Email vs. "Real Mail"

In the tech world, few things have made such an impact as the Internet and the subsequent rise of electronic mail, or email for short. It allowed people who were separated by long distances another form of communication. Something that didn't rely on having the people communicating to stay up late, wake up early or wait weeks to hear back from whoever it was they were trying to communicate with. Because of the lack of delay, email became a threat to regular postal service and although they have similarities, it's in their differences that postal mail eventually "lost."

The only real similarity between email and regular postal mail is that they both have senders and receivers and a processing center in  between. The "mail" that is sent between these two people are processed in a separate "facility" that then ensures that the mail is received by the correct person.

Here is where the many differences begin. Regular postal mail does not have to be precise in terms of labeling. It can be off by one number, or have a different name, but the mail will still reach it's intended recipient most of the time. That is not the case with email. The email address that's typed has to be exactly the same, otherwise it's never going to reach the person it's being sent to. This accuracy has a benefit though, as previously mentioned, email is essentially sent and received instantly, which is different from postal mail which can take anywhere from a day to a few weeks to be sent and received.

Email is also relatively cheap when compared to regular mail. Regular mail needs paper, an envelope, travel and adequate stamps to be able to be sent, whereas email only requires a computer and an internet connection, things that are regularly available in today's society making email essentially accessible anywhere. The same cannot be said for regular mail which is only sent to a physical address and can only be accessed at said place.

Cost, speed and access are the main things that made email a more viable communication method than regular mail, and regular mail just can't really compete with it's younger, sleeker self.