Email the Dying Communication Tool

I recently read an article by Robert Whipple that addressed the communication habits of Millennials in the workplace today.  As he discussed the shift in communication tools across generations, the statistic that stuck out to me the most was that during 2009-2010 email usage grew among seniors by 28%, but fell among teens by 59%.  I sometimes worried that my teenage son might be behind the technology curve because he rarely checks or responds to e-mail, but I understand that the next generation doesn’t use e-mail to communicate socially.  They may not even use e-mail to communicate at work the way we see it today.  It is highly likely that 20 years from now even more of the transactions we process will be automated and people will interface with computers through their eyes, voice, or movements but not by typing keys.  Communication via e-mail as we know it will seem as old fashioned as faxing or writing letters does today.