--- title: National Handwriting Day: Why Handwriting Matters description: It's part of our identity canonical: https://time.com/4177513/national-handwriting-day/ author: Peggy Post article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-22T14:00:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:00:40.956Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Handwriting Matters in a Digital World og:description: It's part of our identity og:url: https://time.com/4177513/national-handwriting-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc45488df4ef5f766/698878c60a4a22e9899c7dd4/postcard.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2046 og:image:height: 1151 og:image:alt: postcard.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Handwriting Matters in a Digital World twitter:description: It's part of our identity twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc45488df4ef5f766/698878c60a4a22e9899c7dd4/postcard.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Handwriting Matters in a Digital World > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Peggy Post](https://time.com/author/peggy-post/) ## Peggy Post Jan 22, 2016 2:00 PM UTC  Man writing postcard Man writing postcardGetty Images by [Peggy Post](https://time.com/author/peggy-post/) ## Peggy Post Jan 22, 2016 2:00 PM UTC I’m all for digital communications, but I do think cursive writing and the [handwritten word](http://www.wima.org/nationalhandwritingday/tabid/79/default.aspx) is important. When we receive something written by hand, it’s so much more personal and warmer. Writing notes by hand can be a great way of enhancing relationships; thank-you notes, in particular, are especially meaningful to recipients. Handwriting is part of our identity. Your handwriting—and your signature especially—is you—it’s part of your personal image, and it makes you unique. I understand that times change—maybe cursive will go the way of the landline phone—and it may be superfluous to know how to write in cursive in an age when many now type notes on their phones. But cursive is part of our culture and traditions, and it can also be an art form. Handwriting is so special that technology is even trying to replicate it. We’ve all seen labels that look to be in cursive—on holiday cards, or wedding invitations for example. There is even a [robot](http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/bonds-note-writing-robots-pen-letters-your-handwriting-n322906) that promise to pen letters in your handwriting. Certainly, there are many efficiencies brought by technology, but I think there’s still beauty and art to actually putting pen to paper. 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