Typewriters are back, and we have Edward Snowden to thank …

By Siobhan Lyons November 12

Siobhan Lyons is a tutor in Media and Cultural Studies at Macquarie University.

In writing, music, photography and other areas, outdated technologies have initially been valued for their retro, nostalgic appeal in the hipster culture. Vinyl is one of the most notable technologies to have achieved a noticeable revival, not only for its retro value but also for its superior sound quality.

Now people are seeing the security benefits of returning to other so-called anachronistic technologies. Typewriters, for instance, are experiencing a revival in politics. Earlier this year, German politician Patrick Sensburg announced that Germanys government officials might start using typewriters, as they are seen as being an unhackable technology.

While this move might be viewed as somewhat regressive, its actually progressive. Let me explain.

Following last years NSA leaks, the Russian government is also set to return to typewriters in an effort to avoid hacking. Nikolai Kovalev, former head of the Federal Security Service, said in 2013: From the point of view of keeping secrets, the most primitive method is preferred: a human hand with a pen or a typewriter.

Initially considered obsolete in the digital age, typewriters are experiencing a slow but noticeable resurgence.

In 2009, the New York Police Department spent nearly $1 million on manual and electric typewriters. This year, The Times in London erected a speaker to produce the sound of typewriters in an effort to boost staff energy levels, which coincides with a revival of interest in the typewriter.

The Guardian editorialized last year:

Type a document and lock it away and more or less the only way anyone else can get it is if you give it to them. This is why the Russians have decided to go back to typewriters in some government offices, and why in the US, some departments have never abandoned them.

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Typewriters are back, and we have Edward Snowden to thank ...