Computer Mediated Communication

I have always felt that computer mediated communication in text format, that is, sms and email, often seem more insincere than the "normal old fashioned ways" of communicating. If there's someone I miss who's overseas, I'd much prefer to receive a handwritten letter or postcard from that person. I just feel that that is so much more personal than an email or sms. Could this be because of language differences when composing an email and a handwritten letter?

I associate handwritten letters with strict "old fashioned" formatting. You start with the greetings, then the paragraphs, then the sign off. In emails, such formatting may be used but if it's a close contact, it's often in a more casual form, almost resembling a short message, without all the fuss of formatting.

Emails and sms's also often make use of short forms. "You" becomes "u", "because" becomes "cos"... etc. Punctuation is often abused too. Multiple exclamation marks and full stops often find their way into emails and sms's like this: "!!!!!!!!!!!!" or "?!?!?!?!?!?!" or ".... ..... ..... ..... ....".
Indeed, it's much easier to create such repetitions on a keyboard than with a pencil.

As such, it seems as if computer mediated communication is actually much more expressive as compared to handwritten communication. It is ironic that it feels much more distant than the old fashioned way of communicating.

Perhaps it's got nothing to do with language or linguistics. Maybe, letters and postcards mean so much more simply because the sender has touched the very same paper that the person receiving it has. The knowledge of this, and the effort that the sender has put in to write and send the letter, makes the receiver feel something special, and that is where the personal connection really is. Does that make sense? Hm.