An article appeared in the April 1st edition of the New York Times about the (possibly?) inevitable disappearance of voice mail, as people, especially younger folks, turn to and prefer text-messaging and email.

What’s wrong with voice mail? Well, according to the article, IT TAKES TOO LONG TO CHECK.

But in an age of instant information gratification, the burden of having to hit the playback button — or worse, dial in to a mailbox and enter a pass code — and sit through “ums” and “ahs” can seem too much to bear.

Or how about, IT’S REALLY CONFUSING. AND TIRING.

“If you left a message, I have to dial in, dial in my code,” Ms. Cheong said. “Then I mess up and redial. Then once I hear the message, I need the phone number. I try to write it down, and then I have to rewind the message to hear it again,” she added, feigning exhaustion.

Hmm… I don’t know. Is this just another silly trend piece about the short-attention span of the youth of today and their addiction to cutting-edge technology? Or do you think voice mail will go the way of the VCR, into the dustbins of techno-history?