Is print text dying?

Is print text dying? I think that in many ways print text is beginning to disappear, but I don't believe that it will ever disappear completely. Today my grandmother was looking for a phone number for a local business and she asked me if we had a phone book. I looked at her with a puzzled look and thought to myself, "a phone book"? I didn't give her a puzzled look because I didn't know what a phone book was, but because I have not used one in so long. I told her that I was not sure if we had a phone book, but I could still locate the number that she was trying to find. Like so many other times, I went to my laptop and typed in the name of the local business and the phone number, address, and directions appeared. I think that this is a perfect example of how print text may be dying.

The environmental standards that people are living by may also be causing traditional print text to die. For example, many people follow the standards of the go green campaign, which causes them to make environmentally conscious decisions regarding print text. Many universities are now placing a lot of information online, which is causing a cut back of print text. At Lamar University there is a limited number of course guides that are printed. Students are forced to go to the Internet to search for courses or they can opt to purchase a print version of the catalog. Also at the college level, many professors are uploading portions of their course content online. The virtual classroom can be very interesting because students are engaged in a virtual classroom speaking to people that they have never met. Usually in a virtual classroom students don't have to ever engage in print text, for most of their writing is submitted online or to discussion boards. Although environmental standards have eliminated print text I don't believe that print text will completely disappear due to environmental standards.

The loss of print text usually demands that we turn to the virtual world, but what happens to those that don't have a computer? Every night before I go to bed I read USA Today and The Houston Chronicle online, but individuals that don't have computer or Internet can not do the same. I find that it is much easier and I don't have to buy a newspaper to read the internet online. I believe that one day everyone will have a computer in his or her home, but until then print text will remain alive. Even after computers are in every home I believe that text will not die, but I guess only time will tell.