Everyone shares the same sentiment right now: the desire for things to return to normal as quickly as possible. But realistically it’s highly unlikely that things will normalize anytime soon. It’ll likely be a slow burn, a gradual shift that takes place over weeks and months and maybe even years. And some aspects of life may never return to normal at all. Nor should they. For the normal way of doing things is in some regards part of the problem.
That’s why trying to imagine what the future will look like in a post COVID-19 world is a challenging exercise. There are a lot of variables at play. Either everything will change or nothing will. Either lessons will be learned or it’ll be a return to business as usual.
But my gut is telling me that various industries and walks of life will be influenced by this historic event in significant and profound ways. It may even mark a turning point for mankind, one that ushers in new technologies and a new way of looking at things; new ways of doing business and new ways of living. In short, the Dawn of a New Era as the Future of Everything changes.
With that in mind I thought I would get into a futurist’s mindset and take a look at a few thought-provoking things that could happen in the near or far future from the subtle to the profound. Some of these may seem obvious, others far-fetched. But they all have one thing in common: the sudden likelihood that they could come to fruition. For better or for worse.
- Senior only shopping hours at grocery stores become a permanent arrangement as society prioritizes taking care of high risk populations.
- The return of full service gas stations. One of many examples of a concerted effort to reduce the number of shared surfaces that people interact with.
- Bringing back brass door knobs or using naturally antimicrobial Copper in other architectural ways.
- Social distancing practices and stringent hygiene guidelines stick around and become standard design principles.
- The rise in popularity of tools/gadgets such as the Hygiene Hand that enable you to complete tasks without having to touch anything.
- The emergence of Touchless Technology services from food pickup arrangements to retail shopping experiences that enable people to get what they want without ever having to touch a surface or interact directly with another person.
- A rise in popularity for biohacking schemes with people waving their hands to open doors thanks to the power of embedded microchips.
- The Internet of Things inevitably comes into full effect as everything gets further automated/controlled by voice commands/motion sensors. Homes become entirely automated.
- Robot maids get brought in to do chores and constantly clean/disinfect households.
- A rise in popularity for 3-D printers, handy in emergencies when they can be used to print out replacement ventilator parts or new masks. Every household will want to have one on hand.
- More widespread and socially acceptable Work From Home policies for those industries that proved that their work could be completed remotely without interruption during the Shelter in Place orders.
- More lenient sick leave policies as well with workers encouraged to stay home for so much as a sniffle.
- It will also become standard practice to self quarantine for two weeks after returning from traveling. Regardless of where you traveled to.
- Video chat apps like Zoom will get loaded with gimmicky features i.e. various backgrounds, avatars, sound effects, and the like as they replace Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, etc. as the new battle ground for tech companies.
- Interpersonal relationships will undergo a profound shift. Birthrates will increase around the world. Divorce rates too. Single people, unable to date, will invest the time getting to know one another through video chats and texting and will invariably form more meaningful connections once they do meet up. Eventually hook up apps like Tinder will go out of style, replaced by apps that cater to this new desire for significant meaning and true connection.
- AI infused apps that let people communicate with digitized versions of deceased friends and family members will proliferate. These replacement versions will be hyper-realistic using the same natural language, syntax, logic and reasoning that our loved ones would have used. It does so by analyzing their digital footprints – the thousands of texts, emails, and social media posts that they’ve sent throughout their lifetimes.
- Most major companies will go out of business and the few that remain will consolidate their resources by merging together. These mega companies will dwarf Amazon and Google in breadth and scope and become nearly as powerful as nation-states leading to a new era in society where these powerful corporations essentially rule the land.
- Masks become popular as fashion statements; designers and brands competing to create the most fashionable and/or practical ones.
- Eventually entire face guards that cover people’s mouths and eyes rise to prominence. These enhanced masks accomplish what Google Glass and Magic Leap tried to do but failed – overlaying key information into your field of vision. While also keeping you healthy.
