5 Predictions For The (Not-So-Distant) Future of Humanity

Where society is headed from relationships to finances and beyond

I’d like to start this one by saying I am not a professional researcher, scientist, data analyst, anthropologist, or a physic for that matter. I’m just a regular middle-aged dude that has seen some stuff, and might have some educated guesses as to where we may be headed.

Admittedly, some of these “predictions” have been discussed as possibilities already. But I wanted to dig a little further into them and give my own perspective on why I think they will come to fruition.

Without further adieu, here are five things I see happening in the next two or three decades (or sooner) for humanity.

1. Marriage Rates Will Sharply Decline

As marriage is essentially tied to the church, I see it falling off dramatically in the next 10 years or so — at least in the West. Apparently the marriage rate hit an all-time low in the U.S. in 2018, dropping to 6.5 marriages per 1,000 people compared to 12 per 1,000 in 1929.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the last two years have lowered this record even more, as I’m sure many people have put off tying the knot during the ongoing pandemic. But even without a pandemic, I see the numbers going down as younger generations gain more influence.

For example, the younger folks don’t seem as tied to traditional churches as they used to be. The reasons for creating distance from the church could be for many reasons, and according to research (on Protestant churches) the top reason from respondents is moving to college. But other reasons included feeling judged, and not connecting with the church’s political stances. Younger generations are becoming more liberal than in the past, especially on topics like abortion that’s still frowned upon by some religious institutions (and governments.)

Along with falling marriage rates, we have also seen divorce rates rising in the past (and especially during the pandemic) — which may indicate a lot of couples out there shouldn’t have wed to begin with. (However, apparently the 50% or so divorce rate often cited for the U.S. is an overblown number, with at least one source saying 2019 rates were the lowest since 1970.)

Meanwhile, I see polyamory spiking in the years to come as attitudes change, allowing people to have multiple partners with certain mutually agreed-upon rules. This is different than polygamy, which is having several spouses.

2. People Will No Longer Go To a ‘Workplace’

If there’s one thing we know from navigating the pandemic, it’s that people can work from home and achieve the same productivity as they would in the office. In fact, by following some guidelines such as avoiding distractions and taking regular breaks, people can be more productive working from their living room.

I have personally been working from home for the past seven years. While I produce more on some days than others, I’m sure that I have achieved more in the relative silence of my home office than I did working alongside people. I did enjoy their company and banter, but there’s a lot to be said for not getting pulled into random conversations.

The other reason I think workplaces will no longer be needed is simple economics. Why would a company lease a large office when their employees can easily work remotely? There are also all the other expenses that come along with operating a space, such as maintenance, utilities, and possibly property taxes.

With many brick-and-mortar businesses heading online to reach more people, I also see malls disappearing at some point (but not within a decade.) It just makes sense to eliminate the overhead of a physical space, when many people prefer to shop from their phone anyway.

Meanwhile, I see co-working spaces as a growing solution for companies to gather staff for the occasional meeting or pep talk. And of course, there’s always Zoom and other video conferencing apps that got a major boost in the last couple of years.

While you might think that working from home means you won’t have managers looking over your shoulder, some companies are actually monitoring more about what you’re up to during work hours than you might think. After all, there are still sales goals and deadlines to meet.

Don’t worry — I still think there will be plenty of work for those who want it — although there is some validity to fears of artificial intelligence and robots taking over people’s jobs (it’s already happening.) But I think we’ll always need humans in the job force for many functions — after all, you won’t find an AI that can write an article like this one (yet.)

And if Elon has his way, you might be able to land a job on Mars.

3. Romantic/Sexual Relationships Will Start Almost Exclusively Online

When dating sites first came out as early as 1994, they were not seen as a serious way for most people to get dates. In fact, it seemed to be more targeted at people who couldn’t find partners in real life (by picking them up at bars like everyone else.)

Online dating had a bit of a stigma, and it’s one that still continues in some circles — at least up until around 2016. Actually, many people still swear by the old tested and true methods, like chatting up someone in a bookstore about what they’re reading.

Online dating is still seen by some people as “desperate.” But the truth is that many people are almost instinctively turning to apps like Tinder to find a match based on profiles and images. There’s a real appeal to being able to “shop” for your ideal date, just as you would when buying a new pair of shoes.

I mean, why waste time and money on a Friday night with someone whose interests don’t line up with yours, and who isn’t selfie-worthy? It makes sense from a success viewpoint to peruse people online before making contact and ultimately meeting up.

