Will Ereaders Eventually Replace Physical Books?

I never imagined how fast things would change. As a child growing up in the 70s, I listened to LPs. Later I listened to 8 tracks, tapes,CD’s and now we buy our music almost exclusively on line. When my daughter was 5 (in 1995) we gave her a little set of Barbie accessories. It included a turntable and record. I said, ‘You know what this is, honey? It’s a record.’ She said, ‘No it’s not, dad. It’s a CD.’ We’ve watched beta and vhs disappear and I still have several sets of encyclopaedias on my shelf that neither I nor my kids use.

When we’re a few years older, it’ll be easier to see what’s really going to happen. No matter how comforting a physical book is, it may not represent the same comfort to future generations as it does to us. After all, you don’t really need a light to read a kindle.