Why Do People Prefer To Write On Computer

[andreasn]

why do most people seem to think that it's easier to write on a computer (especially young people, though i am young myself) rather than by hand?

 

for me writing by hand eliminates all the trouble of formatting and other troubles. it's also much easier on your eyes and brain, you don't have to think about as much extra stuff like where the cursor is and you don't have to look at a bright screen all the time.

 

plus when i'm writing I don't want to be too modern. I don't always like all this technology around me (but equally often I just love how science fiction the world around me is).¨

 

that said I do do a lot of stuff on the computer like gaming and browsing the internet for a large part of my day. I just don't like to write or do crosswords or anything like that on it.

 

[CaptainBA]

I'm in my mid-twenties, I grew up with computers. My sister is younger and grew up with cell phones and computers. They're using more and more computers at school and have less emphasis on handwriting and pens. So if you're not writing a lot, why would you care about what pens you use? A lot of people would say nostalgia. Nostalgia to me isn't the same as most of the people on FPN. My generation? Nostalgia is Super Mario World, the Pokemon shows, and GameBoys. Not fountain pens and writing letters. I didn't know fountain pens were a thing until about college. I didn't send my first handwritten letter until a friend went to bootcamp while I was in college. Things like the cursor and formatting are just things I'm used to. I have no issues ignoring the red squggly lines.

 

That being said, I like writing things down by hand and fountain pens...or else I wouldn't be on FPN.

Edited June 9, 2014 by CaptainBA

[sgage]

I love to write with my fountain pens, and I keep a journal in longhand.

 

But I also write extensively on my computer, keeping sort of parallel journals, for 2 reasons:

 

1) You can password protect a computer file. There's just some stuff I want to keep really to myself. Nothing criminal, mind you - just embarassing ;-) Though some pretty dicey stuff gets into my handwritten journal :-)

 

2) You can easily search computer documents. One reason I keep a journal is to be able to answer questions like "when did I do this-or-that", or "when did so-and-so visit", etc. etc. I can easily search a folder full of journal files and find out.

 

So that's my take on the issue. BTW, I'm in my late-50's, and learned to type on a manual typewriter :-)

Edited June 9, 2014 by sgage

[The Blue Knight]

If I had to write my 10 page lab reports every two weeks by hand and it would be a night mare. I'm as much as of an FP geek as the next member however there are distinct benefits of typing things over writing them. It's far easier to draft out work on a computer and make improvements then starting again every time. I don't want to go through all the benefits as many of them are obvious but I'd hate it if I had to write long reports out by hand.

 

I think as a tool for learning and memorizing nothing beats pen and paper but for technical writing and essay / course work writing a computer is far better.

Edited June 9, 2014 by top pen

[CaptainBA]

I completely agree with that Top Pen. If I had to write my school work out I would never had graduated. I'd still be there, writing my reports out longhand.

Edited June 9, 2014 by CaptainBA

[inotrym]

For ease of use and speed.

 

I can type waaaaay faster than I can write.

I can easily correct mistakes, I can add sentences in between or move/remove them.

I can safely store my text (water, fire, dirt, or physical damage cannot affect my dropbox files), copy it, share it.

And nomatter how many changes I make, I will never have to rewrite the whole page, just to make it look nice.

 

 

I LOVE fountain pens and I use them daily, but technology is here to stay. IMO, it's a blessing for mankind.

 

 

PS. I must admit though that I am in my mid-twenties and an electronics engineer, so my opinion is rather biased

[fledermaus89]

As for formatting, latex does the job 1000x better than me on paper with my handwriting. In most cases people don't accept physical documents anymore so there's really no point in writing something by hand and faxing or scanning and attaching the image to an email.

[beak]

I guess if we accept the premiss (that people do prefer to write on a computer) then they want to do the sort of writing that computers are a great help to perform - those reports and such like mentioned above. But we sometimes want to write by hand.

 

This begins to illuminate the fact that the two types of writing are somehow different. Exactly why they are different has been talked about quite a bit on FPN, and elsewhere.

 

The only thing I'd add to that discussion today is the quite apparent fact that continuing to write by hand regularly will improve one's writing on a computer.

