CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, cassette tapes, newspapers, books, and other forms of physical media that are considered to be “old school” have been slowly fading away from public favor. Or have they?

In a time where reliance on forms of technology such as cell phones and laptops has increased tremendously, physical media has been becoming less and less easily available for consumers. After all, why collect CDs and vinyls when music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music exist? Why go to a store and buy a DVD when the latest movies go straight to platforms like Netflix and Peacock?

The CD and vinyl selections at retail stores such as Walmart and Target have shrunk over the years, and very rarely in those stores do the latest albums pop-up, or at least stay in stores long enough for customers to realize they’re there before they wind up replaced by shelf-warmers that always seem to be on clearance.

Through all of this, the question on the table remains: do people, especially those on the younger side, still have a desire to collect and use physical media?

Alan Berg, a 23-year-old filmmaker who graduated from Rowan University last year, still collects a lot of physical media, especially when it comes to anything involving music or gaming.

“I think there is a large part of society that still yearns for physical media. A lot of it comes from nostalgia for the old days when physical media was the only option. Physical media is also bought as artwork. There are lots of people who buy vinyl records who do not even own a record player. But I think physical media still has a place in society as a way of backing up media or for offline viewing,” said Berg.

Dimitrius DeMarco, a junior at Rowan University dual majoring in English and writing arts, is a firm believer in keeping around physical media, especially when it comes to books.

“Having physical, tangible materials is priceless, both for the purpose of preserving art and on a personal level for a lot of people. Most forget that the consumption of media is entirely tactile. You both feel and read a book. You listen to music, you can feel the grooves on a record. Having the real, physical thing is more than an experience, it’s the perpetuation of history, and both physical and digital media have their place in a consumer market, and neither should be removed in their entirety,” said DeMarco.

Abbie Ealer, a senior history student at Rowan University, understands how important physical media is from a historical perspective, believing that they serve as reminders that we’re human, not robots.

“I think we do still yearn for physical media, especially old souls like myself because it reminds us of where we came from. It’s a lot more difficult, I think, for physical media to be destroyed than it is for digital media to just be deleted,” said Ealer.

For as long as physical media continues to be released in some capacity, there will continue to be an audience for it. They may be harder to come across these days, but the collectors and consumers who still crave access to physical media hold the key to keeping it around for years to come.

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