People have always been fascinated by what the future might look like and many have written about it. However, often that what is predicted by futurists tends to look a lot like sci-fi novels, but without the plot. At least that is what fiction writer and researcher Erik Hoel from Tufts University states. He is astonished by the fact that so many people are bad at thinking about the future, even those who he considers being great thinkers. According to the researcher, if people want to predict the future, they should build on currently existing phenomena and accept that human nature doesn’t change that much. Think about the things that are happening today and will be the most significant tomorrow. At TrendsActive we do this by focusing on the changes in needs (which are very slowly changing) that we encounter today and that will become more (or less) prominent in the future.
Hoel shares his own view on the future by making 18 predictions for 2050 in the field of technology, demographics, and politics. One of his predictions describes the increasing power of the supersensorium, a term coined by himself which describes the possibility to be entertained, everywhere and at all times. On top of that physical store will disappear and everything will be delivered within hours, or even minutes. This supersensorium, together with on-demand society, is leading to an omnipresent expectation of instant gratification, which is a trend we have been observing for a while at TrendsActive.
If the importance of instant gratification continues to grow, how can you make sure to stay relevant for modern consumers?
Curious to know what else the future holds according to Hoel? Read more here.
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