--- description: Vint Cerf said that due to constant updates, documents that are available today may be inaccessible in the future. title: Why the 'Father of the Internet' Thinks You Should Print Out Your Photos image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc92ac32f49abade4/69877f5ae53aba44134d7995/ap502788900854.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why the 'Father of the Internet' Thinks You Should Print Out Your Photos by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 14, 2015 4:15 PM CUT  Computer scientist Vint Cerf addresses the opening ceremony of NETmundial, a major conference on the future of Internet governance in Sao Paulo on April 23, 2014. Computer scientist Vint Cerf addresses the opening ceremony of NETmundial, a major conference on the future of Internet governance in Sao Paulo on April 23, 2014.Andre Penner—AP by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 14, 2015 4:15 PM CUT You know how all your photos and documents and videos and virtually every facet of your life seems to be online? Maybe it’s time to start making hard copies. Vint Cerf, widely recognized as one of the founders of the modern Internet and now an executive at Google, said this week that due to constant updates and improvements to hardware and software, documents that are available today may be inaccessible in the future. **MORE:** [The Best Ways to Print Photos from Your Smartphone](http://time.com/3701220/smartphone-photo-printing/ "undefined") **MORE:** [10 Google Maps Tricks You Need to Know](http://time.com/3701505/google-maps-tips-tricks/ "undefined") According to [BBC News](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31450389 "undefined"), Cerf warned of a “digital Dark Age” — a future in which there will be little record of the 21st century. “Old formats of documents that we’ve created or presentations may not be readable by the latest version of the software because backwards compatibility is not always guaranteed,” he told [BBC News](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31450389 "undefined"). **MORE:** [These Are the 10 Best Apps for People Who Commute](http://time.com/3700921/apps-commute/ "undefined") Cerf suggested that humanity start putting digital versions of software and hardware in the cloud so that future generations will be able to access older files. But printouts might be a good idea too. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3710227/google-vint-cerf-digital-dark-age/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3710227/google-vint-cerf-digital-dark-age/"},"headline":"Why the 'Father of the Internet' Thinks You Should Print Out Your Photos","datePublished":"2015-02-14T16:15:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:26.127Z","description":"He foresees a ‘digital Dark Age’","url":"https://time.com/3710227/google-vint-cerf-digital-dark-age/","keywords":["Tech","Internet","Google"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc92ac32f49abade4/69877f5ae53aba44134d7995/ap502788900854.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Josh Sanburn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/josh-sanburn/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc92ac32f49abade4/69877f5ae53aba44134d7995/ap502788900854.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vint Cerf","caption":"Vint Cerf","creditText":"Andre Penner—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3710227/google-vint-cerf-digital-dark-age/","name":"Why the 'Father of the Internet' Thinks You Should Print Out Your Photos"}}]}] ```