The memories that you create and capture over the years are just as important as you. Digitizing those memories is important because it make it easy to share among family members and help preserve memories for generations to come.
Check out this great article by seniorliving.com
Dvd's aren't dying! Dvd's are a great media and have a long history dating back to 1960's, manufactures say that DVD's are tested and have been shown to last 30-100 years but independent researchers say that the lifespan is closer to 25-50.
Here is a very interesting article about CD's and DVD's.