I will begin this post by doxxing myself a little. I grew up in the transition period of internet communication. When I found out about email it was new enough that the idea of sending a message that arrives instantly was novel and cool. But I was also too young to have actually sent regular mail at that point.
I send more mail now. It’s great! I highly recommend it.
Yes, I am talking about physical mail. Email is cool too, if it is sent with real intent to communicate. But there are enough blog posts on that topic.
I have a certain friend who I met over Discord. At some point I started sending Christmas cards, and later just random letters. It’s fun, and it’s a deeper connection than I think you can get from just chatting. A letter is longer form than a Discord (or IRC or Signal or any other chat app) comment. It’s an artifact, something you can hold in your hands. I do not think our friendship would be nearly as strong at this point if we did not have our letters.
Even if you have other channels of communication with somebody (no matter what your relationship is), physical mail is unique, irreplicable. You read it when you get it—you reread it—you reread it again—you hold it in your hand.
I almost wish I was reckless enough to post my address on here for all of you, dear readers, to send me mail.
There are websites where you can sign up to exchange mail. Postcrossing is one—postcards are still a thing! There are also many smaller, more specialized exchanges for various groups and communities scattered around the internet. Those are harder to link to.
I prefer the more specific ways of sending mail: to people I already know, or at least share an interest with. I was on Postcrossing for a short while. but for me, the fun of trading mail with completely random people wore off quickly. I need to preexisting connection to really write something.
Send mail! It’s not only fun (it’s very fun), it’s also a genuinely nice way of staying in touch with people you care about.
