I am a sucker for causes/charities and have a number of friends who solicit donations for various charities on their Facebook pages–usually it’s one of those–“I’m trying to raise X amount for YY organization for my birthday.” Recently, I contributed to a couple of these solicitations from FB and real life friends. Didn’t get confirmation or thanks. Not looking for it; I usually write a note or send emails thanking people. My kids say I’m a dinosaur and that it’s not necessary to do this and only “old” people do it. Agree? Disagree?
A thank you note will never go out of style. It may have switched from vellum note cards to email, but it still considered well-mannered to send.
Now, “contribute to my charity for my birthday present” solicitations seem downright gauche, especially if not a one-off, so little wonder no TY is received. 
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I’m just sitting down now to write several thank you notes- I will mail them. I think text or email is fine too but no acknowledgment is just bad manners in my opinion.
I’ve contributed to plenty of causes and my friends always acknowledge but I find the younger set, not so much. They had my email to send a donation link so why not email a thank you.
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I still write thank you notes (or emails or texts). But… I will admit that these days it is mostly to show appreciation. There was a time (before shipping confirmations, donations via websites, etc) where the thank you note also ensured the gift giver that the gift did indeed arrive.
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Both my kids wrote notes to their great aunt at Christmas, and my younger sent notes to her teachers who wrote recommendations last month for a summer program, so they’re not completely outdated.
I’d remind the kids that the “old people” they think thank you’s are for are precisely the people writing their recommendations, giving them gifts, etc. They can certainly not send a note to a classmate, if they don’t want to.
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So on the same idea my 23 year old sends post cards and receives them from a set group of friends. She likes some of the “old” traditions… Yes, she sends thank you notes when needed also. She says she feels happy when she gets the postcards etc. These are kids from all around the world.
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When they were growing up, I made my kids write thank you notes. Now that they are grown I have had several occasions where people made a point to tell me that they had received recent thank you notes from one of my kids and how happy it made them.
I agree that in general, a lot of people don’t write them anymore, but you can’t go wrong making the effort.
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I was always taught (and consequently taught DD) that if someone goes out of their way to do something for you, chooses something for a gift, thinks of you or acknowledges an achievement, you absolutely do the right thing and send a thank you note. She wrote thank you notes for college interviewers, teachers who wrote letters of recommendation for her, and last October she even sent one to DH and me thanking us for supporting her and helping her get to college. Who knew she was even listening?
I just don’t think class and grace ever go out of style.
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I write thank you notes all the time and encouraged my children to do the same from an early age. They started as toddlers by just drawing a picture of what they were thankful for but now as teenagers have continued doing so with lovely handwritten notes. I don’t think you are a dinosaur. I think it’s important to show people you’re thankful.
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