Love letters

People used to write love letters. And send postcards. And keep diaries. And send pictures and letters to each other to record the momentous events in their lives.
Today, we skype. And we blog. And we use cell phones. And we send text messages and emails, post our pictures to Flicker or Shutterfly. While I will admit I do a much better job of keeping in touch with the advances in communication, I do wonder how this will translate for historians in the future. For centuries we have relied upon the written word to give us information about people in the past. Granted, the digital age will give future historians more information about us than has ever been revealed before, but I fear that the personal stories will be lost. Families used to write letters to stay in touch when separated. Now they skype or call. I may be a cynic, but I think when we lose a generation's worth of personal communication we are losing the chance for future generations to fully understand us. So please, every once in a while send an old-fashioned letter through the snail mail to a family member or friend. And when you get one in return, store it in a safe place for future generations.