NO ONE WRITES LETTERS ANYMORE

literacy ain't what it used to be.
the written word has gone out of fashion. it's not that we, on the whole and as an average, can't read and write. it's that we, on the whole and as an average, don't. it almost seems to be an outdated form of communication. a long winded form of self expression. in this modern age of convenience, the effort exceeds the reward.

i don't consider myself old fashioned. i think of myself as a man who looks forward. i've always been pro technology and i'm generally excited about what tomorrow may bring, but technology has its drawbacks. it seemed to have spawned a collective sense of impatience, at least in the world of communication. there's a cell phone in almost every american pocket. emails are sent and received in the span of a few clicks. social networking sites are big business. we are all just seconds away from a connection. staying in touch is easier than its ever been but that ease, i believe, has made the interactions dull.

since the act of sending a text message or shooting someone an email is so simple, rarely is much thought put into it. text messages even have a limit to how many characters can be typed and sent. my cell provider has a 160 character limit. even though this digital form of writing has become wildly popular, it seems to be more harmful to our writing skills than good. text messages created a whole new form of slang. lol. wtf. omg. etc. its all abbreviations, acronyms and misspellings. emails aren't much better. everything is short and sweet. with a limited vocabulary, these messages are usually vague and easily misunderstood. few adjectives and no nuance.

i just miss the feeling of finding a letter in my mailbox. its a great lift to one's self esteem. knowing someone sat down and spent time thinking about what was on there mind and taking the time to put it into words. carefully chosen words picked with patience and without interuption. i miss the feeling of sharing my thoughts and experiences without time constraints or argument. to freely go off on tangential anecdotes. to know i'm lifting someone else's self esteem a little bit. i'd take a poorly written letter over a "how r u? watz nu?" text message anyday. one of those times when the thought actually does count.

can't we find the time to ponder ideas? are we too busy to imagine? is the act of putting a pen to paper and patiently choosing the most appropriate words such a hassle?