Vintage postcards: a collection of 5000 vintage postcards of Rimini and other areas of the Adriatic Riviera. Postcards of Rimini beach, sea and holidays on the Adriatic Riviera. During recent years internet has revolutionized the long standing methods of sending greetings through a simple post card (with a stamp glued on with a little saliva). Thanks to web pages and email, users are now able to attach high resolution pictures and also post their photos on the many Social networks (like Facebook) or image and video hosting websites (like Flickr) adding descriptions and allowing friends to comment. This is why postcards are now considered old fashioned and are hardly used. Before checking some of Rimini’s postcards why not read the following article which ties in nicely with what has just been explained.
In Italy 2010, only 35 million postcards have been sent against the 120 million postcards of 1997. Every year 350 million postcards are sent in France and 69% of the French send postcards while on vacation
Less and less people use postcards because it’s much faster to send greetings using Facebook and Flickr, which was specifically designed for sharing personal photos. Twitter is concise: “kisses from #Jakarta” and the lazy can still opt for picture texting. Others still prefer using the outdated and old fashioned postcards. Last year 35 million postcards have been sent from Italy, 10 million less in comparison to 2006. This is in stark contrast with the 120 million postcards sent in 1997. The Italian Postal Service also confirms that this trend is affecting all other European countries. Just a few days ago Le Monde wrote that in France 350 million postcards are sent every year, 81% of which are sent during the summer even if the french population is just slightly superior to the italian (65 million against 60 + million). It’s true, the French have the Ville Lumière, one of the most popular cities in the world but a study made by the LH2 Institute reveals that on a sampling of 1.006 french (the cousins beyond the Alps), 69% still remembers to send a postcard when on vacation.
The decrease in correspondence is strictly connected to the trends preferred by the new generations. We now own many personal gadgets that offer the same functions and in addition give us the possibility of retouching reality. Alberto Marinelli, Professor in New media Theories and Techniques of the Italian University of Rome, adds «I personally don’t like “posting” holiday pictures during my vacation, i like letting some time pass between me and the journey. Even so others still get to know my location because my daughter keeps “tagging me” on her instant photos.
It’s impossible to say if this 70.8% collapse recorded during the last 13 years has impoverished the value of our relations. Fausto Colombo, professor of the Catholic University of Milan, expert in social effects of technology explains «Within recent years, social science has been investigating the type of communication experienced without focusing too much on the gadget used during the communication itself. For example a blog may be considered by many as as a new phenomena, even if really it’s just like a modern diary». Colombo believes that the «postcard» phenomena is made up of different factors. «There are three main elements that characterize a postcard: the concept of tourism, a picture personalized with a message and the use of postal services. Considering the human desire to communicate has remained unchanged the latest technologies are made up of the same three elements». Postman is one of the latest iPhone apps which enables users to send pictures transforming them into digital postcards with stamp included, this picture editing tool enables tourists to become “new” Doisneau artists by sending their own version of the Le Baiser (The Kiss) of the Hôtel de Ville. The sociologist Alberto Abruzzese adds: «The main elements connected to the postcard tradition are used when exchanging text and pictures through smartphones. These lasting values are ascribable to the old way of communicating».
The psychologist Gianna Schelotto clarifies the following: «By sending a postcard to a loved one we are actually saying “I love you” in the old fashioned way, which is also the most sincere way».