"All right class, it's time to practice our penmanship," Mrs. Clark tells her second graders in a cheerful voice. "Everyone get out your pen and paper."
Mrs. Clark's second graders respond with befuddled faces.
"I'm just kidding! Everyone grab your iPad 20 and lets get started!"
The children groan as they pull out their transparent screens. Mrs. Clark continues, "Since we're going to be writing a letter to a family member today, we will be using SpaceSerif font. This font will give your letters a personal touch..."
The students' fingertips fly across their LCD screens as digitized type emerges at a quickening pace.
"...and our goal is 400 words per minute." she continues. "And be sure those auto-spell-correctors are turned on." Satisfied, Mrs. Clark takes a seat and begins grading the class's last e-assignment on her iPad 20 Teacher's Edition.
Is this scenario realistic in the not-to-distant future? Personally, I think it's inevitable. We voraciously gobble up the latest digital trends and beam with pride as we show them off to our friends. The old ways of doing things are dying at an exponential rate. Children scoff at the idea of going to a library. Google it! They listen in wonder to tales of our ancient "Pen Pals," "YellowBook Pages," and "Rand McNally Maps." They shudder at the idea of a world without cell phones
I'm not trying to sound like an antiquated old goat. I have a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science and run our practice's web page, Facebook page, Twitter account, Google listings, Space Station, E-mail/Text Reminder Service, Blog, Teleportation Device, and e-newsletter (only two of those are fictional). Furthermore, my handwriting looks like footwriting. I welcome the digital age.
Last week, however, I recieved these via snail-mail:
These letters touched a neglected part of my heart that has grown dusty in the recent years. Upon receiving these hand-written letters, I realized the power of pen strokes on paper. There is something conveyed via a hand-written note that ASCII characters on a screen cannot capture. Each wobbly letter made me feel plugged-in and connected -- phrases we usually reserve for some i-gadget.
I'll admit, I was surprised that a hand-written letter, something commonplace not that long ago, could move me so much. Dagnabbit it did, though, and now I wonder if we're going to lose this personal connection to one another as our lives become further and further digitized. I hope not. But then again, what do I know? I am writing all of this on a digital blog, after all.
Maybe I'm just set in my ways, as people often are. A dentist in the past probably complained about the loss of the singing telegram. A future dentist will probably lament about how the kids' new i-holograms (only $30,000) will never beat the personal touch of a Facebook post. Maybe the manner of building community is different for every generation, and this post just shows my lack of understanding of where we're headed. Maybe we're doomed. Maybe nirvana is right around the corner. Maybe I'm digressing. No, I'm definitely digressing, and I'm pretty sure I've just reached my official pontification limit for a single post.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail, text message, Facebook message, or Twitter me. Or, just write :)
-DRS
www.northfordfamilydental.com
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