Writing words down increases connectivity linked to memory and learning between different areas of the brain, with the same not being true when things are typed out on a computer
By Chen Ly
26 January 2024
Jotting information down on paper may be better for learning
Rostislav_Sedlacek/Shutterstock
Writing something down rather than typing it on a computer could help you retain the information better, after researchers found putting pen to paper boosts connectivity between different areas of the brain.
Using a keyboard – whether on a computer, laptop or smartphone – is a relatively quick and easy way to write. Already standard in offices, some students are increasingly using computers and laptops at school.
But these modes of writing are very different, says Audrey van der Meer at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “When you type on the keyboard, you only make very simple finger movements towards the keys and they’re exactly the same movements for every letter you want to write.”
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When writing by hand, you have to make detailed motions that are unique to each letter, she says.
To investigate how handwriting and typing differ in their effects on the brain, van der Meer and her colleagues enlisted 36 students in their early 20s.