Extinction of handwriting
So, especially since I’ve been out of school, the amount of time that I write using paper and pen is increasingly lowering percentage-wise in comparison with how much I write electronically. The one exception I really have to this is when I journal (although now with blogs, perhaps I am writing even less in my journal.)
The other day at work I was writing a post-it note to somebody that I was going to stick in their mailbox on a stack of papers I was giving them. I finished the note, and realized I had to write the exact same note to somebody else, and I actually thought “COPY, PASTE!” (or apple C, apple v) It was as if my brain was in shock that I would actually have to write something twice, and it’s immediate first reaction was to try to copy and paste!! I was in disbelief about this about my brain.
So then I started thinking… it seems as if handwriting is becoming more and more extinct… and I just wondered… do you think in like 50 years or 100 years, that they probably won’t even teach kids to write in school??? Crazy thought huh!
May 18th, 2006 at 8:31 am
Actually I had just been thinking about this in the last couple days. Maybe it has its uses though. I”m not sure which developed finger dexterity better and maybe it’s a natural extension from coloring, but I think you are right. It could change drastically. Then again, with UMPCs maybe we will be writing well into the future.
May 18th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Actually, what I notice more than the lack of handwriting is the deterioration in spelling skills. Spelling errors proliferate at the speed of the Web, so now it’s common to see “it’s” and “its” used interchangeably, along with “your” and “you’re.” Of course these get through spelling checkers because they’re spelled correctly but people aren’t using their heads.
Then there are the intentional misspellings, such as “2″ for “too” and “to.” Annoying to read, but demanded by people who are using a cell phone for their Email.
I feel positively dinosaurian in my diction and spelling…
May 18th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
I love writing by hand though. I don’t want to get rid of it. If there were ever a standard implemented I would resist and start a revolt. Who’s coming with me?
P.S. do you know why the keyboard is set up the way it is?
May 25th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Surely it won’t become obsolete.
June 5th, 2006 at 2:09 am
Interesting thought. Though my writing is so messy that I’m sure people would be glad to see the back of it!
It’s been a while since you’ve blogged…how are you doing?
June 5th, 2006 at 7:15 am
I have noticed my own penmanship skills going downhill since I started doing the majority of my writing on the computer. Now that mine is so messy, I find myself admiring beautiful handwriting wherever I see it!