How the scenario could unfold

In this scenario, we can foresee the continuation of emerging trends we see today. We can hypothesise that companies will find new ways to continue collecting more and more data from people to understand them better and encourage preferred behaviours. Their tactics to capture more of our time and data may harness increasingly sophisticated and hyper-personalised behavioural economic theory. The proliferation of social media and introduction of ‘social’ features in many services may mean that more of our lives will be lived in ‘social spaces’ where people may feel pressure to be present, perform and conform or potentially be judged or isolated. 

Some of these already emerging patterns have been linked to rising l anxiety levels among young people who may typically be more vulnerable to anxiety and social pressures already.

In some cases, we may even argue that increased anxiety may be used and exploited to gain data insights and demand more of people’s time (and potentially money). 

The context that may emerge is an increasingly digital social life structured to encourage judgement and pressure and facilitated by sophisticated psychological techniques. —all toward the benefit of tech companies.

We explore the significance of this context from the perspective of a future character we created based on our research with real people.

How the scenario could unfold

In this scenario, we can foresee a potential expansion of the quantified self. We already live in an era where our health and wellbeing is monitored based on everything from our eating and sleeping patterns to how much we run, exercise, medicate and increasingly even our genes and DNA.

As these data sources become more sophisticated, we may see the emergence of implants that can monitor and track our wellbeing, bodies, brain and even our thoughts. Alongside this potential trajectory is the opportunity for growth in technologies that allow us to build simulations of real places, cities, events and potentially people. 

These conditions combined imply a potential future where not only our health and wellbeing can be intricately and accurately monitored, but also the trajectories of our lives could be mapped, offering us new future scenarios of ourselves, which may  inform our decisions about our present lives.

We consider the significance of this context from the perspective of a future character we created based on our research with real people.

How the scenario could unfold

In this scenario, we depict the convergence of two potential themes:

• The first is about the ammassing and abusing of power. If we consider that captological power (persuasive technological power) may begin to be implemented in increasingly advanced ways and more pervasively, we can anticipate an increased capacity for companies to alter your beliefs. At the same time, platform monopolies converge multiple facets of our lives gleaning ever more control over the world and powerful political figures flagrantly lying to their own advantage. These potential trends could raise the level of public distrust in services and leadership.
• The second theme depicts a rise in populism that promotes isolationism, nationalism and frequently scapegoats people perceived as different.. Should this prevail we may see groups such as migrants become ever more marginalised. In this context, disconnection and distrust are rife and people may look for new ways to find trustworthy authentic experiences.

We consider the significance of this context from the perspective of a future character who we created based on our research with real people.

How the scenario could unfold

In the future, we may see an increase in division among society as populism and online bubbles foster more extreme or inflexible standpoints, shifting the focus to  differences and blame, rather than similarities between people. This division may be aggravated by churches or it may be seen as an objective for them to help heal communities.

At the same time, there may be increasing pressure on religious institutions to denounce teachings that are incompatible with modern culture. Such as traditional religious perspectives on the morality of gender equality or LGBTQIA+ rights. Modernisation may cause followers to question their faith or church or it may help win people’s approval. 

The styling of religious experiences may go further. In recent decades, tens of millions of Roman Catholic Latin Americans have embraced Pentecostal Protestantism, in part because of its ability to adapt to the culture. For instance, it has successfully absorbed Latin American culture and music far better than Catholicism has in four centuries. Moreover, Pentecostal Protestantism focuses on faith healing, which drives many people to the religion in times of ill-health. These examples demonstrate how the malleability of religious institutions helps them survive. 

We can also consider a continuation in the trend of ‘mega-churches’, which adopt commercial business models and tactics to spread their message further. So, we find a potential scenario where religions are more needed than ever for stability and social cohesion, but are faced with decisions about staying firm or adapting, styling and competing in a modern and dynamic world.

How the scenario could unfold

In this context, three main circumstances might align. We see the potential for growing distrust in organisations such as faith institutions, government and large companies.  This may lead to the search for new forms of collective where people can find security to follow each other’s lead, without fear of coercion and with the belief that they are doing the right things.

As more companies extend the meaning of their brand values into concise social, environmental and political aspects of life, these companies may also adopt ‘anti-establishment’ positions and align with collectives in new ways to bring advanced infrastructures to their cause.

While people may be distrustful of some organisations, many could continue to become accustomed to sharing data. Therefore, the idea of quantifying the implications of your actions may be acceptable to people if the cause was right or the value to them was high enough.

So, we may encounter a scenario in which people are looking for new pragmatic models of collectivism. Under these models, they can come together in advanced ways to take small actions in their life to resolve the issues they see around them and do the right thing. These new structures may entwine with people’s values and beliefs and form alternative spiritual models.

We consider the significance of this context from the perspective of a future character who we created based on our research with real people.

How the scenario could unfold

Due to an increased pace of change, people may generally be required to continue developing new skills and knowledge to survive in the workplace. Compounded by an increased lifespan and a strain on state pension schemes in some countries, people may need to work until they are older, requiring more adaptability not just in skills and knowledge but in career choice.

If we consider that having children can put strain on careers that already require constant adaptation and that within this context people have an increased biological freedom on when to have children — it is possible that people may rather delay parenthood for a period when they are financially able to step away from work for longer in order to reduce its financial risk. Alternatively, this potential need for security may conflate with other emerging shifts in relationship and community structures to mean that people form new familial contracts and new forms of parenthood.

We can explore the significance of this context from the perspective of a future character who we created based on our research with real people.