We've lost the blot!

According to a UK survey for online stationer Docmail (no, me neither), cited in the German tabloid Bild and elsewhere, those questioned had, on average, not written anything by hand for 41 days. Germany's harbingers of handwriting doom are quick to tell us that computers and mobile devices are to blame, as we are led to believe that important developmental skills in coordination, dexterity and the anchoring of handwritten knowledge in young minds are all under threat as a result.

We learn that 85% of German companies use computers. Stop the press! No, really. Those knee-jerk news organs bemoaning the general disappearance of handwriting need to abandon their fancy desktop publishing packages and write everything by hand. Starting now! Alternatively, they could attempt some joined-up thinking and adopt a less alarmist approach. Though a variety of communication options may mean we write by hand less often, we have not lost the ability completely.

When was the last time you put pen to paper? Perhaps you left a note on the fridge for your beloved before you left this morning. Maybe, like me, you write shopping lists regularly. Perhaps you have recently completed or corrected exam papers (admittedly, computer-based exams are on the rise). Commentators tell us that handwritten words are more personal and bring out our emotions. That's undoubtedly true. After all, writing scores of Christmas cards and then seeing the price of postage stamps is enough to make anyone cry!

My own view is that handwriting is not dying out. It is a vital skill and will remain so. What's changed is simply the number of social situations where handwriting remains appropriate and has not been fully replaced by a less time-consuming form of communication. Surely a significant amount of text within schools (and to a lesser extent, universities) will continue to be written by hand. This strikes me as logical, given that before they negotiate the computer-based anonymity of the university campus or the outside world, young people of school-age are in the business of building their own personal knowledge base. This learning process requires the kind of correction and ongoing refinement that only the handwritten form can document. For me, even with the perceived threat from new technology, it's the personal, educational and 'Post-It-note' private spheres – away from any pronouncements in the print media – where handwriting will continue to flourish.

Have you kept all of your school exercise books for future retrieval? I have. Have you intentionally kept all the draft versions of texts you wrote using a computer? If I have, I certainly don't need to refer to them again. For me this proves that ultimately the pen is mightier than the Word.