Email may soon be extinct

With more and more teenagers switching to instant messaging and social networking sites for speedy communication, email could be extinct within a decade, says a new report.

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The electronic form of contact is losing its charm as millions of teenagers ditch it as their main form of communication, said the study by social anthropologist from the University of Kent.

Although inboxes are still filling up daily all over the world, experts believe emails are dying out because they are too slow, too inconvenient and simply not fashionable any more.

The study commissioned by broadband provider TalkTalk found only 51 per cent of Britons in their teens or early twenties say email is their first choice of communication, The Daily Mail reported.

Email took 20 years to develop into the phenomenon it is now, but could take just half as long to die out again, said report author Professor David Zeitlyn.

Experts reckons people prefer the 'one and done' style of message, which is where a short message like those on Twitter, can be sent to all contacts at the same time.

Other email alternatives, such as instant messaging, texting and social networks like Facebook, are quick and easy and can be done anywhere with modern technology.