Why is paper mail still a thing? Do we still need the post office to deliver mail?

While going through mail and seeing all the newspapers, ads, and junk mail that people just throw out, it got me thinking, why is all this stuff still being sent out? It seems like such a waste of paper. The mail carriers are delivering all this paper every day and a good amount of it is basically garbage.

Over the years I have made sure to unsubscribe from as much of these mailings as possible so I do not get that much. I also signed up for the e-delivery of many statement type correspondence which also helps reduce the amount of mail. But many people do not bother with these things so they end up with a ton of paper mail that is unnecessary.

The same can be said about newspapers. I find it hard to believe that people are still paying to have yesterdays news delivered to them in paper form. I know newspaper subscriptions are way down from what they used to be and I understand some of the older generation who are not tech savvy still read newspapers, but sooner or later I think this format should be phased out completely.

The same goes for paper mail. With the option to deliver bills, notices, and letters electronically, there is little need to deliver these items physically by mail. Maybe some local businesses want to send out ads to the nearest residents and the mail is the best option for this so I can see how they may want to keep this option open.

I'm not saying the post office and mailboxes should be done away with completely. Packages that contain physical goods still need to be delivered and the post office is one of the many services that provides this. I think they should continue with the package delivery and local ads if necessary, but other junk mail should start being phased out.

It needs to be easier to unsubscribe from these mailings. Sometimes they have a contact you can reach out to in order to get unsubscribed from their list, but on a lot of these mailings for things like credit card offers, they do not give any option to get off the list. Many times I even visit the company websites and search around for a contact or some way to unsubscribe and they do not offer it.

We are now in the 2020's and it is time we start making the effort to switch away from paper. There are now quicker, safer, and more sustainable ways to deliver mail.