Some people have suggested that in the near or distant future people will stop buying physical newspapers or books since everything will be available to read online for free. However, I completely disagree with this idea for two important reasons.

First and foremost, it seems unlikely that everyone will stop reading newspapers and books in their physical form. This is because many people enjoy the benefits of reading a real newspaper or book such as the ability to highlight important information or the feeling of turning a page. For instance, many students find that it is imperative to purchase a paper copy of their learning materials so that they can annotate and colour code crucial details. Even though certain people will switch to digital-only books or newspapers in the coming decades, there will still be a significant part of society who will use hard copies. Another important issue with the proposed idea is that not all content will be freely available online. It is clear to see that many newspaper articles have already been placed behind a paywall and the vast majority of ebooks are sold for similar prices to their paper equivalents. The New York Times, The Economist and Kindle books are three well-known examples of paid digital content and it seems unlikely that they will ever change such a successful business model. It is true that certain organisations and authors may choose to make their content free by focusing on advertising revenue, despite this it seems clear that people will need to pay to access valuable information in the future. To sum up, despite the increasing trend towards digital media, I strongly disagree with both the idea that physical newspapers and books will no longer be bought by individuals and the reason given that all information online will be available for free.