Nostalgia

Most people in today’s generation always look for ways in which communication can be had in easier and faster ways. This includes having instant messaging and e-mail in cellular phones, 24-hour news, twitter feeds, having multi-platform messaging applications among others. Development in social networking sites is also directed to this goal of ease in communication by enabling chat and video chat and easy access to groups.

However, the convenience brought by today’s technology seems to weigh down on us by overwhelming us with information. There is also this problem of sorting out that information which makes cluttering a major problem. This downside made some of technology dependent people realize that slower means of communication such as the snail mail can never be really killed by its faster counterparts. There is beauty in handwritten letters – the effort of putting words down in paper makes them more meaningful and warm.

It is through the Internet that I came to know about a project that encourages snail mail. It’s called snailmailmyemail.org that allowed participants to e-mail something that would be handwritten by volunteers free of charge! The participant can also ask to customize the letter by inserting a doodle, a lipstick mark or a flower petal. The call for e-mails lasted a month only – its true aim is to encourage actual letter writing from the participants themselves.

The appeal is quite nice. Maybe people should really start sending their important and honest mails by hand instead of letting them linger on e-mails where the possibility of hacking always awaits.

James Anthony Mina #10