It is evident that technology has provided us with multiple new
ways to obtain information. I think that
print material is not as useful as it once one. While reading a good book is a
favorite pass time to many of us, most people shift their focus to digital
resources when assigned to research a topic or simply want answers to various
questions. Before so many digital databases became available
to people, the primary way to learn about something was to find its general section
the in the library or bookstore and browse through different books, newspapers
or other print documents in hopes of finding useful information. Today, a topic as complicated as trauma to
the cerebral portion of a human brain can be researched through websites and
search engines within just minutes!
Even though concrete documents, including our own constitution,
prove that print material still thrives as an important part of society, the
access and convenience to digital databases have replaced print material in
many aspects. For example, most students
can agree that when presented with a research paper assignment in history class,
it is nearly impossible to avoid the page requiring them to cite their
sources. Googling historical figures and
events relevant to assigned time period has become so easy, that when students
are required to use at least one print reference (besides the class textbook,
of course), finding that particular source often seems to be a more inconvenient task than ever before.
Aside from books and important documents, digital databases
have also overshadowed print material in another way, as recent as the past decade. I remember as a child, my mother would take
my siblings and I on several long road trips to visit our family in Ohio and
many other distant states. To accomplish
this trip, she kept several maps and atlases in her purse and in our
vehicle. Reminiscing on this makes me
realize how dependent many people are on new digital technology. While my mother was able to rely on print
material when traveling throughout America, I hesitate to travel outside my
city without a digital GPS navigation system.
It seems that when presented with a printed map today, more and more
people are becoming unfamiliar with how to interpret many of its common
components.
I believe that many of the ways digital databases have
replaced print material are for the best.
Time and economical products are both saved due to many technology
breakthroughs. Recordings, patterns and
statistics also seem to be much easier to keep track of on digital
databases. As new discoveries are made,
they are most often posted online before writers get around to publishing
associated books. Print material
however, does possess more solid information.
While computers and websites risk losing unsaved information and being
hacked, print material most often holds definite facts and documents that
cannot be so easily altered.
