Human evolution is a marvelous thing. Our race has come a far way from living in caves and hunting for food with hand-made weapons, however, hands down the biggest breakthrough in the history of mankind has to be the internet. Picture this, you can reach anyone on any corner of the earth (or in the earth’s orbit), anytime, instantly. Being a 90’s kid, (born on 1st April 1990) I grew up playing outside, the time when only landline phones existed if you were out, you had to find a payphone. Today, we consume zillions of Megabytes of data each day, checking up on what our favorite celebrities, actors, friends and extended family members are up to.
I too am a huge advocate of technological advancements (Terminator’s SkyNet can happen, more on that some other time hint: AI). One art has truly been lost – Writing letters. Now I know email comes to mind, but that too is received instantly. Back then, we used to exchange handwritten letters between our extended family, lovers, friends, and pen-pals. I still type letters on my MacBook, but when I deliver them to near and dear ones, I write each one by hand while making final edits along the way.
Slowly, as the name suggests is an app which lets you share letters ‘slowly’. There are no photos to be uploaded. You simply pick a cartoon avatar, select the categories which you like to talk about and pick a username.
The app has been on the market for quite some time now so you will find plenty of people whom you can send letters. Now the best part of the app, say you send a letter to someone in your city, it takes 30 minutes to an hour for the message to reach. They get notified when a message is on its way. As the distance grows, so does the time needed for delivery. It is the same as a post office but digital.
Now you might ask “Karan, why would I pick a slower service instead of Whatsapp, Tinder, Facebook, Snapchat, Kik or Skype?” You see, since you cannot make edits and it takes time to reach, you put at least 30 times more thought into that message. It allows you to make connections with like-minded people without the pressure of picking out good photos.
I read on a Quora post some back:
“Looks fade with age but personality matures.”
If you only get to know a person by their personality first, you will be a lot more open and receptive. The element of mystery is part of the fun.
So far, I have received letters from Italy and the United States and I must say, the conversations are insightful and effortless. Whether one is curious about how life is on the other side of the globe, or they are looking to move to a country so they need to make their network. It can also help people connect in the same city regardless of one’s talent of uploading better photos online.
This is my personal review of the Slowly app. It is not sponsored by them in any way. Though if you are feeling nostalgic, I’d highly recommend you give this app a try. The best part, it’s free to use!
Slowly for iOS
Slowly for Android
Official Website: https://www.getslowly.com