Before the smart phones and social media era, teenagers relied on creative courage to express their feeling, like writing love letters.
Falling in love during the teenage years and adolescence is an intense, normal, and powerful developmental milestone, shaped by rapid changes in both the body and the brain. It is exhilarating, messy, and full of heart-lifting highs and stomach-dropping lows.
Falling in love was once a slow, deliberate art form. Without smart phones and social media, teenagers relied on physical presence, patience, and creative courage to express their feeling. The impulse to write love letters often arose in spaces where public life intersected with private, stolen moments.
Educational institutions, social gatherings, festive occasions, and public transport served as primary catalysts for youth romance. Festival occasion and wedding provided a highly charged, romanticized atmosphere. Surrounded by music, dressing up, and the overt celebration of love, adolescents experience heightened emotional awareness. The rhythmic movement of a train or bus, combined with prolonged period of sitting near someone, sparked infatuation. In these settings a love letter becomes a quiet, low-risk way to communicate across an aisle without drawing the attention of other passengers.
Handwritten love letters will always hold timeless significance and never truly fade. The unique bond between writing, the choice of paper, and even the scent of the ink can evoke emotions that typed words simply can’t match. Each letter becomes a cherished keepsake, a tangible reminder of love.
Moreover, the anticipation of receiving a handwritten love letter adds to its allure. The moment of receiving a love letter brings profound, electric joy and makes one want burst into song out of pure excitement. The heartfelt words reminds us that love is not just about the present moment, but also about memories we create and the emotions we share, making handwritten love letters a beautiful tradition that will never go out of style. They can be preserved for decades or cherished in a drawer or box. The act of writing one demands and creates a sacred, quiet space in romance. Conversely, when a love letter is discarded, the emotion fallout can be immediate and devastating.
Ironically, parents in the era before the 1970s, viewed teenage love letter with extreme severity – primarily due to strict social norms and the fear of damage to the family reputation. In many communities, a teenage engaging in romance, especially a young girl, could ruin the family’s social standing leading to a community gossip.
The digital era has transformed communication but has undeniably diluted the profound depth found in traditional hand-written love letter. Digital romance often fails to replicate the deep feelings of written letters. Digital messages are ephemeral, lacking the weight of a physical object you can hold in your hands. These devices commodify affection into fleeting notifications, stripping away the patient devotion that makes a written love letter an enduring testament to romance. Text messages arrive in seconds, removing the mystery and suspense of writing. Constant phone notifications interrupt our thoughts and prevent deep reflection. They are visually buried, deleted or ignored amidst a flood of daily notifications, knowing where one’s partner is every moment of the day can lessen the excitement and anticipation of finally taking to them.
Shibdas Ghose
Dimapur