Bring back handwritten letters
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
For the last few months, I've been developing a pen-pal habit with a close friend. At first it was just something fun to do, but it has since become a bulwark against existential dread.
Why it matters: Most Americans haven't written a personal letter in years.
- The letters we share are open and friendly, unbothered by the prying eye of modern digital living. There is no AI using our words as training data, no corporation scraping our letters for targeted advertising — it's an incredibly freeing way to communicate.
By the numbers: According to a 2024 report by the USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG), correspondence mail fell 34% between 2008 and 2023.
- A 2018 OIG report found that first-class mail correspondence between households plummeted more than 60% between 2001 and 2016.
Before we wrote letters, this friend and I would casually share memes on Instagram or occasionally text on holidays. Now our conversations are rich, thoughtful and fulfilling.
- "When you write a letter these days, there is no immediacy or urgency." says Celia Cheng, owner and artist behind Cravings Media, a letterpress print and studio shop based in Honolulu.
- "The immediacy of our digital age in transmitting information is effective but not intimate. So while less people write and send physical cards, the people who do, take it more seriously."
Between the lines: We also underestimate how impactful handwritten correspondence can be. In one study, researchers at the University of Texas, Austin found that recipients of thank-you notes were happier to get them than senders anticipated.
Zoom in: Cheng recommends extending that same joy to yourself.
- "Sit down and write a letter to yourself. You can mail it, hide it so you can find it years later, or even burn it after you write it. It's just a good way to get in touch with yourself."
I've started writing letters more often and have found it to be incredibly therapeutic.
- I've moved up birthday reminders in my phone so I have time to mail a card, and whenever a friend comes to mind because of something I see or do, I drop them a short letter to say I'm thinking about them.
- You never know, maybe they'll write back!