 

This is the same in many other fields where there is an manual and a digital approach.

[recluse]

There are many-many reasons why people prefer writing on computer. And there are many reason why people to prefer writing by hand. It appears that these two modes of writing rather complement each other than oppose.

 

Consider walking and driving a car. There are some tasks that can be done only one way: either by driving or by walking, But much more numerous are those tasks that combine both.

[sgage]

For ease of use and speed.

 

I can type waaaaay faster than I can write.

I can easily correct mistakes, I can add sentences in between or move/remove them.

I can safely store my text (water, fire, dirt, or physical damage cannot affect my dropbox files), copy it, share it.

And nomatter how many changes I make, I will never have to rewrite the whole page, just to make it look nice.

 

 

I LOVE fountain pens and I use them daily, but technology is here to stay. IMO, it's a blessing for mankind.

 

 

PS. I must admit though that I am in my mid-twenties and an electronics engineer, so my opinion is rather biased

 

I have been in the computer biz since the late 70's.

 

All those reasons you gave above are why I like to write with a fountain pen. What's the hurry? What's wrong with mistakes? Slow down a bit and you might not make so many. And surely, what looks nicer than a handwritten page.

 

Never, ever forget: Every automation is an amputation.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Computer has spell check...Like Tommy Jefferson, I know many ways to spell a word.

I grew up when a smart typewriter was an daisy-wheel IBM Selectric II and as expensive as all hell. It could erase a word or two...all by it's self....no getting out the white out.

Then came the Brother typewriter computer that allowed you to erase a full line.

A typewriter defiantly made you think 3 time harder than a computer.....you had all that cut with a scissor and use glue to paste.

Then you had to type it all over again.

One wrote shorter...less wordy....laziness...

 

Then came the big 64 K Kaypro with the same keyboard as on the $10,000 computers and Word Star....pre'point and drag.... all sorts of little commands you had to learn, and you did not need metal scissors any more. You could put in a single sided floppy disk to check your spelling.

I hated the mouse the first time I used it ....now would not be with out. That was and is a grand keyboard....real IBM Selectric in feel.

Did I mention I learned to pound a keyboard on a manual.....very slowly....good for muscular hands.

 

I'm stumbling slowly to the end of the worlds longest western. I write much of that on a computer, in I'd have to type it in as is, when I do a draft a scene or add in notes.

 

Some times writing a scene or part of one on paper is much better than a computer in I have more freedom on paper.

Mostly I use a fountain pen in they are not as much hard work as a ball point.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Speed, ease of editing, spell check, and nobody should say that they can't read your typing.

 

Writing on paper with a pen is more enjoyable for me, but it's not always about enjoyment.

[Bookman]

I'm already there for the porn, Amazon, Google, IMDB, FPN, NYT, RefDesk, HuffPo, LL Bean, REI, Zagat, and Hotels.com. Writing on the computer—it's just a few more keys.

[inotrym]

 

I have been in the computer biz since the late 70's.

 

All those reasons you gave above are why I like to write with a fountain pen. What's the hurry? What's wrong with mistakes? Slow down a bit and you might not make so many. And surely, what looks nicer than a handwritten page.

 

Never, ever forget: Every automation is an amputation.

 

Messy writing makes my thinking messy. I can concentrate better with a tidy workspace and a tidy notebook (either virtual or physical - the advantage of virtual being that it is easier to be kept that way).

 

 

Automation CAN become an amputation if blindly and unnecessarily applied. That is not always the case.

 

I highly doubt I could submit my 150page diploma thesis handwritten.

Quick notes, drafts, memos etc are a whole different story..

 

After all, there is no "best tool", but rather "best tool for a specific application".

Edited June 9, 2014 by inotrym

[lynxcat]

typing, for me, is bulk writing. meat and potatoes. easier to edit, easier to rewrite, easier to do a lot of writing quickly. i can type a lot faster than i can write with a pen --- and that's without figuring in editing and error-fixing time; once you do, the balance tips so heavily in the text editor's favor it's not even funny. typing is a high octane process, to me; gets my mind spinning.

