Are physical cards going extinct?

[Zlantann]

I was teaching my daughter cultural and creative arts today and I discovered that she doesn't know what is invitation cards. Further enquiries show that she has never seen any card in her life. And I just remembered that there is a part of our lives that is missing.

While growing up, it was usually to receive greetings, exam success, emotional, invitation and ceremonial cards. We used to have a heap of cards, and they were beautiful. They come in different designs and shapes. When someone is sick, it is common to receive get-well-soon cards. Those days we usually give girls beautiful cards to express our love to them.

It seems everything has gone online. It is common to send digital cards to emails, social media and other platforms without printing physical cards. I have not received any card since this year, and that's a shift from what it used to be.

But I cherished physical cards more than these online ones. Going to the hospital and seeing different cards wishing the patient a quick recovery is wonderful. Arranging and reading those wedding, birthday, and Christmas cards is wonderful. Sometimes, we keep cards and read them for memories. Watching your crush reading your card and smiling gives you so much excitement. But it seems those days are gone.

[Frankolala]

Not really, physical cards haven't gone into extinction but it depends on your age and the people that you mingle with. People that are not used to the internet still give physical cards and also people in special offices and CEOs of a company do receive physical card. For instance, your daughter haven't seen any of these physical cards because you don't have people who believe in physical cards as your friends but you have those that are in the digital world.

Text messages have also taken the place of cards partially. I do recieve Christmas cards towards Christmas day but not birthday cards. I appreciate physical cards a lot because you can use them for decoration for remembrance. We also have wedding invitation cards or haven't she seen one.

[DeathAngel]

Digital communication is on the rise but physical cards like birthday, anniversary & Christmas cards are not entirely going out of circulation. Some people still value the personal touch & sentiment of handwritten notes. Special occasions often call for big expressions of love & appreciation that digital messages don’t fully replicate.

[Zlantann]

Not really, physical cards haven't gone into extinction but it depends on your age and the people that you mingle with. People that are not used to the internet still give physical cards and also people in special offices and CEOs of a company do receive physical card. For instance, your daughter haven't seen any of these physical cards because you don't have people who believe in physical cards as your friends but you have those that are in the digital world.

I agree that your class in society will somehow determine the amount of cards you receive. Top business executives, influential politicians and celebrities will always receive cards since people will want them to show respect and love. Maybe my daughter would have seen a card if I was part of the wealthy.

But I also don't think that age is a valid point as to why people don't receive physical cards. Physical cards can be sent or received by anyone regardless of age. A child can receive more cards than a grown-up.

Physical cards might not have gone extinct, but their use is reducing. My point is that eCards or digital cards have taken a large chunk of the card market.

[Ultegra134]

At first I thought you were talking about physical bank cards, which are also in decline the past few years with mobile apps and virtual cards being on the rise; my bank is even offering a free virtual credit card.

Anyway, returning to the subject, everything is becoming virtual nowadays, so I'm not surprised that there's a major decline in physical cards, the last invitation I received was a wedding one and apart from that, I don't recall receiving one the past five years. Honestly, it makes sense, we now use social media and digital methods of communication.

[aoluain]

I would like to chime in and say on one side I think they are going extinct particularly
with the younger generations. I could imagine they see the whole process of going
to a shop, choosing the right card, writing a message and going to a post office to send
waay too laborious when they can just send a message and a meme or something
 without spending any energy and instantly.

If I go to a newsagent here or a supermarket they still dedicate a large portion of their
shelving to cards! surely there must be a demand still for them but I would say its
with an older generation, I think soon there will be less space dedicated to those!

[paxmao]

Well, I can  tell you that invitation cards are common use where I live and they are well liked and used. Honestly, when reading your post the first thing that came to mind were the physical cards from collectible games that are anything but dead. Some of these call for prices in excess of 5000 USD and many times the special editions in mint condition go on auction for ridiculous prices bought by people who want "alternative assets".

[Hispo]

I indeed recall receiving some invitation cards when I was younger. Here in Latin American culture it is common for girls to have an special party when they turn fifteen years old, invitation cards are as colorful and extravagant as possible. It is one of those kinds of event which still culturally require invitation cards, but birthday invitations and other kind of cards are indeed heading to be completely displaced by electronic cards.
We're simply growing in a generation which is pretty much accustomed to handling electronic devices and typing information down (instead of hand writing it).

