One of the biggest draws of typewriter use, for me anyway, is to avoid the downside of modern technology. Everything is designed to keep users engaged and scrolling. Things are often sensationalized. AI has created this endless slop machine where now we can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t. Some technology and apps are addictive. People abuse them, stay on all the time, use it to think for them, or just flat out won’t do things themselves. Where’s the fun in that?

There’s a reason why screen time, social media, and LLMs have such a massive conversation around them. So, I’d say that avoiding distraction is definitely a reason why people would want to use one right now. Most “typewriter enthusiast” articles and videos online like to use this as a talking point to convince folks to use them. In early 2025, the BBC wrote about people who repair, manufacture, and use typewriters in the 21st century. One of their examples was a woman who was just trying to type something in a word-processing program but grew increasingly frustrated with the pop-ups, suggestions, hints, and all the notifications that happen when using certain programs. The funny thing is that she’ll write the drafts on the typewriter, then scan them into her computer. Another person mentioned in the article uses them to type letters instead of using a computer.

But even they admit that typewriter usage requires a lot more effort than most typing (duh). Some people feel that using a typewriter can enhance creativity. Makes sense. But I think the most obvious tech-related draw of these old machines is that they offer a way to create something genuine and avoid so-called artificial intelligence.