Are digital databases replacing print material?

     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.