 The problem is not limited to text documents, but applies equally to photos, video, audio and other kinds of electronic documents.One concern leading to the use of the term is that documents are stored on physical media which require special hardware in order to be read and that this hardware will not be available in a few decades from the time the document was created.For example, it is already the case that disk drives capable of reading 5¼-inch floppy disks are not readily available.