The technology developing nowadays allows you to go further initially than just reading profiles and exchanging cute messages. There’s virtual reality out there that could put you and your prospective date in a setting of your choice to “interact.” Sex toys are also becoming mobile, meaning you could pleasure a person you just met for a one-night online stand.

I think people who have great chemistry will always be able to find each other offline. But I think the trend is moving away from randomly chatting up strangers on the street that you’d like to get to know better. But of course, there will always be those pick-up artists using “tricks” to meet women.

I actually think in the future it will be somewhat rare to have met someone special not online first, but there will still be those old-fashioned cases of matchmaking.

FWIW, my now-wife was my first real online date in 2009. So it worked even then.

4. Cryptocurrency Will Rule The Financial World

Don’t worry — I’m no “crypto bro” as some people might call it. I just got into cryptocurrency earlier this year, out of boredom and curiosity (and the urging on by a friend.)

I’m not going to tell you that you should buy Bitcoin today, and I have a lot to learn about it all. But I have seen enough now to know that cryptocurrency is the future and is not going anywhere — remember, they also said the worldwide web was just a trend at one time.

I have started my crypto journey on BitClout.com, which is a decentralized social network (read this article from my friend Sal to learn more about the potential of a decentralized internet, referred to as Web3). BitClout also incorporates cryptocurrency — you can actually invest in users’ coins and tip them instead of just “liking” their posts.

I hear you, and it’s true — cryptocurrency is highly volatile (thought to be more unpredictable than the stock market, but apparently less volatile than some S&P 500 stocks) and is not for the faint-of-heart — but overall it seems to be a good bet.

There are many arguments you could make about crypto vs. fiat (traditional) currency. For example, if you hold crypto and you get hacked, you could lose a fortune and have no bank to fall back on — like one crypto heist worth $600 million (although the hackers apparently returned some of it, so that obviously makes them better people.)

Cryptocurrency might level the playing field for those looking to invest, because you can buy fractions of coins instead of putting out bigger bucks to get started with mutual funds, for example.

Crypto itself is self-governed through a public blockchain, and not any financial institution. This electronic ledger maintains a record of all transactions to keep the trust of the users. Governments do not generally back crypto, although some countries are seeing the potential and adopting it — and so are some banks. That tells me they know this is no trend, and they’ve decided they’d better try to keep up.

I can see people paying with crypto for a wide variety of stuff in the future. There’s already a growing list of major companies accepting it. It will become the norm. After all, many people wouldn’t have believed we would be making purchases more often with a debit card than with cash just a decade or so ago. This will just be the next step. Consider that crypto is already a more than $3 trillion market.

Meanwhile, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become a viable way for artists and content creators to sell their work in exchange for cryptocurrency, without relying on a middleman or a traditional gallery. The buyer can be sure they’re a unique owner, thanks to the unique token that acts like a certificate of authenticity.

5. People Will (Try To) Spend Less Time Online

I know this one goes slightly against some of the predictions I’ve already made, but here’s how I see it: the same way it was a novelty to be online after the dawn of the internet, it will be a novelty to experience things IRL again. That means people will increasingly make a point of unplugging for a digital detox and to reconnect with reality.

My own New Year’s resolution is to cut my average screen time from the four hours or so my phone claims I’ve been online daily to about two hours max. So not a digital detox per se, more of a digital diet. I will try to get back to enjoying the outdoors before climate change makes it impossible (hopefully not in my or my son’s lifetime.)

Talking to people face-to-face is a lost art, and I’ve noticed my own social skills slipping a lot since the pandemic started. I spend much of my days alone in my home office typing, without much background noise, and it’s been pretty great in some ways. But I also know that stepping away from the computer is important for mental health. In fact, a study suggests more than six hours of screen time per day increases risk of depression among adults. With more focus on wellness these days, this could be a trigger for some people to step away from the keyboard for a while.

It’s no secret that people are spending much more time online than in recent history, as this chart shows from 2012 to 2020. But one thing I noticed about this particular graph is that people worldwide spent the same number of minutes on social networks in 2020–145 minutes — as in 2019. I thought for sure 2020 would be much higher due to people being stuck indoors during lockdowns.

I’m not saying that internet use is hitting a plateau based on this very limited data sample, but I do think at some point people will say “enough is enough” before we end up in The Matrix.

Until then, see ya’ll on BitClout. And here, of course.