I wrote a letter by hand to my grandmother who lives in England. The usual way that we communicate is via snail mail or by phone. Because she is a widow and lives alone, her favorite thing is to receive a letter in the mail. It does not matter if the letter is short or long or has nothing important written in it, it is the highlight of her week. I get a letter back in the mail from her in less than a week thanking me for the letter I sent.
I start the letter with:
Dear Nanny,
I hope things are going well for you. I recently moved to Truckee California, about 50 miles north of where I was living before. I like it here a lot. The weather is always perfect, it’s not too hot or too cold.
I just wanted to send you this letter with a few pictures to thank you for being there for me….
I continue on with a few more paragraphs and then close the letter by saying “I hope to hear from you soon, Love Katie”
I then typed an email to my Mom. It started out with:
Hi,
It’s been a while since I talked to you last. I’ve been busy with work and school and I also just moved. Sierra and I like our new place a lot.
I was just thinking about you and wanted to thank you for everything you help me with. It really means a lot to me, and I appreciate everything you have done.
I just did the death ride this past weekend with a friend from work….deathride.com. You should look at the website.
Katie
In comparison to the letter, the e-mail was a lot less personal, and a lot more brief. There were a lot less emotions in it, and reading it again now, it was very short.
Email has changed our society a lot. Instead of writing letters it seems like we all send emails. We can send digital pictures and even video as attachments in our e-mails. As much as I love technology and the ability to type an email and know that the recipient has it less than fifteen seconds later, there is something nice about a handwritten letter. It shows that more time and effort was taken. The sender had to write the letter, find and address an envelope, buy a stamp, and take the letter to the post office.
Much like the way Postman talks about the fact that technology does not necessarily mean better medicine, technology does not mean better communication. Although technology has made communication easier and faster, it has removed the personal aspects from it. There is no longer an envelope to open and a handwritten letter to read. All we are left looking at is a computer screen.
I think that it was convenient to send my Mom and e-mail because it was very quick, but also it was a lot less personal. I imagined her sitting at her computer desk reading it along with all of the other junk mail in her inbox. I think the letter was a lot less valued than the physical one I sent to my grandmother. I can imagine her sitting around her kitchen table reading it, and then talking about it with all of her friends for the next few days.
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I like what you said about the e-mail being less valued that snail mail. I completely agree and felt the same way in my letter writing. While I love the convenience and ease of e-mail, something just gets lost and I really think it is that personal feeling you get knowing someone took the time to sit down and write. Especially today, when getting a handwritten letter is much less common, I think that makes it even more special to the recipient.
ReplyDeleteMy experience was very similar to your's: I wrote much less in the email and it didn't seem as heartfelt as my letter. To me, the email felt much less formal, and I know that was reflected in my language, especially in terms of the emotion I expressed (or lack there of). I also sent the handwritten letter to my grandparents. I think that form of communication is much more important to older generations. While we don't often get letters today, I think our generation tends to view them more as a novelty than the rare pleasure that other generations see them as.
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