Punctuation is important. Right...

I'm not sure where people learned typing and grammar (I'm not saying my punctuation and/or grammar is perfect; but at least I know the rules, even if I don't follow them), but there seems to be a misconception that two spaces are needed after a period. I'm not sure if this got started in grade school or middle school when we as students were struggling to write our five hundred word essay, but somehow the trend has continued for many into adulthood and professional life.
It baffles me. The two space after the period rule was created long ago in the age of typewriters, so that one could actually tell that there was a space between the period and the proceeding word. However, in this "new" digital age of computers, I think we've moved past the point of necessity; similar to the electoral college for presidential elections (I had to throw at least something about politics in there). The problem is that the majority of people, even working people, even professional working people, have simply not received the memo that the time of the two spaces after the period is over. I no longer have to count my words when turning in an assignment at the office, and I'm not trying my damnest to make my work assignment five pages by adding two spaces after a period and not only double spacing, but using the largest font I can find to expand the text to another page. If anything, our modern society, especially in professional settings, is about brevity* and keeping this tight and concise.
Get with the now - just ditch one of the spaces after the period.

*I'll freely admit that I am incredibly long-winded and therefore it is hypocritical of my to espouse brevity as a modus operandi. However, though I don't always follow my own advice, I think it's important to give it anyway.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself; I am large, I contain multitudes." ~ Walt Whitman