The Guardian view on sending letters: the writing's on the wall

"Predictions of the demise of letter writing are not new. The invention of the telegraph and the rise of the postcard were both seen as potential threats to a more leisurely, reflective form of communication. Yet by the close of the 20th century, more letters were being sent than ever, as social correspondence began to be supplemented by a boom in business mail."

"From Europe's most tech-savvy society, however, comes ominous news. As of next week, Denmark's state-run postal service will end all letter deliveries after doing the rounds for 400 years. Around 1,500 jobs are being cut, and the country's beloved red letterboxes are being sold off. It will still be possible for Danes to send a card or a love letter to someone far away next Christmas, but only via the shops of a smaller private company or a costly home collection."

"That may at least partly be down to unpopular hikes in the price of a Royal Mail stamp. But the direction of travel is unarguable: the online world has hoovered up business transactions and offers us multiple forms of communicating with each other more or less instantaneously. In a world of notification alerts and a blur of fingers typing on tablets and phones, the romantic image of a solitary letter writer, seated at a lamplit desk, no longer speaks to our cultural desires or reality."

Predictions of the demise of letter writing have recurred since inventions like the telegraph and postcard. Letter volumes rose through the 20th century as business mail supplemented social correspondence. Denmark's state postal service will stop all letter deliveries next week after 400 years, cutting about 1,500 jobs and selling red letterboxes; private shops or expensive home collection will remain options. Other postal services across Europe are removing postboxes and cutting roles, and UK letter volumes have fallen from around 20 billion to 6.6 billion. Digital communication has displaced many business transactions and everyday correspondence. The needs of those reliant on physical post must be protected during transitions.

Read at www.theguardian.com