What's happening?

"What do you take me for?" It is one of the oldest known letters in the world. The writer, who lived 3,775 years ago, is complainingShowing you are not happy about something. about a salesmanSomeone who sells things as a job. .

People have sent each other letters for thousands of years. But soon, this may end. In Australia, only 3% of letters sent today are letters between friends or family. More than half of all Americans have not sent a letter in the last five years.

Instead, most people talk online - and their messages soon disappearVanish..

Does it matter? One writer thinks the answer is yes. Edwina Preston says that letters help us to look back to a different time. She gives some reasons why we should write them:

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They are more personal. The handwriting and spelling mistakes of a letter remind us of the writer.

They make us slow down. Writing, posting and waiting for a reply takes a lot of time. It shows how much you care.

They are a slice of life. In the first known letter by a Christian, a man named Arrianus asks his brother for a recipeA list of instructions for how to make a dish. for fish sauce.

They outlive us. We know about things that happened hundreds of years ago because people wrote letters about them.

Yes! Next time you want to tell someone how you feel, find a pen and write it down. Your feelings will be remembered forever.

No! It is much easier and quicker to talk online. There is no need to spend hours writing and sending letters.