Imagine this. You just got home from a long, draining day at work. You bring in the mail and see that you got something from your long-distance friend. Because of your busy schedules, you two haven’t talked in a while, so you’re curious about what they sent. You open it and find that it’s a long hand-written letter. Its content’s protected by a beautiful envelope, with your name and address written in whimsical cursive. Your friend even went as far as adding a little decorative wax seal emblem on the back. How does this make you feel?
Now, I want you to think of this. You just got home from a long, draining day at work. You can’t even think about looking at another screen since you’ve just spent the last 8 hours at the computer. But, your long-distance friend that you haven’t talked to in a while because of your busy schedules just sent you a long text message. How does this make you feel?
I would predict that, with the first scenario, you were probably bursting with excitement and curiosity about what the letter said. It’s rare that, in today’s late age of print, you’d get sent a hand-written letter in the mail. However, a text message is something that anyone (even brands) can send you at any time with very minimal thought or effort. Despite typed, digital text being far more convenient and simple, hand-written text on paper can totally be worth the hassle.
Hand-Written Text Vs. Typed Text
J.D. Applen introduced the term “writing space” in the article “Old Media, New Media, and Knowledge.” This means that the material and visual field we read from and compose on can be just as important, if not more, than the actual message behind the text. Applen also stated that, “Because we can write and change what we write so readily with word processing software, what is written loses its force as a powerful, perfect, and unchanging body of words.” I found this message to be incredibly interesting. With this, they are saying that, unlike digital, typed text, hand-written text is more permanent. Not only does this force the writer to be more thoughtful with what they put onto the paper, but it also emphasizes that it is not as easy just to delete and start over when hand-writing something.
Final Thoughts
All this to say, in our digital world, sometimes hand-writing things can be worth the extra trouble. It offers a more tactile connection to text, both for the writer and the reader. It allows writers to be more intentional with the words they put down. It helps with memorization and retention. It puts a smile on someone’s face when they see they received a hand-written letter. Ditch the typing and put a pen to the paper.
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