- The end of fake news as the media and social media companies, backed by the World Health Organization, fight back against corrupt politicians making false claims and spreading misinformation about the coronavirus and possible cures.
- Annual “hibernation” periods during flu season become commonplace as people come to the realization that significant loss of life is never acceptable.
- A rise in pay for teachers as weeks/months of home schooling make everyone finally realize how important teachers really are.
- A long-term continuation with the practice of keeping six feet apart from one another while waiting in lines, with official markers getting placed on the floor in most stores.
- A new Hollywood business model is born as movies shown in theaters get streamed simultaneously for those who prefer to stay home.
- Streaming services also buy up all the films that would have been shown at now defunct film festivals to give them a chance to still be seen by audiences.
- Virtual concerts will be performed by holograms as celebrities travel less.
- Virtual reality may even become ubiquitous similar to life in The Stacks in Ready Player One.
- A rise in popularity for Driverless Cars. With more people working from home traffic is less of an issue making it easier and less risky for these vehicles to navigate city streets. They even operate entirely on their own to pick up/deliver food.
- Similarly, an increased reliance on drones to make deliveries. Especially of medical supplies in rural areas.
- The creation of a new standard for IP addresses or possibly even the creation of an entirely new decentralized Internet to ease broadband burdens caused by everyone suddenly working from home and using the Internet significantly more.
- An impetus to shift to 5G and eventually 6G standards across the board for that very reason.
- In fact, there will be even more of a push than ever before to blanket the entire world with Wi-Fi to ensure internet connectivity for all. Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network will be celebrated at first until there is significant blow back from the astronomy community as scientific endeavors are ruined by the thousands of tiny satellites that now proliferate across the night sky.
- Apps and browser extensions that let you watch Netflix or other forms of entertainment remotely with friends will become extremely popular as social distancing becomes a cultural norm.
- No more handshakes.
- The end of excess. Extravagant lifestyles get dialed back. People eat in more, travel less, save more money.
- Instead of hoarding supplies we make the supplies we do have last longer. We declutter Marie Kondo style, only keeping essentials around. We’re more nimble. Better equipped to pick up and leave at a moment’s notice if need be.
- Professional sports become more efficient as well; reducing their regular season schedules and shortening training camps in an attempt to limit travel and reduce the frequency of fan interactions.
- Concepts for underground and underwater cities get bandied about.
- TikTok reaches peek popularity as everyone who is stuck at home starts using it to express themselves causing it to fall out of favor with the younger generation that ushered it in.
- The Space Race heats up as there is a renewed sense of urgency to become a multi-planetary species. Titans of industry like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson are at the forefront of this burgeoning industry.
- There will be a rise in telemedicine and a general acceptance of surgical robots operated by doctors in remote locations. Eventually we’ll get to the point where nanobots live inside us, repairing us from within and preventing us from ever getting sick in the first place.
- Healthcare will no longer be tied to employment.
- Considering how vulnerable the elderly were to COVID-19 there will be yet another massive push in Silicon Valley to reverse the aging process in an attempt to ensure that the next pandemic will be less deadly.
- Grocery store workers will be classified as emergency workers/first responders as the integral role that they played in keeping Americans fed during the crisis does not go unnoticed.
- The eventual implementation of Universal Basic Income as the government pays people not to work, first out of necessity, but later by choice.
- The emergence of a new form of capitalism or entirely new financial system as the idea that “the cure can’t be worse than the disease” draws significant push back.
- The end of cash payments as all financial transactions get digitized.
- Travel bans and restrictions become commonplace as borders shut during the crisis never reopen. Virtual tours of famous museums, national parks, and other physical locations rise in popularity.
- An end to animal testing as the successful fast tracking of a COVID-19 vaccine leads to direct human trials for all new drugs going forward.
- A general push/focus on healthcare as Silicon Valley entrepreneurs turn their attention from apps/phones/computers to preventing outbreaks/curing diseases.
- A rise in the Quantified Self movement with everyone becoming obsessed with tracking their own health data.
