I actually do not believe that Email is in danger of becoming a legacy media anytime soon, mostly due to the education system’s dependence on communication via Email. Email, although an electronic form of communication, is much more formal than texting, group messaging, or talking through Twitter/Facebook. Email maintains a level of professionalism within the student/teacher relationship that other media cannot.

However, because students are so used to informal communication via social media, they have a tendency to use Email in the same way. This leads to Professor frustrations, as they expect Email to be used in a more respectful and professional manner. I know for me personally, and for some of my friends, drafting an Email to a professor can take a while. It’s important to address them in a respectful way,  while also being specific about the reason for Emailing. Especially in college, Professors expect to be addressed in the correct way and given adequate information, because they teach thousands of students.

I do think that Email will continue to be the best way for students and teachers to communicate.  A professor communicating to his or her students through text just seems inappropriate. As of right now, Email is the best form of media that maintains professionalism.

I always hear people a few years older than me talking about MySpace and how embarrassing their old profiles and photos were. But, I don’t know anyone my age who used MySpace, and I honestly have no idea how MySpace even worked/works. But, the website is apparently still up and running today. MySpace for me is a form of residual media, as it was trendy just a few years before my time.

However, I do remember growing up with computer games on discs that you would put into a desktop computer (The huge, brick-like computers). A lot of my friends also had the Nintendo DS, but now you never see either of these forms of media. Both of these have become obsolete media, replaced by Xbox, Wii, PlayStation, etc.

Right after this assignment was given, I knew I wanted to write a letter to my mom and dad back home. They love hearing from me, but will probably be taken back by the fact that I contacted them via letter. The act of writing on paper what I wanted to tell them was a new experience for me, as I usually just call them on the phone or respond to my mom’s texts. I found it difficult to begin the letter, as the only hand-written letters I’ve recently written were thank you notes for my high school graduation. I’m really curious as to what my parents have to say about receiving this letter when I go home for Labor Day weekend. I think they will appreciate the gesture, as hand written letters are such an uncommon form of communication nowadays.

Writing this letter was such a positive experience because I put much more thought into what I was saying. The act of giving my parents something physical that they can hold onto for years was also rewarding. Conversations via texting or phone call aren’t necessarily permanent and can’t be held onto like a letter can. This assignment also helped me reflect on how much our modern-day forms of communication differ from those of the past. Letter writing used to be the only form of communication before the invention of telephones, texting, and the internet. Writing a letter does require more work and thought, but its impact exceeds those of phone calls or text messages.

Whenever I thought about college in high school, the first thing that came to my mind was how hard it was going to be to leave my family. My mom, dad, little sister, and I have always been close, and I consider my family to be my best friends. The first few days here at UGA, I thought about them constantly, and when I saw this assignment, I knew I would be writing a letter to them. It was really interesting to see the differences between texting and talking to them on the phone, which I do pretty frequently, and physically writing out what I wanted to tell them.

While writing my letter, I realized how much easier it was to remember all of the new things I had to share. When talking on the phone, I would always forget to say something, or even not have a lot to say at all. Writing out my thoughts in a letter came surprisingly naturally, even though so few people write letters today.

While writing, I even found myself more excited to tell them about what’s happening in my life, because I knew how happy a surprise letter from me would make them. I realized how impersonal texting really is, and that calling them, and even writing to them occasionally, is much more special and would mean a lot to them.

There’s something about receiving a letter, and even just seeing a person’s familiar handwriting, that makes you happier. Cell phones are so accessible, that texting and calling are effortless. Sitting down and taking the time to write down your thoughts and share your life with someone lets them know that you’re thinking about them. It shows them that you care enough to spend time on sharing with them.

In a way, maybe it’s not such a bad thing that writing letters has become such a rare art. Today, when you write a letter, it’s heartfelt and detailed, just because it is so uncommon. If we still wrote letters today as much as others did when writing them was necessary, they would seem like a part of daily life. Maybe the rarity of writing letters just makes them all the more special.