It's the year 2030. It's been 10 years since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the planet. The world has moved on. It has innovated, adapted and progressed. Things are familiar, but different. Some still wonder: it's a better world, or are there only other gadgets that distract us from problems? Already.
Today, in light of what is happening, we need to update the answer to this question again: what will the next decade be like? What will the world be like in 2030? Will the pandemic be a pivotal moment of radical change and activism or will it be the first spark of fear that ushers in a cyber-dystopia? Here are some forecasts for the future updated to the period. What will the future of the earth be like? Will the world be better tomorrow?
Young in 2030
In 2020, young people wanted to save the world and took sides. Thinking about the future world, in 2030 can we say that they will have succeeded? Not exactly. Maybe in 2050 (or in 3000). Of course, they will make progress on which the generation can build. In the world of 2030, every company will have a classification system, based on its purpose and values. When young people of the alpha generation start applying for a job, companies will start ranking them.
The pandemic has really been a blow to this generation. This has influenced their thoughts and their careers: there will be many faculty members linked in some way to the pandemic. And soon we should have even more scientists and more doctors in political roles as well.
Health in 2030
In the 2020s, health became a priority. After all, governments prioritized health over their economies during the pandemic. It is an intent that has ended up at the forefront of every company's mission. And when it comes to health, predictions about the future obviously force us to consider too that of the planet. Fighting climate change is vital to creating a better and healthier world. Many companies have planned and introduced a Health Manager.
Small details will also be optimized in everyday life. A stay at the spa in 2030 will be more like a medical visit than a moment of pure relaxation. Of course, we will go there for relaxation, but we will also take the opportunity to make checks that tell us more about our health, our body, our biology and how to improve it.
Mega city in 2030
In 2020, according to the UN, we already had 34 mega cities (cities with over 10 million inhabitants). With demographic trends on the rise for a while longer (then they will stop), in the world of 2030 there will be more people on the planet. The world of the future will see at least 9 more mega cities around the world. And to live healthily, we will try not to spend all our time closed "in a box" in our homes.
We've become more focused on outdoor living, an aspect of the urban environment we took for granted until the 2020 pandemic. To have healthy megacities we'll need to start radically rethinking urban design. Not all of them will have converted to "superblocks” or similar urban planning solutions, but there will be more car-free spaces, more cycle paths and pedestrian paths.
Finally, in 2030 there will be no more rush hours, life in the future will give us a new balance between work and private life no longer based on the classic working hours of 9 to 17 pm It will be much more flexible and we will work in a much more way global. You won't have to go to work every day, thanks also to new technological solutions.
Tech in 2030
Big tech is increasingly eclipsing the role of government and becoming more influential. It is already practically ubiquitous in healthcare, education, infrastructure. By 2020, technological growth had reached a bottleneck. The pandemic has changed the course of history and accelerated the efforts of big technology. All predictions about the future tell us that technology will play a major role in education, public services and healthcare.
In Australia, the contact tracing app is already showing McDonald's advertising, showing a trend that will be massive in 2030: that of the "consumerization" of our civil life.
There's a perception that our governments aren't really capable of solving big technological problems. And there is generally a lack of trust in representative democratic institutions, in favor of the popular power of the public pillory. But technology is not the solution to everything. If we want to reimagine education, let's start by training and paying for more social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, and Arts classes.
Creative Thinking in 2030
There is a paradigm shift coming. Technology was seen as the enemy of creativity and everything we thought of as emotional and artistic. The new generation of creators play with artificial intelligence e augmented reality. They grew up with games, social media and smartphones - these are the new tools in the land of the future.
We're seeing a lot of experimentation on how to add sensory layers to online experiences. What started as a very genuine trend in gaming, digital clothing purchasing, and digital makeup will become the norm in 2030. A new wave of creatives will see AI as a collaborative partner to create new things.
Virtual worlds in 2030
A film, a theme park, a shopping center: soon these three apparently distant elements could converge. Coexist in immersive virtual environments. We will be able to literally enter a movie, interact with the characters and take a walk, during the story, to go shopping. Or chatting with a friend about how that detective didn't get you right during the last investigation. In practice we will see more and more convergence between entertainment, gaming, conversation and socialization.
In conclusion
Throughout history, predictions about the future reflect the ideals or desires of that time. In 1500 Nostradamus' predictions concerned war, power and men. In the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution predictions included huge flying machines (steampunk looking, I guess). In the 60s, a cartoon like The Jetsons projected the optimistic American dream into outer space.
Over the past 10 years, our predictions about the future have been so clinical, so minimalist, and so obsessed with technology, it's almost as if we want to be robots ourselves. And in part it is like this, given that many have the vocation to be at least a little cyborg.
We are so tired of being ourselves, indeed: what we have become. In the world of 2030 we will improve, perhaps, in many different ways. We will give strength, perhaps, to ourselves and to others in a professional and economic way. We will be saved, perhaps, from the dangers of inadequate government.
There will be an improved relationship, perhaps, between technology and people. Technology will have merged, perhaps, with people. And it will truly make our lives more fulfilling. Maybe. In other words, there will be a better future. PERHAPS. Who does it depend on?
But to do it, we have to certainly be on guard TODAY. We cannot become passive, now more than ever. This is really important. We still need resistance. Activism must not stop.
