Technology's influence on the everyday

I called home to ask my 15 year old son if a package had arrived in the mail. He paused for a couple of seconds and said no. Confused, I asked him if he had gone outside to check the mail box. He said no that he had looked out the window and the flag wasn't up on the mailbox. I was silent for a second or two and then told him that you put the flag up on the mailbox to notify the mailman that you are mailing something and want to be sure that he stops to pick it up. It occurred to me then that he was more familiar with AOL and the image of the mailbox with the flag up followed by the "You've got mail" line. I don't think he's ever mailed a physical letter and I don't think I've ever actually discussed how to mail a letter with him. I don't mail many letters either, I use email and social networking sites. My youngest son thinks postage stamps are stickers and meant to be played with and used to decorate his drawings. (I have several pictures that could be mailed across the country).
When I was in elementary school, part of my English class was how to write a letter and address an envelope. Neither of my children have had this in their classes. I also remember learning the "safe" way to answer a phone when you were home alone. Now students learn how to be safe when surfing the internet. Technology is changing the day to day in more ways than I realized.