Penpal friends generally find one another through a service which can be either online or in a magazine. They list their interests, a brief description of themselves which includes gender and age and they are either matched with someone they will be compatible with or they choose their own pen friend.
Some penpal matching services are based on common goals or beliefs. The people joining want to find a friend they can write to who sees the world the same way they do.
Before the advent of the internet many people worldwide would instant message each other in an entirely different way. They were penpal friends and although they shared much of the same information we do today with online buddies, their method of communication was significantly slower.
Penpals can live thousands of miles apart and begin a dialogue which will include everything from family members to the political systems of their countries.
Decades ago penpal friends were all the rage with teenagers. They would find a friend somewhere else in the world and then spend hours writing handwritten letters and mailing them via the post office to one another. In some cases it took weeks to get a...