As the digital age unfolds, everything has leapt. Since the pandemic, everything has gone online. In the name of smart learning, every school has digitally improved and every kid is better familiar with a laptop than with a button phone. It’s no surprise that as technology has become an increasingly integral part of our lives, the traditional act of writing is waning.
The ease of the world allowing us to sync documents to every portable device, has made the purpose of handwriting almost redundant. Aside from its charm on certain tasks, writing has far more utility than its given credit for. Handwriting has advantages, both creatively and functionally. It forms a unique and irreplaceable part of our culture. Our ancestors have followed the tradition of writing our names on golden plates filled with raw rice. It’s scientifically proven that the tips of our fingers have nerves that stimulate parts of the brain that activate memory retention.
The ability to write is closely linked with the ability to read and comprehend. We are taught to hold our pencils and make different patterns on paper during our primary classes. The fine and precise patterns that our hands create trigger many senses, contact different parts of our brain, create contact with different parts of our brain and open up our brain for learning. Since the brain is constantly at work, it improves our motor and literacy skills. In addition, it has plenty of cognitive benefits too! Writing by hand allows time to slow down our thoughts enabling the reader to expand and give wings to his imagination. Pen and paper are not restrictive and especially do not come with distractions.
Handwriting has an emotional aspect too! When you open an old wooden box from your garage and see your grandmother’s written recipes, it makes you feel written recipes, it makes you feel closer to her! There’s some comfort in holding the paper your grandmother once wrote in. A handwritten letter from a friend on a special occasion would portray the efforts they took to make you feel a little extra special and speaks volumes!
Although we could replace writing on paper with smart tabs and stylus, nothing could match the feel pen and paper would give. Let’s face it—technology is bound to continue to develop. It’s not a debate between handwriting and technology, there is a place for both. However, handwriting has proven to have a good deal of advantages for the future generation!