With the world coming closer to a paperless society everyday, what are some things that will ultimately dissapear?

[krunchykrome]

It seems that more and more we are becoming a paperless world. Bills can be viewed and paid online, statements can be viewed online, forms can be filled out electronically, email is now the preferred form of correspondence, pictures are sent via email, etc. You get the point.

What are some industries or services that we might see dissapear in the next 10-20 years?

 

[captains]

paperless society hahahhahahahah.

 

[Circlenaut]

What about gov't audits? Will they ask for HD backups? (would be interesting considering how technophob beurocracy is)

 

[Golgatha]

Photograph development chemicals.

 

[loup garou]

What is "the United?"

 

[lozina]

"For example, the United" .... the United... Airlines??? States???

 

[Ika]

UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL and the like will never disappear due to our becoming a paperless society - they may disappear due to competition, but they are always needed for physical deliveries.

And paper is more reliable than electronic - electronic can be modified, while you cannot change letters/signatures on a piece of paper (besides forging, but that's another matter).

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: loup garou
What is "the United?"

I'm guessing "the United States Postal Service", but there's no reason it has to disappear at all.

 

[OutHouse]

the world is not becoming a paperless society, we are using more paper than ever. why? because computers have given joe blow and aunt suzie the ability to be their own print shop, photo shop. business have the ability to make all kinds of reports now that werent avilable 10+ years ago.

 

[superHARD]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: loup garou
What is "the United?"

I'm guessing "the United States Postal Service", but there's no reason it has to disappear at all.

I agree

 

[krunchykrome]

Sorry, fixed

The Untied States Postal Service

 

[killface]

Even Monopoly is going paperless.

 

[loup garou]

Toilet paper.

What, you don't know how to use the three seashells?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: loup garou
Toilet paper.

What, you don't know how to use the three seashells?

"Be well" Taco Bell FTW

 

[NanoStuff]

Biological entities. Or did you not mean that far ahead?

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: loup garou
Toilet paper.

What, you don't know how to use the three seashells?

"Be well" Taco Bell FTW

If every restaurant in the future was Taco Bell, I fvcking hope those 3 seashells worked better than TP!!!

 

[Gravity]

Staples, staple removers, copiers, paperclips and paper clamps. Just to name a few. Perhaps we will frown on those that bring paper presentations to meetings or show up to a meeting with paper handouts instead of info that can be copied on flash.

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: loup garou
Toilet paper.

What, you don't know how to use the three seashells?

Ah, great minds think alike. Only I was thinking I was not going to touch someone's credit card or ATM card ever again.

 

[So]

ROFL. We waste more paper now than ever before. It's so easy to print hard copies of things.

 

[PingSpike]

I thought it was acknowledged that technology's promises from 15 years ago that paper would be used less were not only not true, but the exact opposite of what it actually gave us. As has been mentioned, printers cost nothing...everyone probably uses more paper then ever since its so easy to get good quality results down onto a page.

Its like the promise that CD-rom drives would be the "end of needing large amounts of hard drive space!" "Everything will run off the CD!" Of course, it just turned out that the cd rom drive just resulted in developers being able to send even larger programs to customers that need EVEN MORE hard drive space then before.

 

[GasX]

everytime some pundit talks about a paperless society, the amount of junkmail in my mail box increase exponentially.

Nothing will be entirely paperless EVER.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: So
ROFL. We waste more paper now than ever before. It's so easy to print hard copies of things.

Agreed, but my point is that it's easier than ever to not need paper as much anymore. It's hard to imagine life in 20 years with as much paper consumption as we use today. Even banks are giving customers the option, often times the default option, to receive estatements instead a paper statement.

 

[PingSpike]

How come as my personal need for paper copies goes down, the supply goes up and my personal need for paper shredders continues to climb?

 

[ruffilb]

Papermills?

 

[sandorski]

Paper! duh