Unit 2.3 Business Communication - the end of email?

Whilst visiting Mumbai for an IB Workshop, I came across an article in The Times of India that claims email could become obsolete within ten years as millions of teenagers switch to other forms of communication.

A recent report authored by Professor David Zeitlyn from the University of Kent (UK) shows that an increasing number of teenagers are ditching emails for speedier forms of communication such as instant messaging and social networking websites. With the increasing popularity with electronic devices such as the iPhone and alternatives such as Twitter and Facebook, emails are being perceived as too slow, inconvenient and unfashionable. The latter two methods allow teenagers to send a single message to all their friends at once, thereby saving time and money compared to text messaging or emailing (which requires typing in email addresses). But will email still have a paramount role in businesses?

Question

Discuss the pro’s and con’s of emailing as a form of business communication.