Nobody writes anymore - or do they?
On the quiet revival of the handwritten note, and why more of us are reaching for a pen than ever before.
We've all heard it. "Nobody writes letters anymore." "Cards are dying out." "Why bother when you can just send a text?" It's become one of those things people say, the way they say nobody reads books or everyone's too busy to cook a proper meal.
Except none of it is actually true.
The reality is that handwritten notes, cards, and letters are very much alive. The stationery market has been growing steadily for years, greeting card sales remain in the billions globally, and independent paper goods have seen a genuine renaissance driven by people who want something with more soul than a supermarket card. There's a reason beautiful stationery fills the feeds of interiors accounts and gift guides. People are drawn to it, and they're buying it.
Who's still writing, and why
It's not one type of person keeping the written word alive. It's many. Couples planning weddings who want something physical and lasting in guests' hands. Professionals and executives who know that a personal note still carries real weight in a business relationship. Families who wouldn't dream of sending a birthday message any other way.
Then there are the people rediscovering it. The journaling communities, the pen pal groups, the slow living movement, all of them reaching for paper as a quiet act of resistance to the speed of everything else. Search for pen pal groups online and you'll find thousands of active members, many of them under 30. The handwritten letter hasn't died. In many ways, it's having a moment.
In a world of quick texts, a handwritten note stands out more than ever, because the person receiving it knows you chose to slow down.
And then there are the memory keepers. The people filling journals, baby books, and travel diaries. Writing things down not to send, but to keep, because they understand that life on paper has a permanence that a photo album on a phone simply doesn't.
We put together a list of ten types of people who are still writing, from wedding planners to creative communities to professionals who know the power of a personal note. See if you recognise yourself in one of them:
What writing by hand actually does
Think about the last time you received a handwritten note. Not an email, not a message, but something someone sat down and wrote by hand, put in an envelope, and sent to you. The chances are you remember it. Maybe you still have it.
That's the thing about a handwritten note. It carries weight in a way that a message simply doesn't. It takes time, which is exactly why it means something. There's a kind of permission that writing gives us too. Many people find it easier to say something heartfelt on paper than face to face or over text. The considered pace of writing by hand creates space to say things properly. To thank someone. To tell them you're thinking of them. To mark a moment in a way that feels worthy of it.
What it means to us
At Susel & Co, every card begins with an original painting by Susan. The artwork comes first, and and from that comes a card that someone, somewhere, will press into someone else's hands and say: I thought of you.
We believe in the handwritten note. Not because it's nostalgic, but because it does something nothing else quite does. It makes people feel seen.
So no, people haven't stopped writing.
They've just become more intentional about it.
And those who still do? They understand that the written word is something worth keeping.
Browse our collection of notecards, greeting cards, and writing sets, each one designed to make the words feel as good as the paper they're written on.
