Do you think writing will become an obsolete skill?

[Plasticaprinae]

No, I dont think so. Personally, I use writing for notes, grocery lists, and other things. Some people take notes on their phone/tablet, but just taking out some paper and pen is much easier for me. Its also cheaper if you get your bag stolen.

A good reason that typing and such wont get rid of good old fashioned pen and paper is the resources. With computers, you have to keep up to date on software and such otherwise some files might not function right. For large companies, this would be fine since they have to handle a lot of papers, digital is a great option to organizing all of that. They also have the money to do that. But it wouldn't be as plausible in a small home due to the costs. I wouldn't like it if a computer started to become like a car, where your life goes on hold because its broken.

Also, I believe there are studies on how writing things down helps your memory, but I dont know the effects of taking notes using a computer or tablet.

 

[Whispering Cynic]

No, I don't think so. As was already stated here, it's the most reliable way of taking notes quickly. I own a tablet and a smartphone and when it comes down to it, I still prefer writing notes down on a piece of paper simply because it is faster than typing it into some application.

Although I wouldn't be surprised if our education system started churning out people incapable of writing, utterly convinced it's an unnecessary skill in this day and age...

 

[Ruley]

No, it won't become obsolete. In the scientific subjects, you'll always need a pen and paper. Computers are too restrictive in that regard. they don't allow you a free flowing creative space to tackle a question. Writing will be needed in these areas.

In other areas? i think it will still have its place. I appreciate modernization might take over memos, birthday cards, actual documents, etc... but think of how we teach people language early on in school. you would have to combine computer skills with young children that are only used to playing with dolls and blocks.

 

[somonels]

No, but I do think that letter forms will change a bit to mimic the computer fonts. 'r' being the most notable example. This will occur to people that write very little and stare at computer texts a lot.

Edit: But I think the idea is irrelevant as many users I see on the inernet already share notes/messages in all caps.

 

[Yopaz]

No, i don't. Touchscreens using stylus' are on the rise and use the same handwriting skillsets so even if things go full-on computerised the skillset will still be relevant and applicable.

Keyboards are great when you're writing massive essays and you have access to a computer/laptop etc and don't mind having to wait for it to boot-up and whatnot, and keyboards on touchscreen phones are ideal for when you have very limited space on your device. For every other situation, handwriting is just more convenient.

Also signatures.

This is an excellent point, even the shift to digital only doesn't mean we'll type everything.

Yes, why wouldn't it? It has no benefit over typing and has several downsides.

Actually, writing got plenty of advantages over typing. Ever tried writing math, chemistry, physics, make figures, drawings, phylogenetic trees while typing? I have become quite skilled at these things, but even with lots of practice over several years with this it still takes more time to do this in typing.

OT: Maybe it will, but I don't see this happening too soon. Writing is still useful. If I want to leave a note for someone (which I did for my sister 3 days ago to help her with a technical problem) it's easily a lot faster to grab some paper, write that down and give it to her than to open up a text editor, write that down, start the printer, wait for the printer to warm up and then wait for the printer to print out the note.

Now don't get me wrong. In our days I believe typing to a more important skill than the old fashioned writing since pretty much every kind of job does to some degree require this (it's so common it's not even listed as required skills) and there's rarely any assignments through school that aren't written on a computer. I still think actual writing has plenty of useful applications.

 

[Angie7F]

Handwriting might become obsolete. I mean, I used to have nice handwriting but it is deteriorating day by day.

 

[Call me Baz]

Also signatures.

Those will disappear as well. Digital signatures are on the rise. For legal documents that need to be printed, there are other options. For example special QR codes.

I recently renewed my job contract, it specifically said at the signature line "digital signatures are NOT accepted" So for whatever reason there seems to be a lack of trust in them.

Aside from that, writing can still be expressive, creating our own script (rather than overusing certain MS fonts *ahem*) and calligraphy is technically a form of writing, done purely for pleasure and relaxation with little to no productive value.

Finally, there's a difference between receiving say a note or letter written by someone compared to printed out. It's almost the same as a handicraft, and while clothing has been machine made for decades now, knitting is still done (thanks for the oddly lumpy socks, nan!) and parallels can be seen between them.

 

[Yopaz]

No, it won't become obsolete. In the scientific subjects, you'll always need a pen and paper. Computers are too restrictive in that regard. they don't allow you a free flowing creative space to tackle a question. Writing will be needed in these areas.

In other areas? i think it will still have its place. I appreciate modernization might take over memos, birthday cards, actual documents, etc... but think of how we teach people language early on in school. you would have to combine computer skills with young children that are only used to playing with dolls and blocks.

I agree with this. I enjoy writing reports and equations using a computer. I go to great lengths in order to make it look just the way I want it. However I can't do the equation on a computer. I need the messy process of scribbling things down, crossing out things as I either manage to remove them or as I lose confidence in my solution and start over. I enjoy solving equations using this process just as much as I enjoy making them look good on a computer. There's also often some use for drawings and figures in science. This is a pain to do with a computer.

Also an excellent point that it would be hard to teach when kids are using computers. Typing is important and probably more important in our society than handwriting, but handwriting is in no way obsolete.