I would rather if it was not that way and people still cared to handle physical gifts, instead of just displaying images in a screen, the latter feels colder and with less feelings attached to it than the former.

[o48o]

I was teaching my daughter cultural and creative arts today and I discovered that she doesn't know what is invitation cards. Further enquiries show that she has never seen any card in her life. And I just remembered that there is a part of our lives that is missing.

While growing up, it was usually to receive greetings, exam success, emotional, invitation and ceremonial cards. We used to have a heap of cards, and they were beautiful. They come in different designs and shapes. When someone is sick, it is common to receive get-well-soon cards. Those days we usually give girls beautiful cards to express our love to them.

It seems everything has gone online. It is common to send digital cards to emails, social media and other platforms without printing physical cards. I have not received any card since this year, and that's a shift from what it used to be.

But I cherished physical cards more than these online ones. Going to the hospital and seeing different cards wishing the patient a quick recovery is wonderful. Arranging and reading those wedding, birthday, and Christmas cards is wonderful. Sometimes, we keep cards and read them for memories. Watching your crush reading your card and smiling gives you so much excitement. But it seems those days are gone.

No, they won't, but kids can have different mindsets on that. They are grown in digital environment and chat daily trough it, so it makes sense they communicate everything electronically.

Physical papers are going to be used for more and more for novelty purposes. Sending anything in digital form is more practical, faster and cheaper, to give or send.
Digital text is not wasting paper, it won't get lost and i think everyone agrees that official papers and bills don't make sense in physical form anymore.

Birthday cards, love letters, and calling cards, classic invitations to weddings etc will stay in a same way that calligraphy stays as respected art form. But younger kids are getting, less likely they are using paper needlessly and wastefully, especially if something can be replaced digitally.

Sending / giving invitation on quality paper with beautifully designed print is a sign of respect and class, just like self made birthday card is. That's why it's never going completely out of style, like any kind of effort, it's always wanted in some cases.

[Lida93]

Not really, physical cards haven't gone into extinction but it depends on your age and the people that you mingle with. People that are not used to the internet still give physical cards and also people in special offices and CEOs of a company do receive physical card. For instance, your daughter haven't seen any of these physical cards because you don't have people who believe in physical cards as your friends but you have those that are in the digital world.

That's actually what it is right now, it's now a combination of the online and physical cards gifting but the reality is that as we advance the online model has taken over an 85% it. I have received many cards this year from friends and family even from business associates both online and physical cards but what I discovered was that the physical cards were mainly sent by elder people while the younger generation had most of the online cards sent.

For me both online and physical cards still gives me same beautiful feeling, what's most important in my view is the content and from whom is coming from and nothing actually about the means through which it came.

[Kelward]

Physical cards are not extinct yet because we still have older folks who still cherish physical communication and cards, things that they can see and relate with. But I really don't know what the future holds for physical cards because the new generation are now sending anything that is related to cards online. I doubt that physical cards will be relevant in the future because social media has taken over and people can send all their loves through them. This generation wants everything very fast and social media only takes seconds to deliver how you feel with countless emojis to convey your thoughts. If you observe you'll notice that the sales and demand of physical cards have greatly diminished.

[franky1]

I was teaching my daughter
Further enquiries show that she has never seen any card in her life.

1. she is YOUR daughter
2. if she has never received a christmas card, birthday card or taught to get her parent a mother/fathers day card... guess what, thats YOUR fault

kids are not independant, its the parent that gives them cards and teaches them to give others cards. so the onus was on you to give her birthday and christmas cards

for her to have never received a birthday or christmas card says more about you personally, not culture in general... in short.. give her a birthday card and christmas card on those special days

[Zlantann]

I was teaching my daughter
Further enquiries show that she has never seen any card in her life.

