I think hand writing is still very important, but for entirely personal (and maybe selfish) reasons. One of the biggest motivators for me to learn new language

I think hand writing is still very important, but for entirely personal (and maybe selfish) reasons. One of the biggest motivators for me to learn new language scripts has been the joy in producing letters in a foreign script using my own hand. Handwriting has a deep link within the mind to a number of important language areas, and is probably wired through completely different pathways than keyboard typing. Not to say one is better than the other, ultimately it’s all about communication. But just like some people prefer to draw by hand, I still prefer taking notes and writing my thoughts down by hand first.