Written letters

This article, posted by Mr. Mullins, discusses why written letters are important: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-gasda/signed-sealed-delivered_b_2679701.html?utm_hp_ref=books

As well-written as the article is, I would like to respectfully disagree, and add some of my thoughts on the subject.
The first point the author makes is a personal one; he states that he corresponds regularly by snail mail and it is a rewarding, romantic experience. My belief is that, for the most part, this is a generational comfort that comes from a lifetime of e-mail-less letter-writing. It reminds people of the past, and brings in some nostalgia along with the kind words that letters can bring.
The next point he makes is that great writers have long written letters; to their family, their loved ones, and themselves. This might just be me, but I don't understand why this "writing practice" is lost when you write letters in electronic form. It's the same amount of practice with technique and style when you write on the computer as it is when you write on paper. I mean, they'll be typing their books on a computer, most likely, so it's probably better practice anyway.
It could be the fact that writing makes my hand hurt because my pinkie is deformed, but I feel like hand-writing a letter when you could type it out is the equivalent of long dividing huge numbers when you have a calculator sitting RIGHT THERE. It takes forever, it hurts your hand, it's way more work, and seems pointless when you're done.
Also, excessive letter-writing kills trees. 
All that being said, a hand-written or handmade card is much, much better than an e-card or a text. But writing a letter and taking two weeks to get it back just to have idle conversation seems like a ridiculous waste of time to me. So, there is definitely some merit to hand-writing things, and I'm not trying to suggest that paper itself is entirely pointless, but overall I disagree with a lot of what this article said.