It will be a sad day when print media completely dies out.

@megamatt (14292)
United States
April 5, 2011 7:59am CST
I just really hope that it holds on throughout the rest of my lifetime. Still it really makes me shudder to think that there will be a generation of people who may never know the joy of holding an actual book in their hand, to read for pleasure. I think they'll still around for a while but at the same time, more people will be reading on e-readers with each passing generation and then eventually nothing. It is tragic to think this might happen one day.
2 people like this
8 responses
@ElicBxn (63194)
• United States
5 Apr 11
I think you are safe for your lifetime (no matter how young you are.) There are books that are HUNDREDS of years old still around and I suspect it will be a while before all print medium will go away. I like audio books, but when I had the choice between not getting the book because it wasn't out on audio yet or the print one, I grabbed the print one (and got it SIGNED TOO!)
1 person likes this
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
6 Apr 11
The printed books are great and yeah, it will be safe in my lifetime. I think that no matter how bad things get, the generations that grow up with reading actual printed books and other printed media, they are going to holding onto that until the very end. Now in about seventy, eight, or even a hundred or a hundred and fifty years from now, that might be a different story. Still for this lifetime, everything does really seem to be okay for a while, although there are some pretty bad signs there. Thanks for responding. Its appreciated. Have a nice day.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31367)
• Denmark
5 Apr 11
Many years ago I read a science fiction story about some children who visited a historial museum, and one of the things in the museum was a book. I laughed when I read the story, it was before the internet and before e-readers, and I found it hard to believe that printed books would disappear one day. Today a world without printed books doesn't sound so unrealistic, but I would be sad if printed books disappeared. I often visit the library and I love reading oldfashioned books. At my local library we are able to download books instead of picking up the books at the library, but there are still many, many printed books available and I hope that it will remain that way for a long time.
1 person likes this
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
6 Apr 11
That future might be closer than we think, although I think that we are going to safe for a few generations. At least, I really hope that we are going to be. In fact, I think that I really was the last generation that grew up on printed books, as the E-Readers really started getting hot like a year or two after I had gotten out of High School. There should be books available for many years to come and at least I should not have to deal with the disgrace of living in a world where printed books are something that is a historical curiosity at best. Thanks for responding. Its appreciated. Have a nice day.
@skydancer (2101)
• United States
7 Apr 11
This discussion reminds me of a scene from the movie "The Time Machine" (it was a book as well, but I believe I only saw the movie). The protagonist uses the time machine to venture many, many years into the future. In the "future world," there is only one book, and it is so ancient and degraded that it crumples just from his touch. He is basically told by the "future people" that nobody reads. I think a lot of people's preference of digital media to print media is a question of convenience. It is a lot easier to make a purchase online and download something than it is to get in your car, drive to the store, wait in line, drive home, etc., etc. In most cases, e-books and other digital media are a heck of a lot cheaper too, so it is a way to save money as well. While I, too, sometimes choose digital media for the sake of time and price, I will always buy print media. In fact, I grew up with countless family scrapbooks, antique books (the kind with the fancy carvings and engravings all over them), and my genealogy research has led me to sheet music that my family published during the 19th and early 20th century. In many ways, I am more enamored by old print media than I am new... it was so much more formal and meticulously put together back then, and it just seems people are more content to do a more lackluster job of things these days. This is not to say I don't like newer publications as well, however. Nothing compares to actually holding the real thing in your hands and flipping the pages, wondering what will happen on the next page. And don't forget that print media has unlimited battery life! This all brings me to another topic of handwritten notes. As fun as e-greetings are, the handwritten ones are so much more personable with so much more individuality.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
7 Apr 11
A lot of things are becoming less personal. Yeah it is nice to get hand written greetings. Well maybe not as much when you have handwriting that is less of a joy to behold such as mine. But it is really the thought that counts a lot of the time. I think that convenience is a great thing as well, but it does come at a price to say the very least. Thanks for responding. Its appreciated. Have a nice day.
@yoyo1198 (3641)
• United States
5 Apr 11
I do not think that the printed word will ever completely be forsaken. The development of the book and printed material was one of the greatest ever inventions. There are too many people who appreciate hard copy books, magazines and newspapers. The true bibliophiles will not allow the abandonment of such a wonderful medium.
1 person likes this
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
6 Apr 11
Yes, like I said, its going to be a few generations. But I think that this last generation, a century or two from now, should books vanish, are going to be long since remembered as the beginning of the end for books. I hope that I am wrong, I really hope that I am wrong but the signs are there, and it is really too hard to ignore when one things about it. This generation and the one after this and potentially the next one, it should be interesting to see actual written word versus electronic books. Perhaps the signs are being read wrong, perhaps they are being read right, or it is going to prove to be inconclusive in the end. Here's to hoping that books do stick around for generations to come. Thanks for responding. Its appreciated. Have a nice day.
@magtibaygom (4858)
• Philippines
10 Apr 11
They will still be able to use an actual book with pages of paper when they go to public libraries and archives to search for something when they're doing a research.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
10 Apr 11
Hopefully that does happen. Actually if books do in fact vanish, its going to be a long time, so there is a lot of hope for sure. I think that just because something has always been around, they do not last forever. Books are one of the oldest things on Earth, but they have never been threatened to the extent that they are now. I really do hope that I am wrong however. Thanks for responding. Its appreciated. Have a nice day and thanks.
@Ichiru101 (284)
• United States
5 Apr 11
I seriously agree. First bookstores then newspapers, next thing you know it and boom libraries are suddenly overate.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
6 Apr 11
Yeah it will be bad times for sure. There are a lot of things that at one time that we took for granted, that are being seen less and less. The Magazine aisle at my grocery store that I shop at for instance, even ten years ago, it was an entire side of the aisle. These days, its barely maybe a third, rather closer to a fourth. A sad state. Thanks for responding. Its appreciated. Have a nice day.
@Jennlk84 (4206)
• United States
5 Apr 11
That will be a sad day indeed. It already makes me sad to see how little people use libraries and book stores anymore for the actual book. I will admit I own an E-Reader. I purchased it because it was a new, fun gadget. I still read paperback books though! I switch on and off. I love that I can get tons of free books on my Kindle but I still purchase paperbacks from my favorite authors and genres. I will never stop going to book stores and libraries. Just because I own and sometimes read from an E-reader doesn't mean I'll give up on print media. I still love that just as much as my Kindle (if not more.)
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
5 Apr 11
Do not really fault people who use other methods in reading, but it it is not my cup of tea to be honest with you. Perhaps I am a traditionalist who prefers to have the book in their hands and have the actual experience. I think that will be one habit that I will hang onto to the very bitter end. And there will be no end that will be more bitter than the time where books tend to fall by the wayside. Magazines and newspapers are already being cut down a lot and books are slowly heading that way. And libraries, they are really losing out a lot of the time around here. One of the libraries had to close up shop around here which is sad. Another had their hours cut back, since not that many people were going in it, so there was really no reason to keep the library open for that many hours. It is a shame and I'm certain a few book stores have gone the way of the dinosaur as well. Thanks for responding. Its appreciated. Have a nice day.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
5 Apr 11
that can happen if schools will not inspire children to read great books instead of playing video games. i think that might happen and it's not soon.