To think many adults have terrible handwriting?

[MaryFuckingFerguson]

I am ironing curtains 😩 in front of ‘Four in a Bed’.

When the guests leave a B&B and write their reviews, I am struck by the fact virtually no-one has nice handwriting.

They either print like a small child might, write in capitals or have a messy and barely legible scrawl. Often they hold the pen in a cack-handed manner too.

My husband reckons hand-writing is not taught properly at state schools. But our kids (early 20s) went to state school and were taught cursive.

Is it just not a thing that matters anymore? I think it’s a shame as I love writing, even a birthday card, and take pride in it. Adults should have decent hand-writing unless other influencing factors are present. Or do we just not write enough nowadays to be any good at it?

Mine is awful and always has been
I can't get my thoughts on the paper fast enough, and at work I have to note things down really quickly
So yes, it's a scrawl

My dads is awful because he is left handed and they tied his left hand so he couldn't write with it

Most adults are out of practice. We never wrote in quantity anymore. It's just things like shopping lists and greetings cards.

We are extremely efficient at typing on our phones.

Ah the pen license! You’ve reminded me. It was such a big deal when ours were at primary.

At my primary (late 70s/early 80s), the big deal was moving onto a Platignum cartridge pen once you were deemed ready. I think my love of handwriting started with that pen. I adored it.

I love to see nice handwriting, I don’t particularly like mine most of the time, but handwriting is unique, it’s meant to differ

I really don't care as long as it is legible....
Rarely do people need to write by hand, it is lack of practice and few people take pride in it now.

I have childish handwriting... My son's is better than mine

Most people hardly ever need to write these days, and most people probably don't feel the way you do about nice handwriting. People should have legible handwriting, but there's no need for it to be pretty. Don't get me wrong - I actually like nice stationery, use fountain pens etc, but I don't think it's actually important for other people to have nice writing. I'm a teacher and I only care that I can read my students' work.

This:

Shorthand destroyed my handwriting. I did so much shorthand at work in the 80s that my actual handwriting morphed into part proper written words/ part shorthand. And the speed at which I did shorthand resulted in me trying to write at the same rate.

It's never recovered

My handwriting is awful and I really hate it. I try but I just can't do it and I can't understand why I can't do it.
My 8 year old DD had beautiful handwriting, far superior to mine.

I got a hand-written thank you in an ebay purchase this week. It was the most beautiful writing. Puts mine to shame...

Why “should” people have good handwriting?

mine is atrocious. It’s not held me back in any way in life. I’d say it’s got worse as I hand write so little now. Who cares?

Pens are redundant.

My handwriting is terrible and I find it actually quite physically uncomfortable writing if I'm using a horrible thin little biro they have in the cupboard at work. What do you want me to do about it though? Can you amend youre handwriting as an adult?

Who gives a fuck really?

My handwriting has always been terrible. I can write better if I slow down a lot but that's too slow for my brain so I can't keep it up for long.

I went years without having to write more than shopping lists so wasn't a problem but now I'm studying again and I have to write all the time (writing up notes for everything is how I remember stuff, just reading the material doesn't make it stick in my mind) and its sometimes hard to read my own notes!
I also have to handwrite essays for exams and I do try really hard to make it more legible but its still really bad. Somehow my teachers are managing to read them though.

For me I think it's just lack of practice. I never had amazingly beautiful handwriting, I always wrote far too fast for that. But it's definitely worse now that I don't actually write that often with a pen and paper.

I realise the vast majority of people don’t care about awful or babyish handwriting. I just think it’s a shame.

I realise I’m a bit of a weirdo. I’ll only write with a certain pen, and I order them in boxes of 30. I have to have a particular Moleskine notebook for work.

My late dad had beautiful penmanship and would happily fill notebooks with lines of poetry he’d copy - just for the pleasure of writing. So my fixation is clearly genetic 😂

When do you ever write anything by hand, OP?

My limit is scrawling a name in a card a few times a year. As a result my handwriting has degraded terribly.

Well, I write a lot (informally) at work as I have a job that needs it. And yes, birthday and other cards.

But honestly, if I was writing a note to the milkman, it would be just so. He has terrible writing, btw 😂

My handwriting is awful. I was forced to write joined up. My sister wasn't and her handwriting is lovely.

I have to write e wry day for work and my colleagues are always complaining!

Mine used to be lovely (so I'm told).
It's still passable and legible, but 30+ years of typing at very high speeds has made me out of practice. And I think l get a bit frustrated that l can't write as fast as l can type.
I have to really concentrate and slow down if I'm writing something like a birthday card.

I was taught beautiful copperplate. I can tbf do it if I want to and have the time.

I rarely have the time so I usually have a scrawl.

Does it matter most things are typed nowadays.

Mines appalling too, as I get reminded every year when I send out Christmas cards. My DD has beautiful handwriting. My son's is worse than mine.