Future Trends: Is the head-on collision between the social worlds of the internet and real life going to be messy?
With the current shift in political administrations, I have noticed a shift in outlook — one of more forward-looking optimism, compared to the more restrictive mindset of conservative political philosophy. Many things are possible.
It has gotten me thinking about a number of interlocking future trends, especially regarding popular culture and the internet. I have searched through a wide variety of sites considering different questions posed by others, such as:
“What are the current and future behaviours of the internet users?”
The suggestions are enlightening.
Obviously, there is always the least common denominator factor of pure entertainment, such as porn, chat, and playing online video games. Here we see outlets for the impulses we may not be able to satisfy in everyday life.
One contributor lamented that when it came to online gaming, he simply wanted to go online to play games and have a little fun–but for too many, “every online game is to win, and not have fun.”
Is that truly the direction we are moving?
Another suggestion is the increasing importance of “virtual worlds.” The recent spate of breakups between real couples over virtual relationships created through the “Second Life” medium makes you wonder. I saw a short video about a Sony Playstation that featured another virtual interface, where you might be more likely to appeal to the opposite sex–not counting that the persona you put forth wasn’t based in reality.
How real is the attraction between two virtual personalities?
You have to wonder about impulse control, if we find ourselves consistently doing things we wouldn’t otherwise do in the real world in the invisible world of the ‘net. With email, certainly, we see people hiding behind the wall of anonymity, saying things in both tone and language that they would never (hopefully) think of using in public or with friends, family or co-workers.
Another writer asked, “Is adaption necessary to survive in our society?”
He expanded in a more thoughtful manner than most:
“My question is this, is there some sort of social survival of the fittest principal that if you basically don’t adapt and start flowing with the society you will fall and fail to survive in the society? Scientific American recently published an article regarding evolutionary principles in economics, I’m curious which principles seem to define how our society ebbs and flows and if there is some sort of approach to life that keeps you moving in the right direction rather than falling behind.”
His question is pertinent:
Is there a shift in our society, were blending into the online social scene means increasingly losing (or devaluing) our identity in the external world? Is there sufficient social pressure that relationships go underground, impulses are submerged, and our face-to-face interaction skills atrophy … and where that is considered a good thing?
I read an article in the “Futurist” Magazine a few years ago where they conjectured that written language and spelling, hallmarks of education for centuries, might become expendable skills in a virtual world, where creativity, online connectedness, and calculating skills would come to the fore — especially with the advancement of VIVO (Voice In Voice Out) technologies that would allow computers to talk to us, and us to them, with less need for written language skills.
Could there come a day when people who can’t spell well–or even write–could be considered the most intelligent and accomplished among us? Or where readin’, ritin’, and ‘rithmetic are replaced by critical and creative thinking, and computer-speak skills?
We need to think long and hard about the pressure socially to evolve in unique and unimagined ways as internet culture rushes into a head on collision with external social culture.
The outcome is uncertain, but the reality is that it will be something far different from the last 25 centuries . . . .