Excerpt:
Clay Routledge, a psychologist who studies nostalgia as part of his work at the Washington, D.C.-based think-tank Archbridge Institute, says the interest in snail mail — even among people born long after it was replaced by email — fits with his research findings.
The results of a national survey the institute conducted in May 2025 indicated that historical nostalgia was widespread.
Routledge, who is also the author of Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life, says the vast majority of participants reported they were “nostalgic for a time before they were alive.”
Additionally, his research found that this kind of nostalgia helps people manage the stress of current challenges and anxiety about the future.
“So a young person might be like, ‘Oh cool, people used to get stuff in the mail. Handwritten cards have neat stationery.’ And they might start doing that, not because it’s in their own personal past, but they were inspired through more cultural nostalgia.”
Read the full article at CBC Radio.
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