1. she is YOUR daughter
2. if she has never received a christmas card, birthday card or taught to get her parent a mother/fathers day card... guess what, thats YOUR fault

kids are not independant, its the parent that gives them cards and teaches them to give others cards. so the onus was on you to give her birthday and christmas cards

for her to have never received a birthday or christmas card says more about you personally, not culture in general... in short.. give her a birthday card and christmas card on those special days

Thank @franky1 for this great advice. You have just taught me an important lesson. I accept that it is my fault that she doesn't know what a card is because it is not commonly used in my house. These days people pay more attention to taking birthday pictures and sharing them with friends and families through diverse social media platforms. But I don't have to follow the trend because I cherish cards. We have decided in our home to always give cards to any of our friends or family members during Christmas or other celebrations. At least this could help my children grow up with this tradition.     

[Vod]

Not really, physical cards haven't gone into extinction but it depends on your age and the people that you mingle with.

Exactly!   All my aunts/uncles send xmas cards, but no one else does!

[bakasabo]

Not really, physical cards haven't gone into extinction but it depends on your age and the people that you mingle with.

Exactly!   All my aunts/uncles send xmas cards, but no one else does!

How does then younger generation give money as a present then at your place? Even if this is a gift card to a specific shop, at our place we still place a congratulation card with a text together with it in an envelope. If its cash as a present, there is always a card with a congratulation text, or a small congratulation verse (from google obviously).

However, I have noticed other the thing. Even kids now give money as presents or gift cards to each others on birthdays instead of toys, books (refers to first grade and older kids at my place).

[ThemePen]

I completely understand why you miss physical greeting cards. Technology has changed how we communicate making digital greetings more common. But there is something special about physical cards that digital ones can not replace. I also treasure memories of giving and receiving physical cards on birthdays and holidays. Choosing the right card writing kind message and mailing it to loved ones made it extra special. But now it is limited to social media means to Whatsapp to Telegram or other recourses like this.
I think we should bring it back. This way future generations can experience the happiness and love that comes with holding a real card.

[uneng]

They are already extinct. I think the last one I saw was about 8 or 10 years ago. Nowadays you receive invitations and greetings cards through Whatsapp in a daily basis. Probably only fancy and very traditional people use physical cards for their meetings and presentations yet. Everyone else goes through the cheapest and most practical route. The charm of past times is gone. Nothing is made to last for a long time these days, neither to make your eyes shine or to make you inspired. Everything is banal and ordinary.

[Kcrypto18]

There is something very personal about receiving physical cards over digital ones. With physical cards, being able to see someone's thoughts in their own handwriting feels more intimate. Unfortunately, with the present digital age, physical cards are becoming more rare. With invitation cards in particular, it can be more convenient to send them digitally for rsvp purposes.

We have decided in our home to always give cards to any of our friends or family members during Christmas or other celebrations. At least this could help my children grow up with this tradition.     

This will also be a great way to bond with your kids. If you have any on the younger side and can't write yet, you can provide them with stickers to help decorate the cards.

[LTU_btc]

If we're talking about practical use of such cards, it's already extinct. People only use use it on very special occasions. In last 10 or even more years I got such cards maybe 3 times. Two times it was invitation to wedding and another one was invitation to anniversary of company where I worked back then.
And even when it comes to elderly people, they also don't use these cards anymore. Quite many of them don't have problems to use tecnologies and things like Messenger. Probably most of you are familiar with some elderly ladies who are posting images with flowers, coffee, wishing have a nice days and similar stuff.
These cards isn't going to disappear completely, but only going to be used on special occasions, while in daily life it's going to be replaced by modern technologies.

[Zlantann]

They are already extinct. I think the last one I saw was about 8 or 10 years ago. Nowadays you receive invitations and greetings cards through Whatsapp in a daily basis. Probably only fancy and very traditional people use physical cards for their meetings and presentations yet. Everyone else goes through the cheapest and most practical route. The charm of past times is gone. Nothing is made to last for a long time these days, neither to make your eyes shine or to make you inspired. Everything is banal and ordinary.

Good point. Physical cards are very expensive to buy and also distribute. People are trying to cut costs by all means making online cards more commonly used. I just recalled how much money and time it took me to distribute my wedding cards. I wouldn't want to go through such stress just to distribute a card. Online cards are cheaper, faster to send and can access anybody or place. But I have decided to keep card memories, at least within my immediate and extended family. This, I want to rekindle the love and joy cards bring. I will be attending a birthday this Sunday, the celebrant will definitely receive a birthday card from my family.