Yeah, Nah: Is the art of letter writing dead?

Friday, 3 July 2026

A hand-written note, pen pals, postcards from overseas, love letters and greeting cards. Is traditional snail mail going to die out and the art of letter writing with it?

Remember pen pals, postcards from overseas, birthday and Christmas cards and mail delivered promptly to your door? It can feel like traditional snail mail is a thing of the past. Is it time to say letter writing has had its day?

The price of sending a standard letter is has now gone up to $3.60. The increase that came into effect on July 1 is the latest in a series of near-annual price hikes that have seen letters go up from just $1 at the start of 2018.

We asked Stuff readers how often they posted a letter these days.

NZ Post has reduced delivery days and it now costs $3.60 to send a letter. Are we experiencing the death of the letter?

Almost half of readers (44%) answered ‘never’, while the next biggest group of respondents was ‘once a year’ at 18%. ‘Every six months’ was selected by 12% of voters and 1% said ‘everyday’, making those readers very enthusiastic correspondents.

While the practical necessity of writing letters has been replaced by texts, emails and social media, could the art of letter writing shift to a thoughtful and intentional act?

Could sending (and receiving) a letter now be considered a luxury? It’s no longer cheap to post your well-expressed thoughts and feelings and it’s not always easy to find a place where you can buy a stamp and post it. Add in the time it takes to compose a letter, plus the reduction in home delivery services, and the art of handwritten correspondence turns into an overall slow process.

Could letter writing undergo a renaissance rather than simply die out? Younger generations who join thriving stationery communities on TikTok and Instagram could be just what NZ Post needs.

The company’s chief executive David Walsh said, “NZ Post is committed to continuing to provide a commercially sustainable mail service for New Zealanders, and we will continue to deliver mail for as long as Kiwis are sending it.”

Is the art of letter writing dead or is it due for a renaissance? Tell us in the comments. If you’re using the Stuff app on iOS you’ll need to open the story on a browser to view and post comments.