Many of us do a lot of typing on computers and smartphones, but when’s the last time you actually used your own handwriting to communicate? According to a new survey, it’s probably been a long time — and our scrawls are suffering because of it.

British printing and mailing company Docmail queried 2,000 people and found the average respondent hadn’t written anything by hand for 41 days, and fully a third of the group hadn’t taken pen to paper for at least six months.

What’s more, about two-thirds said that even when they had jotted something down, it was typically a shopping list or something else intended for their eyes only.

As a result, more than half of the people surveyed admitted their handwriting was now noticeably worse, and one in seven said they were actually embarrassed about its fast decline in quality.

“It’s a shame that handwriting is in general decline, but that’s come about from the need for convenience and communication that is clear and quick,” Docmail Managing Director Dave Broadway said. “But even if [handwriting's] usefulness is reduced, it’s important that people maintain their ability to communicate without a full reliance on technology.”

[UPI]

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