About Pen Pals

One of the biggest challenges pen pals can face is writing to each other on a regular basis. In the past, this problem was partly because of the long delivery time for letters. Now, with pen pals forming and communicating through e-mails, the reliability of your pen pal responding to an e-mail is much higher than when pen pals wrote to each other using postal mail.

History

Pen pals have been around for decades. In the past, the only way that pen pals could communicate was by sending letters on paper. Schools held pen pal matching programs, in which students could start communicating with students in other countries. The traditional way of sending mail for pen pals changed significantly because of the Internet. Today, most pen pal programs rely on e-mail. Communication is instantaneous, so you don't have to wait weeks for letters to reach your pen pal.

Function

Acting as a pen pal allows children and adults to expand their social circles. Pen pals typically live far from each other, so writing is the main way that they communicate. Sometimes pen pals last only for a few weeks; others last for years or even decades.

Types

Finding a pen pal depends on the type of friend you're interested in. Schools still have programs that match pen pals, but instead of exchanging postal addresses, they exchange e-mail addresses. Forming pen pal relationships is common among people that have similar hobbies. There are magazines for hobbies that have a pen pal section. Listings in these section include postal or e-mail addresses of other subscribers who are looking for pen pals. Other types of pen pals include those who meet at school or at their jobs and then move far away. On the Internet, web sites such as Friendfinder let people exchange e-mails using inboxes through the web site.

Geography

Pen pals span a large portion of the globe. Some people only want to find pen pals from a different country, to exchange information about their cultures. This was a common occurrence in schools before the formation of pen pal programs on the Internet. In other pen pal programs, people from different regions of the United States write to individuals from another region.

Benefits

Finding a good pen pal can give you the opportunity to travel and meet a new friend. Pen pals are also very helpful when you travel for work. These friends can show you around town, or at least recommend restaurants to try and attractions you should see that might not be as advertised as much as others. Pen pals also get to expand their knowledge about cultures.