- A rise in popularity of an AI infused virtual friend that helps quarantined/socially isolated people cope with their new reality.
- A new found appreciation for/acceptance of climate change science as the mishandling/fall out of the COVID-19 outbreak proves the importance of scientific facts/listening to experts/heeding warnings.
- In fact, no more anti-vaxxers.
- There may even be a rise in the number of scientists who run for public office as the importance of making informed policy decisions gets emphasized.
- A real serious interest in human cloning will manifest with people interested in replacing the manpower that we’ve lost.
- Sadly, a rise of authoritarian governments in some parts of the world as countries use facial recognition software and social credit systems to monitor/track citizens first as a way of tracking/preventing viruses from spreading but eventually as a regular part of life.
- A loss of civil liberties/easing of restrictions as governments take advantage of people’s vulnerabilities during the crisis to impose more restrictive policies or unwind ones they disagree with.
- A rise in popularity of DIY culture/hacker ethos as people use ingenuity to make their own parts/supplies as needed. Some of the ideas born in these garages may lead to the creation of new companies that have large impacts down the road.
- A lot of these companies/home brewed labs will specialize in Synthetic Biology.
- The wide spread proliferation of Lab on a Chip technology that lets people self diagnosis themselves for all diseases/illnesses from the comfort of their home.
- An increased reliance on AI/super computers to diagnose patients and discover new drugs.
- A rise in popularity for e-gaming as the Quarantourney leads to a more wide-spread acceptance of watching people play video games/simulating sporting outcomes. In particular, the idea of watching professional athletes play one another using their virtual versions takes off as does the idea of listening to athletes give their own play by play commentary of these virtual contests.
- The permanent adaption of ESPN the Ocho into ESPN’s television programming as obscure sports rise to prominence in place of the sidelined major professional sports.
- Sporting events held in empty arenas or without any fan interaction of any kind i.e. no more autographs, meeting athletes, taking pictures with them, etc.
- An eventual end to the Olympics as it is no longer feasible to bring people from all over the world together.
- The creation of Immunity Passports that indicate who already recovered from the virus or can’t get it, signaling that these are the people who are safe to move about society/return to work/travel.
- A societal rift between baby boomers and millennials as people get blamed for not adhering to social distancing or not doing enough to help out.
- An increase of racism against Asians, unfairly blamed for starting the outbreak.
- Significant increase in tensions between China and those countries most hard hit by COVID-19 possibly leading to World War III or another Cold War.
- Bidets become more commonplace in America due to ongoing toilet paper shortages.
- But toilet paper isn’t the only that gets hoarded. Countries hoard stockpiles of natural resources as well leading to regional conflicts.
- An increase in walkouts/strikes among working class people on the front lines of the pandemic, demanding higher wages, better healthcare, and increased hygiene protections. Eventually gig economy workers, freelancers, and contractors all get treated as full-time employees ending Uber’s legal battle with their workforce in the process.
- A rise in popularity for socialism or at least for some socialist principles.
- A continuation of the idea of dinner bonds as patrons give down payments to restaurants in exchange for future credit in an attempt to keep their favorite establishments afloat.
- To reduce the strain on grocery stores and the supply chain, entirely new types of foods are created such as lab grown meats and new strains of rice and potatoes that provide more nourishment than are found naturally.
- An increased use of UV light as a disinfectant, especially in hospitals.
- A coronavirus tracking app, initially used to notify someone when they come within six feet of a person who had COVID-19 will instead get turned into a social networking app that notifies people when they are near others with similar interests.
- Role reversals. With barbershops and hair salons closed men will grow longer hair while women keep theirs shorter.
- With so many people confined to their homes there will be an increase in the number of pets that get fostered/adopted leading to a golden age for animals that culminates in the eventual trend of using synthetic biology to create entirely new species to raise as pets.
- With people still allowed to go out and exercise during Shelter in Place orders there will be a newfound appreciation for green spaces leading to the creation of several new National and State Parks.
Society in a post COVID-19 world may look drastically different than it does today.