 

[The_Great_Galendo]

No, it won't become obsolete. In the scientific subjects, you'll always need a pen and paper. Computers are too restrictive in that regard. they don't allow you a free flowing creative space to tackle a question. Writing will be needed in these areas.

Quoted for truth. It's not just scientific subjects, either. Within arms-reach of where I sit, I have both a piece of paper that has random information scrawled on it (if I need to jot down a name and number, for instance, it's way faster to just grab pencil and paper and go to town than it is to fire up the computer, open the word processor, type the info, and print/save the file for later) and another one divided into four sections with classes and variables for a program I'm writing in each section. Sure, I could open Word, and make it display four pages at a time, and reduce the default margins/page separation down to a reasonable number in order to get a similar effect, but it's way more trouble than it's worth.

No. We've been doing it for over 6,000 years. Personal computers have been around for 30, maybe.

Also this. Although to be fair, the same argument could be applied to, say, horseback riding vs. automobiles. Longer isn't necessarily better, although I really don't see writing going anywhere anytime soon. Cursive, sure -- I'm pretty certain it was obsolete when I was taught it two decades ago. But handwriting is here to stay.

 

[Deacon Cole]

I have been thinking about it and I actually believe that in 50 (or so) years writing with no longer be taught by default.

I think I saw a news item that handwriting was no longer going to be taught in schools. So, I guess that's less than 50 years.

 

[shrekfan246]

No. Never. Not gonna happen. Writing will always be around. Don't be silly. We've been scribbling for centuries. It's an essential part of humanity now. Writing styles and the printing of letters might change though.

No. We've been doing it for over 6,000 years. Personal computers have been around for 30, maybe.

That's a bit presumptuous. "Tradition" isn't really a good excuse to keep something around just for the sake of its existence if it's obsolete. The advent of computers and powerful electronics that can emulate and replace our primitive scribbling is a prime example of why, a few centuries from now, we may in fact no longer scribble on pieces of our planet. Who are we to say one way or the other that it definitely will or will not happen?

Typing has already become vastly more used and important than classical writing. Everyone is saying things like "Oh, but notes are much faster to do with paper" and everything, but when it comes to actual extensive writing, which is really more convenient? Once we have holographic monitors and keyboards that we can pull up on a whim no matter our location, are we really going to keep slapping pieces of paper to the wall in the name of tradition?

I don't expect it would happen during my lifetime, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if humans stopped physically writing things down at some point in the future. The end of Earth/our solar system/humanity is presumably a long, long time away.

 

[Hiroshi Mishima]

This is as laughable as the idea that "books" are no longer necessary. Writing will never truly be replaced, but if anything will coexist alongside type.

I do agree with some that "handwriting" may eventually die out, but actual writing will not. It is so much easier to whip out a pen and paper than turn on my computer if I need to take notes. Plus, you can't exactly hang up your computer on the fridge or something as a reminder.

I can only surmise that these ridiculous notions are the result of young people who just don't get it.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Hell no.

More than anything, you need to learn how to communicate and no matter how much the world changes, proper speech and writing skills are crucial in any setting.

Ritin lik tis ohnly ferther proooves howe [idiotic, or another misspelling of stupid] sum peepel can b & hoow dificult its 2 get (or understand) thm[.]

If you're writing like this, chances are that

a.) you've failed at your own native language, and
b.) you should actually take the time to actually write down a proper message.

Edit: "But it takes too long to write something that requires proper punctuation and grammar!"

Then CALL THEM ON YOUR PHONE.

Though honestly, if you write like the above example, you're probably not one to carry on much of a meaningful conversation anyway.

 

[Kged]

Digital signatures are on the rise. For legal documents that need to be printed, there are other options. For example special QR codes.

I don't know about the legal system where you live, but I work at my local Court here in England and I can tell you that any document which isn't signed is treated as worth less than the paper it is printed on. In the last few years things have become a little more relaxed with regard to the reproduced signatures included in faxed/emailed documents, but when I started work here it was original signatures only. If you live at the other end of the country, tough - get on a train and get here by 4.00pm to sign your papers or they simply don't exist. That is still the case for certain very sensitive types of proceedings.

That said, handwriting is declining, that can't be disputed. In the archive under the Courthouse there are ledgers and records of cases going back to the mid-19th century. You should see the handwriting in those papers, it is a thing of beauty. And they weren't filled out by artists or calligraphers, these were just ordinary clerks, effectively the equivalent of me - except I couldn't write like that with a computer, let alone a pen.

 

[Kged]

"But it takes to long to write something that requires proper punctuation and grammar!"

Forgive the double-post, but I had to. I just had to.
(For the record CrimsonBlaze, I am entirely behind your argument!)

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

"But it takes to long to write something that requires proper punctuation and grammar!"

Forgive the double-post, but I had to. I just had to.
(For the record CrimsonBlaze, I am entirely behind your argument!)

No prob'. Even after I review my own posts, I tend to miss something.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Sorry, double post. Please ignore.

 

[4RM3D]

I am so vastly outnumbered here, it seems. Oh well... I suppose I have been watching to many sci-fi movies.