Until you start working in a corporate environment, it's unlikely that, if you're a teen, you'll ever need to send an attachment. Most of the files you have are media files, and you share with friends through various social media sharing sites, services, etc.
That works... until you have to send your resume to someone or negotiate a legal contract. Yeah, I don't think Facebook has "Track Changes".
So, while the kids, with their rock and roll and their ripped jeans and hacky sacks... err.. chrome spinners, may not have a need for e-mail now, it's not going away anytime soon. Plus, most alternative methods, like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, require both the sender and the recipient to both be on the same social network. E-mail is a least common denominator. We all have one and it requires no additional signup/login to send someone a message.
It's not going away.
You know, if you're going to write a story about what the kids are doing, talking to the kids is great, but I think there's something to be said for looking at your adult life, with adult responsibilities, and be realistic about where these trends are going.
I mean, I don't see ConEd, Citibank, or Sprint sending me e-bill notifications on Twitter or Facebook anytime soon, so I'd better login to my e-mail once in a while if I expect to have a reasonable credit rating.
Blogged with Flock