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  In response to the recent fervor in our usually silent classroom regarding e-mail and letters, I, as an arbitrator, have written this article to point out to you the benefits and shortcomings of both.

  Electronic mail, or e-mail as it is better known, is a method of communication of the new generation. The revolution it has brought in our lives is radical, to the points of transgressing the limits of comfort. It is the most widely spread and used means of communication in the world, and scientists have even constructed an inter-planetary Internet system through which we can send e-mails to planets other than Earth. Candidly, I do not see the postal companies doing that! E-mail has several benefits over ordinary letters other than being fantastically swift. To write a letter, you must know the exact geographical location of the recipient, otherwise it will end up in the hands of some poor guy in Alabama thinking whether he has a long-lost relative in the Middle East or not! Apart from this, you need to purchase papers, pens, inks, stamps, envelopes, etcetera. These prove to be quite troublesome for the populace considering the rise in inflation and the expensive times, whereas, through e-mail, you need no such thing. No papers, no pens, no inks, no stamps, no envelopes and no etcetera. The only thing you require is the recipient’s accurate e-mail id, and voilá, your e-mail has reached its destination in the blinking of an eye, even if the person is currently residing in the caves of North Pole! If you needed to send pictures to someone, say for example, a relative, you need to pay extra for it, as the postal companies tend to charge for the weight also! However, through e-mail, you can send him/her pictures as an attachment and it will be sent free! If you had to send the same letter to three persons, you will have to write it thrice. But, thanks to e-mail, you can use the ‘carbon copy’ function to send the same e-mail to as many individuals you desire.

  Although minimum computer literacy is required for using e-mail, I believe that in today’s educated world, it won’t be much of a problem. And as for those countries which do not have electricity, I can assure you that even if you send them letters, they will hardly be able to fathom it.

  Considering the benefits and shortcomings of both, I feel that e-mail is the best way to communicate in today’s fast-paced world, where even a second’s delay can leave you millenniums behind.