Handwriting — An Asset
“The only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.” — John Adams
When I look back to my childhood days, one of the skills schools focused on was handwriting, where we try to master those loops and curves in the worksheet and then slowly try to master the writing speed with perfection. The first writing was in pencil, and as the time passed, the pencil changed into ink pen and ink pen into gel pen and gel pen into a ballpoint pen, where there were multiple changes in styles and strokes.
One of the classroom discussions is about handwriting, like how person X writes so neat, why we end up scribbling, etc. Years back, we gift people hand-made cards and shared our thoughts on letters. We scribble on papers doing some random artwork. Reflecting on those moments, I wonder how lives have changed since then.
We all know how rapidly technology has grown in recent years. The growth has reduced the use of writing it down on paper. The usage of handwritten letters and greeting cards has almost vanished, and we end up sending a quick text message to convey anything we want to. Nowadays, we don’t write much on paper. All we do is type things out in a notepad, from taking notes to making lists. Everything has changed into digital now.
Despite the tremendous growth, writing is still part of our lives, and it is essential, though we do it less. Personally, I find comfort when I write things down rather than typing. Situations around me have reduced my writing, but I write whenever I feel like and want to, apart from essential writing.
Many of us think handwriting is just to write and present exam papers neatly. Whether handwriting is just a skill that we learn in school and helps us write exams and forget as lives move on?
Nope, not at all. Handwriting is a tool to showcase the content we know via writing in exams. Nowadays, there are many more parameters apart from writing on paper to showcase and test knowledge. Handwriting has much more benefits apart from writing exams.
Some of the benefits are,
- When we write it down, the brain holds the information in mind rather than typing it out and improves the memory.
- According to the Norwegian Center for Learning and Behavioral Research, reading handwritten text causes more brain activation than reading typed information.
- Handwriting improves fine motor skills, for example, hand-eye coordination.
- Handwriting enhances the cognitive development of kids.
- According to a New York Times study, cursive writing promotes brain synchronization between the left and right hemispheres.
- Handwriting helps think out of the box and improves creativity and brainstorming ideas. For example, when we write things randomly on paper, we get more ideas of what we want.
- Writing your thoughts on paper makes you feel peaceful and reduce stress. Yes, personally, I found this helpful many times, and I thank the ones who suggested that I do this on rough days.
- Handwriting helps to improve comprehension since writing is slower than typing and makes us understand what we write, improving concentration. Also, it enhances spelling proficiency.
- Handwriting the notes improves what is noteworthy to note, and the way we write helps to understand things better than typing things out.
- Handwriting is one of the therapy tools to combat Dyslexia.
- Handwriting improves patience and reduces distractions.
- Handwriting is an art that people do to enhance creativity, like calligraphy.
Apart from the benefits mentioned, there wouldn’t be any books without if writing wasn’t developed. In the early days, without technology, writing helped to note transactions, information to be passed on, let out feelings, share stories, converse with people, and much more. There are various forms of handwriting, and it has evolved since the early days.
The technology reduced the amount of writing time in the lives of many. Since the pandemic days, people have wanted to spend time away from technology, and one among the things they rely on is writing on paper and exploring creativity.
One myth that I hear is analyzing the personality based on handwriting which worries many people, especially the school students. This is known as Graphology, which analyzes writing to determine someone’s personality traits. Still, no scientific evidence supports Graphology, and it is generally considered a pseudoscience. I would suggest everyone not worry about this and just write to your best. During the timed writing, write it to be legible to read. One question that comes to mind is how to improve handwriting, and all you have to do is practice, and practice gives progress.
Today, 23rd January, is known as National Handwriting Day to honor the significance of handwriting in our daily lives. This was started in 1977 by Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association to encourage pens, pencils, and writing paper. This is observed on the birthday of John Hancock, the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence. Though this day didn’t gain much attention in the early days. Now the art of handwriting is getting lost slowly and promoting the significance of writing.
