Thanks to advancements in technology, communicating with people from a long distance is faster and more efficient than ever. We are able to send a text message that makes it to the recipient in mere seconds. We can even chat face-to-face with someone across the world at the touch of a button. Though barriers to technology access still exist, being connected to the whole world has never been easier than it is today.
Because information can be shared so widely and so quickly, we are being inundated with more history, news, and world events than ever. Before we have the opportunity to process the information from one story, it has been replaced by ten more. When the world feels like it’s moving so rapidly, it can be easy to forget what we had to do to keep in touch with our long-distance friends and family before this technology was available.
The art of writing letters is not quite lost, but it has changed dramatically. Where now we can draft, edit, delete, re-compose, and send a message in just minutes, we used to rely solely on paper and pen. Drafts could be written and re-written as many times as you pleased, but the time and patience it took to put the words on paper was part of the experience. In this way, it was more important to be thoughtful about the words you chose to avoid wasting time, ink, and paper.
Handwriting has also become less prevalent in the digital age, as almost everything that can be written by hand can also be typed, only faster. This could be one of the reasons that teaching children to write in cursive has largely fallen out of favor. In fact, only 21 states in America still teach cursive instruction. With this in mind, and with digital instruction becoming a standard in schools across America, it’s not hard to understand the shift away from letter-writing.
The second full week of January, this year falling from the 7th to the 13th, is Universal Letter Writing Week. It’s a chance to reflect back on how far communication and technology has come and to practice the slow, deliberate art of writing a letter.
As the holiday decorations come down, think about breaking out some paper, pencils, and investing in a book of stamps. Think about someone you have been meaning to connect with, but have not found the time. Or, think of a family member you haven’t spoken to in a while. Writing a letter simply for the pleasure of doing so is a small and thoughtful act that your friends or family will appreciate, and the holiday season is the perfect time to express those sentiments you’ve been holding onto during the year.
The fast pace of today’s world and the sheer amount of information we receive daily can be overwhelming. It can be all too easy to focus on negative things and miss all the positives in the world. To put things into perspective this holiday season, we encourage you to take stock of what is truly important to you. Don’t miss an opportunity to express your love and gratitude for those around you—and a great way to take advantage of those opportunities is by writing a letter!
Happy Universal Letter Writing Week, and Happy New Year from all of us at YWCA!
– Sarah Catalfu, YWCA Northwestern Illinois Literacy Council Literacy Coordinator
