Writing vs Typing

Writing, with a pen and paper, is a very physical act. Typing on a computer is still technically a physical act, but it feels wholly different to me. Writing feels so embodied, especially because there seems to be fewer objects/obstacles between my brain and my thoughts than when I type on a computer. To me, typing feels at once more passive, more chaotic, and less playful. Writing with a pen feels like a minor extension of my body, and it is much more intimate. I also really like that I can hold/keep things I have written in small notebooks and little pieces of paper, rather than having to open up my computer (which automatically reminds me of all the homework I need to do, emails to respond to, all the things I should be doing!) 

I want to acknowledge that typing on a computer makes me much better writer. Additionally, what I type into a computer is usually less emotional and more reserved than what I would write on a piece of paper. This is perfect for academic writing because more distanced, “objective” writing is favored in most disciplines. I know that my academic writing is much stronger because of computers and my ability to type. I can manipulate what I have written to shift the structure or organization, giving me much stronger work in the end in a fraction of the time. 

However, writing on a paper feels so much more personal, and I find that I’m frequently surprised by the things I write down. i definitely feel less inhibited writing on a page because it feels like my own private thing, that can be kept entirely for myself if that’s what I want. If I even want to attempt to creatively write, it has to be on a physical piece of paper. Any poetry, prose, or diaries I have written exist in a notebook. I literally cannot access the headspace needed to write in an artistic way on a computer. Additionally, all my notes for school and planners/to-do lists exist in physical notebooks. My computer feels so vast and overrun with information that I really can’t keep track of notes and my schedule electronically. I know that most people find it much simpler to electronically manage their schedules and notes and my inability to do so is probably a result of my overall disorganization, and I’m sure I could find a way to organize my schedule online if I really tried. 

My experiences with the difference between typing and writing have intimately affected me. Because I use my computer the vast majority of the time, I am in my analytical, serious, more reserved headspace most of the time as well. Creative writing does not come that easily to me, and it takes me a while to really get into the mindset I need to write in an informal, artist way. (Anecdotally, I LOVED creative writing when I was a kid, all the way into middle school and early high school. I was constantly writing poetry, songs, and weird made-up stories. I’m not sure if I changed naturally due to my age, because creativity/silliness comes much easier at a younger age, or if my frequent computer use in high school played a role as well. My high school classes were writing heavy, all of which we did on computers.) Computers and word processors have changed the way I think and structure my thoughts, and have thus changed the kind I knowledge I possess. 

It is MUCH easier for me to get distracted while typing. I can stop typing in the middle of a sentence to respond to a text, to find a song I want to listen to, or to see what Trump has been up to today, and I think that I am a much less focussed person because of it. In general, I am a really impulsive person and constant internet access definitely fuels that. When I’m writing, I am more detached from the rest of the world, so what I produce i intrinsically different from what I would type. Overall, computers change the way I articulate my thoughts and feelings. I produce different knowledge and material on a computer than on a piece of paper. Because I have primarily been using a computer to type for years, I really can’t imagine how things would be different pre-word processors/computers.