Maggie and I spent some time last night indulging in a bit of creative prognosticating about the next decade. We took turns putting a stake in the ground about things we might or might not see happen by 2030. It was a fun exercise, and personally for me, was inspired by Fred Wilson’s annual tradition of making predictions for the coming year and then being able to look back and reflect.
So, a few of our predictions for the future:
(A) There will be a rising new, “cool” city in the US that is not a current major or secondary city. Perhaps global warming influenced or ground-up technology driven. There was consensus it wouldn’t be in CA. Perhaps Nevada.
(A) Lab grown meat will be eaten on a somewhat regular basis and won’t seem weird. It won’t completely take over either. We talked about whether it would be considered high or low brow and compared its adoption characteristics to ethically sourced diamonds.
(A) There will be some virtual celebrity or entertainment IP that people will go crazy for / people will rush to go see. Like next level lil miquela, mixed with how popular kpop stars are to non-korean audiences who don’t speak korean - celebrity will have transitioned beyond the need for association.
(M) There will be an architectural trend towards extreme urban gardens where entire buildings are living walls - providing health benefits as well as changing the look of cities.
(M) Hair starts to get really crazy and unique as a continued form of expression, there is a new era of hair (i.e. color, volume, what’s normal, etc.)
(M) Genetics will dominate treatment within healthcare and profoundly influence the healthcare field.
(M) There will be a new subculture of East-West crossbreeding - more and more influence and cross-contamination between Eastern Cultures and Western Cultures, blurring of mixed race, etc.
(A) There will be a trend of art meets reality towards Cyberpunk fashion and attitude, starting with things like Cyberpunk 2077 and Cybertruck and Dolls Kill, further fueled by distrust of big tech and shifting attitudes towards privacy, surveillance, and truth manipulation.
(M) Virtual reality group social hangs for teens - perhaps new and improved arcades, will become the new ‘mall’ hangout for the next generation of teens.
(A) There will be no female or new minority US president this next decade.
(M) Many colleges start offering a brand new option for education or degree - an apprenticeship, internship school hybrid.
(M) There will be a new outdoor sports trend done indoors, similar to how outdoor rock climbing became trendy as indoor bouldering gyms have popped up - perhaps indoor tree swinging and climbing like an indoor jungle parkour gym.
(A) The Asian androgynous male look of kpop stars will start to influence the look of fashion-forward males in the west. Last generation’s skinny brooklyn hipster will trend towards skinny, androgynous, with permed hair influenced by Eastern celebrities, culture and media.
(A) There will be a rise of senior citizen group companionship living - elder roommates in private multi-person housing. Not a multi-generational family, not a traditional husband and wife, but a late-life companionship driven roommate hybrid.
(A) Global austerity becomes de rigueur in a stark contrast to the roaring 20’s of the 1900’s. In the 2020’s, faced with global slowdowns, stark inequality, and climate change-driven conservation, it will be trendy to embrace more pared down, simplified, and frugal living. Back to basics. And a rejection of luxury conspicuous consumption driven by last generation’s instagram-perfect consumerism.
Happy New Year!
