Though social media supposedly connects the world, the people of today have never been more apart.  While I do not intend to sound like a Luddite (those nineteenth century men destroying everything new, scared of progress), I think this technology has sucked the soul out of human interaction.  While yes, the convenience and volume of what can be recorded has increased massively – What has being able to see photos of your friend’s Hawaii trip while you yourself are stuck in a drab gray nightmare done for anyone?  I missed my friend while she was on vacation, but now that I know that she’s having a blast without me, what is the use?  The photo of Hawaii’s beautiful sunset on a tiny phone screen makes me feel nothing but envy.  My proposition (to combat the jealousy, the annoyance, the indifference): Bring back postcards!  Let me explain:  
Postcards are more personal.  Say I want to tell you about my vacation to Peru.  The fact that I am in Peru already says I have a massive amount of privilege; I can spare a few dollars to send a letter or two.  By the nature of mail, I must consider with whom I would want to share my trip (whom I like, who appreciates it, who actually wants to know).  It is not addressed to everyone.  It is intimate, within the confines of one’s own home.  Nobody knows who else received a postcard unless told.  Likes or shares or reposts are not the goal.  (Why should they ever be?)  Posts on social media flaunt joy; postcards share joy.
Postcards are physical.  As opposed to a post (a non-thing, a group of pixels whose existence can be erased or scrolled past in the blink of an eye), postcards are touched and loved and pored over.  They stay.  The sender must consider the recipient, and the recipient the sender.    It must be worth sending through the mail, where there may be delays, where people spend their days trying to get it to where it belongs.  It takes more thought to throw it in the trash.  People posting their lives online is essentially worthless, thoughtless, and gone.  I can spend hours on Instagram without remembering or caring where people have been, but I will always have letters from loved ones hanging from my bulletin.  With everything, actions cannot be undone, and postcards are a reminder of reality whereas posts allow for petty perfection.
Postcards are history.  (personal anecdote redacted)  That such a small slip of paper can symbolise so much is remarkable.  With the art printed on each card, with the handwriting as special as fingerprints, with the saltwater, the silt, the stamps, it cannot be replicated in any meaningful way.  A girl in the 1800’s could be merrily turning over a letter from her lover, and her descendant could be doing the same thing in awe, only the edges are a little frayed, and maybe a coffee stain from decades ago is infused into the paper.  When was the last time anyone had a post saved from a century ago?  A month?  A week?  Do you remember what your friends posted a week ago?
	
	Do not misinterpret me.  I am not ragging on newer things in order to preserve some antiquated system that does not require preservation.  Social media has its uses – it is right in front of you, editable, instantaneous.  For the more valuable messages, though, one hundred years from now (regardless of whether your corpse is burned or buried) would you rather be remembered, taking up space, held – or not?  I implore you, please, the next time you want to share something with a loved one, consider doing so through the mail.  Thank you. 


Created 31 March 2025
Last updated 31 March 2025
Completed 8 January 2025