 

hand writing, for me, is about focusing, centering, and winding down. it's what i do to relax and calm my thinking; a page or two of journalling at the end of the day, and if they take an hour each, so be it.

 

oddly enough, quick jotted notes and lists also get handwritten. but they're another story entirely, they need no thought of any kind.

[colrehogan]

I find that when I need to word something in a particular manner that I will reach for a piece of paper and a pen. Usually this is a short document. I have been writng some of my short story notes on paper. I then enter them and do edits in the computer.

 

I went through school and when I had to have a report typewritten, I had to ask my mom. I finally took typing in summer school before my junior year of high school. Most of my college papers I handwrote, as typing was a hassle on a typewriter (or the printer would malfunction the morning that something was due).

[Beckwith]

I'm part of the tech generation...

 

I prefer writing by hand for most tasks because 1) I can go back and edit somewhat more easily; 2) I can organize in electronic files and folders, which are easier to move around, copy, and send to people than hard copies of documents.

[proton007]

Computer has spell check...Like Tommy Jefferson, I know many ways to spell a word.

I grew up when a smart typewriter was an daisy-wheel IBM Selectric II and as expensive as all hell. It could erase a word or two...all by it's self....no getting out the white out.

Then came the Brother typewriter computer that allowed you to erase a full line.

A typewriter defiantly made you think 3 time harder than a computer.....you had all that cut with a scissor and use glue to paste.

Then you had to type it all over again.

One wrote shorter...less wordy....laziness...

 

Then came the big 64 K Kaypro with the same keyboard as on the $10,000 computers and Word Star....pre'point and drag.... all sorts of little commands you had to learn, and you did not need metal scissors any more. You could put in a single sided floppy disk to check your spelling.

I hated the mouse the first time I used it ....now would not be with out. That was and is a grand keyboard....real IBM Selectric in feel.

Did I mention I learned to pound a keyboard on a manual.....very slowly....good for muscular hands.

 

I'm stumbling slowly to the end of the worlds longest western. I write much of that on a computer, in I'd have to type it in as is, when I do a draft a scene or add in notes.

 

Some times writing a scene or part of one on paper is much better than a computer in I have more freedom on paper.

Mostly I use a fountain pen in they are not as much hard work as a ball point.

 

An interesting history of writing tools.

 

The way I see it, the need of typewriters and word-processors stems from the need to present and preserve standardized documents in governments and businesses.

The document is the constant here, it may go through the hands of many different people over it's lifetime, essentially it's a raw material for 'tools' which get replaced or worn out over time. Depersonalization and Alienation come to mind, because that's the modus operandi of an organization.

 

 

When it comes to personal use, what's the need for standardization? You (and probably a chosen few) are the only reader(s) of the documents, there's no need for any contraptions.

Use a FP, it'll do you good.

Edited June 10, 2014 by proton007

[sgage]

Here's a well thought out take on the subject:

 

http://www.jmarkbertrand.com/writing-by-hand/

[Bookman]

I think writing by hand taps into an ancient, creative area of the brain that doesn't get tapped when keyboarding. I think that when one learns to compose at a keyboard the brain simply finds new neural pathways to get around the one that's beginning to atrophy from nonuse. Maybe the new pathways are wildly successful, maybe not. When I was young and began writing stories and plays I wrote everything by hand, and the ideas and words flowed easily if not brilliantly. When I decided to transition to a typewriter back in the 1980s it was a struggle. Whatever was in my brain couldn't seem to find a way out while I was sitting in front of that IBM Selectric. It took several weeks to begin feeling truly comfortable composing on the typewriter without resorting to penning my first draft by hand as of old. And then when I transitioned back to writing by hand in 2009 I had the same struggle. Those old, formerly fit neural pathways between my writing hand and the creative area of my brain had atrophied and needed rehab and exercise and reawakening. I compose emails and posts on the keyboard now, but nothing else. I can still type faster than I handwrite, but my mind isn't racing to keep up with my fingers. Having swung both ways for long stretches I can say writing by hand just feels right in a way that keyboarding never did.