“The internet is the most important single development in the history of human communication since the invention of call waiting.” –Dave Barry
There has never been any doubt that the Internet is one of man’s most powerful and significant inventions to date. It has allowed for a myriad of capabilities—each one more useful than the last. Bridging gaps in communication, furthering research, expanding the entertainment industry—these are just a slew of what the prowess of the Internet has given us over the years and until today, it has shown no signs of declining. Two decades ago, when the Internet was still in its incipient form, only the most basic functions were performed and today, that kind of technology would be considered prehistoric. Today, with fast internet available to almost every major city in the world, the Internet has afforded some conveniences to its users where it was not available before. In the last two decades, we have gone from the slow; dial-up box version of the Internet to one that can be easily accessed at incredibly speeds from almost anywhere in the globe. As a result, the Internet has revolutionized the marketing industry which meant that it introduced strategies that were unheard of or were not possible before.
Unfortunately, its steady progress and evolution would also mean that older ones would be rendered obsolete. In any case, here are some of the speculations of what the Internet would be like in the future—in about two decades or so:
1.) Internet connection will be permanent and automatic
Back in the day, accessing the Internet meant enduring the minutes-long process of dialing up and hoping nobody picked up the phone while you were at it. Today, internet connectivity can be done in a matter of seconds once you input the correct Wi-Fi password at a given location. Inevitably, connectivity will become more streamlined and permanent in such a way that no individual “connection” would be necessary.
2.) Augmented and virtual reality will have a pivotal role
Through our smartphones, we are able to access the internet but speculations have suggested that next generation devices would be able to embed or project the Internet into the real world through some form of augmented reality. In fact, this has already been shown to be in existence today with Google Glass pioneering the technology. Although augmented reality has not really seen a favorable reception from the market, the world would be ready for it a few years down the road.
3.) Machines might take over your job
Today, machines are gradually taking over jobs—many of them manual tasks. In the future however, it has been predicted that they will then start to gain mastery over high-level and intellectual tasks—such as writing. As the internet is a ubiquitous tool, it would only be understandable that apps will be developed to ensure that less world and more resources would be directly available. Unfortunately, this might mean that job availability might become rather scarce and people would undoubtedly encounter hurdles of joblessness.
4.) Privacy will be commoditized
Today, with people constantly connected to the Internet and with more apps running our lives, is it really any wonder if our privacy becomes compromised? In the future, this might even become cause for an even bigger concern. It is highly likely that privacy will be commoditized to a certain extent that only the affluent people can afford to be off the grid.
5.) The internet of things will mature
In the age of smartphones and smartwatches, it is only inevitable to have smart homes in existence as well. Today, “the internet of things “is known to connect various household appliances from the fridge to the home’s thermostat. In two decades or so, one can expect this type of connection to extend to health monitors, vehicles, wallets and maybe even our paper currency.
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