utility, but perhaps in a much decreased role.

The next email prediction is that in short order we no longer will make payments with hard-copy checks. Plastic cards and online payments already are rendering checks as quite a secondary payment method. While check writing may be decreased, checks may not disappear completely as a means of payment.

Also soon to be extinct is the traditional newspaper, according to the email. People now are getting their news on their laptops, their mobile devices and their e-readers. Plus, it is suggested that the current younger generation does not even consider the newspaper as an option. And while news will be obtained online, it is predicted that in the near future we will have to pay for such access. This all could be true, certainly to a large extent.

And what about the old-fashioned book? Won't there still be instances when people want a hard copy in their hands so they can experience actually reading from and turning pages? Not according to the email prediction: People will prefer the storage, ease and cost-effectiveness of reading on gadgets. While reading will continue to go the electronic route, it is difficult to imagine hard-copy books no longer on the scene at all.

Not too surprisingly, it is suggested in the email that the landline telephone will fade into history. People use their mobile phones constantly for many purposes, not...