Snail Mail by stacymbass, via Flickr Creative Commons

I love the internet. I love social media. I love creative and fun links. I love being able to find information in 30 seconds of googling it. I really do love all these things. But the thing I don’t love about it all? This crazy techy/internet/amazing information at our fingertips has really made us disconnected from the process of real connection. It’s not to say real connection can’t happen over the internet, it can. But the connection that I feel sad about that I know I personally miss is the good old fashioned kind: a single heartfelt letter.

It’s not to say that I don’t get mail from people, I do from time to time, but it is usually in the form of a card with a simple message, a package being sent to me, or an invitation to an event or party. With the exception of an ATC I received a few weeks back in the mail, I can’t remember the last time I actually got a hand written letter from someone. And part of the fault is my own.

I have tons of cool stationary…heck, I could whip something up in a design program if I wanted to as well. I just haven’t made the effort to actually mail a letter to someone else in years. Every now and then I think about it and it saddens me. I have a friend from back in college that isn’t all that keen on social media. We keep in touch over e-mail every now and then, but what I truly miss are the letters that we sent back and forth to each other during our summers home. It was just so much more intimate and caring and just the act of pen to paper let me know she really cared about me and wanted to tell me a story. It just felt good.

Part of me wants to rally others to “Take letter writing back” and start sending snail mail again, but every time I think about it, my mind becomes consumed with something else and I don’t make the effort. I think at this point, a major lifestyle change (forcing myself to stay off the internet/limiting my usage), for me to do this. In this information overload day and age, I can see where this could happen for me down the road.

I actually just read a great article on Craftypod that had been posted on the now defunct Make and Meaning Blog. It talks about what we are reading, the quality of the content, and how the overwhelming content can lead to major distraction and less quality of life. It’s insightful and thought provoking. Something to atleast think about. Maybe if I weren’t so caught up in aimless facebook photos or searches, I could find time to make stronger human connections.

What are your thoughts? Do you miss letters as much as I do? And should we bring the pen pal back in a way? Maybe this is why people love swaps so much!

Anywho, hope you have a great Wednesday!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa