In the world of email and the Internet, and of new social
media, the power of an instagram, or a tweet, or a text, or even email is
slowly diluted. We are awash in a sea of email and electronic messaging.
Telegrams are from another age and FAXes never had much power even at their
outset.
Some suggest picking up the phone. That was always bad for
the shy, but operated well enough for the past century. Face to face is always
good, though sometimes terrible for the shy, but it limits those you can
interact with.
There is another way that has been largely forgotten… the
written word on paper. Let us not go so far as long hand, though there is an art to
a handwritten letter that can touch one deeply. Let us accept printers and word
processors.
A mailed letter has an immediate impact which has in fact
grown in a world of communicated bits. A letter starts with the scuff marks on
the envelope, giving a real sense of travel. One interacts with the envelope in
a tactile way, taking possession of the message by opening and unfolding the
missive. There can be smells and sensations associated with the paper. There
can be joy at the letterhead and the signature, and at PS notes at the bottom.
Enough. It is the same argument people make over books
versus ebooks, and about theatre, and screened movies (and even DVDs) over
digitally delivered content.
Note to self: Write
some letters.
