Editorial: All the warmth of a computer

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005 | 8:08 a.m.

A front-page story in Tuesday's USA Today looked at yet one more example of how good manners are vanishing: It is rare today for people to send handwritten thank-you notes after they receive a gift.

Brad Morris recounted in the story how two of his friends from Texas, who were wed in Las Vegas, responded to his $100 cash gift. Morris recalled that he received a mass message from the bride's e-mail account addressed to "Dear friends," or something to that effect, generically thanking those who attended the wedding and for "all the nice gifts."

"I would just as soon have received no thank-you as to receive that," Morris said.

An e-mail, while convenient for the sender, can be cold and impersonal -- and can't begin to compare to a handwritten note. For younger Americans particularly, who have grown up communicating through typing e-mails to one another, the warmth of a handwritten note often is lost on them. (At least Morris received some acknowledgement through e-mail; many people today don't formally acknowledge in any way their thanks to those who have given them a gift.)

The irony is that as we have increased our ability to communicate with one another instantly, whether it's by phone or now by e-mail, we have lost something along the way.

The effort and care that go into a personalized, handwritten note, especially one that marks a signature moment in someone's life, is something that a recipient could cherish forever.

It's a shame that such an act of kindness and good manners no longer is commonplace.