The Perks of Paper

I am a child of the digital age. Even in elementary school, I was writing my homework on a word processor. For me, computers are easier to use than writing longhand. I can write faster and for longer periods of time on a keyboard than I can with a pen or pencil. Whether it is by design or by practice, writing on paper just isn't the same as writing on a computer.

However, despite the shortcomings of longhand, there are a lot of perks to writing on paper. The number one reason to use paper is the freedom of drawing on the page. Being able to place a word exactly where you want, to create any punctuation or symbols you want, to leave white space wherever you want, all make paper a pleasant medium.

Some things just work better on paper. Visual organizers, like diagrams or charts can be created just as easily as a paragraph can on paper, whereas a computer is far more limiting in that respect. Even when a document is all text, formatting can be a pain for word processors. Whenever I write scripts for my comic strip, I always write them on paper for ease of formatting. I like the way I write them and I cannot duplicate it on my computer, so I pick paper.

Technology is always improving, allowing more freedoms and abilities. For example, I can take a PDA or a cell phone and keep it in my pocket and use it to write notes and observations throughout the day. It is really convenient. It is also something I've been doing with paper long before I ever had a cell phone. Nowadays, we are getting closer and closer to the point where digital writing will be able to do everything that longhand can do, but we aren't there yet.

I'm sure there are plenty who will say that nothing can be exactly the same as feeling a pen scrape across a sheet of bristol. They may be right. In either case, until paper is completely copied, make use of the perks of paper while you can.