I’ve been doing a lot of work with senior citizens in the past 4-5 months. When I’m not reading about them, then I’m either talking to them, designing for them, or writing about them. I just have so much to learn from and about them. A big idea that was pointed out to me by a senior last week was that letter writing is a dying art. Many might disagree with this idea. After all, many people write upwards of 50 emails a day!

Email is not the same, I would argue. There is a difference between passing someone a quick outline of what is going on and writing a complete story that paints a picture of your life at this moment. Computers have a way of sucking the life out life. Emails turn into souped-up bullet point outlines, not coherent, well written prose. We should all work on our letter writing. Call me a luddite, but I don’t think losing this ability is something we want to do as a culture. One day we’ll wake up and realize our children cannot read (because they’re too busy watching TV or scanning websites) or write (because they’re too busy shooting off an email or making a PowerPoint presentation).

To help curb the downfall of writing, I’m starting a new initiative. I will write at least one paper letter each week. If I have your address, perhaps you’ll be one of my recipients…but I probably don’t have your address. Send me an email (jevnin at gmail dot com) and I’ll put your address on my list so I can send a letter.