Is use of a '&' (ampersand) a sign of laziness?

I’ve noticed recently that in more and more emails (and to a lesser degree, text messages) the author is using & instead of ‘and’ in the text.

Examples: “Jill & I are going to a concert this weekend” or “don’t forget to bring the salad & wine to the picnic”.

Although I know what they mean, it seems like ’&’ is just them being lazy. Would it take that much more effort to write ‘and’?

Would you write a note with an ’&’?