death of "thank you"

So I know that I'm going to come off as lame and old but I really want to know what happened to writing thank you notes or simply acknowledging that you received a gift. Particularly, when said gift or package was sent and not given in person.

I'm not saying that I'm the best at doing this myself. I usually send notes but they tend to be on the late side. Sometimes the reeeeeally late side.

I'm also not saying that you need to handwrite and send a note in the mail either (though that is the preferred method) unless, of course, it's in response to a wedding present or any type of shower gift. In those cases, handwritten notes are a must.

In some cases, a simple e-mail or phone call is just fine. If just that it lets the person sending the gift know that it arrived. Clearly, if you're with family and the person opens the gift in your presence and says thanks then, eh, you can get away without a more formal thank you if it's a close relative (siblings, nieces and nephews, parents). In-laws, of course, require thank yous.

The death of the thank you is making me consider adopting my Uncle Jimmy's gift giving policy - if he doesn't see you, you don't get anything (man, I'm going to miss my Barnes giftcard this year). But I don't like the idea of that either because I like buying and giving well-thought out presents or truly random care packages.

Oh well. I guess I'm getting old.