Startling leaps in in how we connect

That moment made me realise how communication modes have changed over the past 30 years. Prior to the 1970s, all written messages were transmitted either by Telex or cable or through physical delivery via postal service or messengers. Domestic mail used to take from seven to 10 days for delivery and international mail up to a few weeks. Urgent messages could be sent by cable, which shortened the conveyance time to a couple of days, whereas Telex was the only real-time message transmission then but it was primarily employed by point-to-point users such as banks.

Then came the fax machine, one of the greatest inventions of office equipment of all time. It was like the microwave oven for households. The fax machine gained popularity rapidly in the mid-1970s, although it was first invented back in 1866, because of its ability to transmit images and not just typewritten words. Since then, the volume of mail and cables began to decrease.

The Internet era in the mid-1990s was the greatest leap forward of communication and information technology of our age, together with the cellphone and its SMS feature. This breakthrough has affected all walks of life, business included.

People in their early 50s have witnessed enormous technological advancement of all kinds. From abacus to handheld calculator, from piles of document to thumb drives, from days of spreadsheet calculations to just minutes, from hand-painted billboards to inkjet banners. And the list goes on.

These days children under the age of 12, especially those who live in the city with alternative communication modes, probably don't even know what postage stamps are, let alone collect them.

Hard-copy information sources are things of the past. Kids will soon find the local library a very strange place.