I read this interesting article on The Wall Street Journal today.

The article, in short, was on how the digital age has changed our daily lives. It goes on to say that in the past, letters were written, put into envelopes, sealed with love (or not!), stamped with exotic stamps and posted. The postman became a very important person for us to keep in touch with our loved ones, our friends etc.

What has happened now? The digital world has taken over….the flick of a switch and the keyboard and the press of the little “Enter” button and our mail gets sent all over the whole world. Instant messaging becomes a lifestyle and a necessity in our lives.

But, how do we compare the value of a letter (which we know was lovingly written, carefully folded, mindfully mailed and punctually delivered to the doorstep) to the click of a button?

No doubt, one could argue that the e-mail/ IM could also have been lovingly written … but try pressing the “Backspace” on the aerogramme! It just does not work!

I have not thought of this before, but come to think of it, I do really look forward to receiving hand written letters/ cards more than digital ones. I may be a little sentimental, but many would agree that the letter brings not only a form of communication, but also an emotional attachment to it.

A letter not only communicates its contents but also the emotions of the writer – like how the words were written and cancelled 5 times, like the ink that was used, the way which the handwriting slants (how many of us actually can identify our friend’s handwriting nowadays?), the way in which the letter was folded (I really hate people who fold the paper in a size which is way smaller than the envelope … stresses me!) etc ….

Oh, the feeling of longing to see the postman arriving with the much anticipated letter with the wonderful scent of the sender and the beauty in the handwriting … look what the digital world has made us miss out!

HOWEVER, how many of us will keep in touch if it was not for the beauty of technology?

Me … I am still storing away all those letters and cards which I receive over the years, sad to say that these are now all replaced with digital mails, SMSes etc. … how to keep these ah?!