Letter writing enjoys a revival as fans seek connection and a break from
screen time
[January 19, 2026]
By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY
At a time when productivity means optimizing every second and screens
blur the line between work and home, some people are slowing down and
disconnecting by looking to communication devices from the past.
Tactile activities ranging from writing letters and typewriter clubs to
TikTok communities showcasing calligraphy skills and wax seals are
giving retro writing instruments a resurgence. More than quaint
throwbacks, the pursuits provide their enthusiasts with opportunities to
reduce their technology use, be more intentional with time and build
meaningful connections with others.
“I feel as though my pen pals are my friends. I don't think of them much
differently than if I were chatting with a friend on the phone, in a
coffee shop or at another person's house,” said Melissa Bobbitt, 42, a
devoted letter-writer who corresponds with about a dozen people from her
home in Claremont, California, and has had up to 40 pen pals at one
time. “Focusing on one person and really reading what they are saying,
and sharing what's on your heart is almost like a therapy session.”
Ink, paper and other tools that once were the only way to send a message
from afar are continuing to bring people together from around the world.
Below, some of them explain the appeal of snail mail and give
recommendations for getting started.
Writing can be an escape
In a society shaped by constant availability, hands-on hobbies like
writing letters and scrapbooking require focus and patience. The act of
picking up a pen, sealing an envelope with wax and laying out pages may
yield aesthetically pleasing results, but it also creates a space for
reflection.
Stephania Kontopanos, a 21-year-old student in Chicago, said it can be
hard to put her phone and computer away, especially when it seems all of
her friends and peers are on social media and her classes and personal
life revolve around being online.
“There are times when I’m with my friends and at dinner, I’ll realize we
are all on our phones," Kontopanos said, adding that she tries to put
her phone down at those moments.
Kontopanos also unplugs consciously by sending postcards to her family
and friends, scrapbooking, and junk journaling, which involves
repurposing everyday materials like tickets and receipts to document
memories or ideas. She says going to the post office has become an
activity she does with her mother back home in Kansas and includes
sharing stories with the postal workers, people she would not have
routinely encountered.
Nostalgia can foster community
Writing and sending letters is nostalgic for KiKi Klassen, who lives in
Ontario, Canada. The 28-year-old says it helps her feel more connected
to her late mother, who was a member of the Canadian Union of Postal
Workers, which represents mail carriers and other postal employees.
In October 2024, Klassen launched the Lucky Duck Mail Club, a
subscription-based monthly mail service that sends participants a piece
of her art, an inspiring quote and message. She says her membership
includes more than 1,000 people across, at most, 36 countries.
“When I sit down, I'm forced to reflect and choose my words carefully,”
Klassen said. “It also lends itself to vulnerability because it is
easier to write down how you are feeling. I've had people write me back
and I've cried hearing so many touching stories. I think for a lot of
people paper creates a safe space. You write it down, send it off and
don't really think about it after.”
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A Bonhams employee displays a Royal Portable Typewriter Owned By
Orson Welles, manufactured circa 1931, serial no. P283613, by Royal
Typewriter Co. Inc., New York, at Bonhams auction house in London,
Nov. 14, 2022. . (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
 For Bobbitt, who has corresponded by
mail for years, there is a “grand excitement” when she opens her
mailbox and finds something that is not a bill or advertisement. “If
we all filled each other’s mailboxes with letters, we would all be
kinder and, at the very least, won’t dread checking our mailboxes,”
she said.
Bobbitt says she first joined a pen pal club in second or third
grade and later was connected to more writers through Postcrossing,
an online project that partners people around the world to send and
receive postcards. She says some of the postcards turned into
letters as friendships grew between her and some other regular
writers.
It's a similar feeling of connection that inspired DJ Robert Owoyele,
34, to create CAYA, a monthly “analog gathering” in Dallas. Owoyele
launched the event less than a year ago and has since organized
evenings with letter writing, coloring, vinyl listening sessions and
other activities.
“We live in a digital age that fosters a false sense of connection,
but I think true connection happens in person,” he said. “When we
are able to touch or see something, we are more connected to it
naturally. These analog activities are a representation of that.”
How to get started
While writing letters and engaging in other vintage pursuits might
seem accessible, it is not always easy to get involved. For many
people, carving out time to slow down can feel like another
obligation in a schedule filled with to-dos.
Kontopanos says she decided it was important for her to reprioritize
her time. “The older I get, the more I realize how much time had
been wasted on my phone," she said. Creating space to explore
allowed her to discover the hobbies she loved doing enough to make
them a priority, she said.
There are many hobbies to consider, some of which don’t require
expensive tools or hours of free time. Frequenting spaces where
communities centered around these hobbies gather can be a way to
learn about the different activities. For example, participating in
typewriter clubs such as Type Pals, attending events like the Los
Angeles Printers Fair hosted by the International Printing Museum in
California, and engaging with social media communities like the Wax
Seal Guild on Instagram and The Calligraphy Hub on Facebook.
Klassen says that based on posts she's seeing on her social media
feeds, reviving vintage writing instruments and small tactile
pleasures might be on the verge of becoming trendy.
“The girls are going analog in 2026,” she said.
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