Gen Z Is Losing Handwriting — Here's What It's Doing To Their Brains

Living in a digital age means our ways of writing have changed. Instead of handwritten letters, we often communicate through texts. For Gen Z in particular, they are growing up without the need to write anything by hand. Not to mention the fact that now some are relying on AI to do their writing for them, despite multiple studies that show AI usage can lead to brain fatigue and the degradation of mental skills.

A research study published in Frontiers in Psychology peered into how writing by hand versus typing on a keyboard impacts your brain. It used an electroencephalogram (EEG) monitor participants' brain activity while performing writing tasks. The results found that writing by hand used more regions of the brain, improving brain communication, strengthening neuropathways, and overall keeping mental skills sharp. The findings highlight the importance of writing by hand for healthy and intelligent minds, especially these days when it can seem easier to just have AI do it all for you.

The study placed 256 EEG sensors on the heads of 40 university students and monitored their brain activity while they performed two tasks. The first was writing with a digital pen. The second was writing the same types of words on a keyboard. When the students wrote by hand, there was greater brain activity in the parietal and central regions. There was also more theta and alpha brain wave activity.

Theta brain activity is connected to your working memory and processing new information. Alpha brain activity is connected to your long-term memory and your attention. The researchers believe this is because of the higher brain engagement involved with handwriting. When writing by hand, your brain has to remember the shape of the letter, coordinate your hand and wrist movements to accurately replicate it, control the pen or pencil you are using, and verify the result. When you type, you simply press a button and verify the result on the screen. It is not as complex of a process.

It is interesting to note that the participants were using a digital pen, which means that it isn't necessarily writing on physical paper itself that is beneficial to the brain. Digital tools in general can carry risks for brain health, and studies have even found that disabling the internet on your smartphone to stop endless browsing can reverse your brain age by many years.

Another publication in the Nordic Journal of Literary Research also focused on handwriting skills in the digital age. It discussed the fact that classrooms now are focused more on digital learning and using technology. The authors expressed concern about losing handwriting skills and the beneficial brain activity they lead to. Writing by hand goes beyond simply keeping up that skill, and extends into spelling and reading proficiency, as well. Both which are essential for everyday communication.

This is interesting given that classrooms have continued to integrate screens more since the pandemic. What was essential for remote learning has now become a default. This is despite the fact that some teachers wish for the opposite, and that more pencils and paper would return to the schools. Given the prior study on how beneficial handwriting is for the brain, it seems that science can back these teachers up.

If you are looking to keep your brain healthy and strong throughout your life, perhaps one solution lies in writing by hand more and using screens less. Research has also shown that vitamin D has a positive impact on brain health. So spending more time outside in the sunshine won't hurt, especially since it will mean getting a break from all the digital devices around you.