Letter vs. Txtn

October 8, 2009 LW 102 9-11 am

The Decease of Letter Writing

Letter writing has all but disappeared in society today due to technologies such as e-mail and text messaging. Both of these technologies make the process of writing a letter and sending it through the mail much easier. Text messaging refers to messages being sent from one mobile phone to another. E-mail describes a system for sending and receiving messages over a computer network. Texting and E-mail have become part of people’s daily lives. Many people couldn’t imagine living without both. Even though texting and E-mailing are great things they are also making Americans lazy. When writing a letter you have to take the time to sit down and get your thoughts to process on paper. When writing letters you have to worry about correct spelling and vocabulary. Another big part of writing letters is grammar; it takes years sometimes to learn how to properly use the correct grammar and punctuation. Sometimes a major challenge in writing is being able to express an argument or a complete thought on paper. All of these things on top of technology contribute to why people don’t take the time to write letters anymore. E-mail also contributes to letter writing disappearing because even before texting became so popular there was e-mail. E-mail allows not only messages, but documents in little time. E-mail is convenient for PC users who are on the computer 24/7. E-mail allows you to send things like pictures and videos to another computer in less time it takes to mail a letter. E-mail is also cheap because most websites offer free e-mail addresses. Also most people who work in offices or from home rely on their e-mails very much to receive important information from their jobs quickly. Text messaging is another reason why letter writing has disappeared. Some people consider text messaging as their voice or identity. Texting is also one of the least expensive forms of communication and sends messages in less time than it takes to write. People text because it’s convenient and is like an extension of a PC. Unlike writing a letter, in text messaging you don’t have to worry about spelling because you can use short words and not have the correct spelling. Also in texting there is practically no grammar or punctuation. E-mail and text messaging are just two reasons why letter writing has deceased. These two technological advancements are much more convenient and easier to access. People are still communicating and sharing their original and personal thoughts with other people. So even though writing letters has disappeared somewhat people still express themselves in other ways.