Will paper ever be replaced?

Yesterday a colleague showed me her Remarkable: an e-ink tablet that she said had replaced her paper notebook. She was very exciited about it and demonstrated how she uses it to make notes. She let me try it out — it is a very nice device indeed.

Every few years I ask myself: should I switch from taking notes and drawings on paper to an electronic device? Are electronic styluses, e-ink and e-paper responsive enough? Is the interface intuitive enough? Should I buy a tablet like the Remarkable?

Up till now, every time my conclusion is: not yet. I tell myself it’s a pricy device, so to justify the purchase, it has to be really good. It should not just replace my paper notebooks, but I also want to be able to read my Kindle and Storytel e-books on it. And while I’m at it, I also want to read my digital newspaper on it, in the morning.

I found another tablet recently, that might have these features. And still something tells me I shouldn’t switch from paper to e-paper. I think it’s because deep down, I don’t want paper to be replaced by digital technology. There is something about paper that pixels just can’t replace. How paper feels. What it means to me.

In the past years I have mostly been reading e-books and audiobooks, but lately I find myself reading and buying more old-fashioned paper books again. There’s just nothing like lying in bed with a paper book at night, turning the pages, creating earmarks where I left off. And then putting that book on my shelf as a possession that says something about who I am.

So will paper ever be replaced? I’m sure one day technology will be so advanced that e-paper can’t be distinguished from physical paper. But frankly, I hope I never see that day.