What will the 2020s be like?

[BunMVO]

A thought popped into my head today. It is currently 2019 (as you hopefully know) and obviously the year that follows the current is 2020. That means next decade is the 2020s and we will be putting the 2010s behind. First of all, it begs the question: What even are the 2010s? I never hear anyone refer to this decade by name. No one ever says it's the "10s" like they did the "90s" or "80s" etc. with the 20th century. The 2010s are such a strange decade because there is nothing that really defines them. In music and popular culture, there haven't been any definitive things. We've had the same sounding pop music since approximately 2013 and I guess that might help define the 2010s. Of course, the 2000s bled over into the current decade, as did the '80s into the '90s, '50s into the '60s, and so on. Pop culture consists mostly of things like Netflix, iPhones, social media, memes, and other such internet-based stuff.

Our decade does not have a "Miami Vice". Fashion has been in limbo since the turn of the century and the jeans and t-shirt status quo (for America) has not changed at all. There are the stylish and the unstylish, but there is no style that defines the 2010s. Hipster fashion does not define this decade either; that would be like saying punk fashion defined the '80s. Just a fringe thing. I don't want to get into a political discussion, but I would also like to mention that this decade has had many different political sentiments and quite the economic rebound - but that makes you wonder when that booming economy becomes a bust.

Will that happen in the 2020s? Will we get into a World War III? Will there be a revolutionary new music style or pop-culture movement that makes it a memorable decade? Will they be the new "Roaring Twenties"? I have a lot of questions I think of when I think of what will happen in the 2020s.

I know that really, the year is simply a number and this decade, however it's defined, will likely bleed over for the first few years before things start changing culturally in a major way. But my predictions are:

• Pop culture will get weirder and weirder as people continue to separate themselves into groups according to their interests.
• Music will be similar to this decade, then later on there will be a resurgence of elements of old music. Hopefully synthwave and similar genres will continue to grow in popularity.
• Fashion will become weirder than it already is also and increasingly avant-garde. Clothing styles will be widely varied and some clothes will be very androgynous and strange. T-shirts and jeans are still the casual staple (yuck).
• The entertainment industry will be full of a whole new batch of rising stars as the old Hollywood greats retire or, sadly, die out.
• Internet censorship will finally see a lot of resistance from fed-up common people.
• Social media will be more and more omnipresent and life will become harder and harder to live without access to the internet.
• The car industry will begin experimenting with using simpler, older technology and design with the overly complicated and aggressive cars of today per popular demand.
• Technology will be more advanced and screens will be very thin and high-definition. We won't have widespread use of humanoid robots, but we will have increasingly automated technology.
• The US economy will inevitably crash and we will be involved in at least one major war.

On the bright side, it won't be the 2010s! What are your predictions? I am interested to hear what you guys have to say.

[Miami.Vice.1984]

" Will that happen in the 2020s? Will we get into a World War III? " ..... That's The Good Question Conroy and Trust Me I think we are close.....

Anyway Pal, Good analysis that you do there, I am 100% of your opinion 

Edited June 29, 2019 by Miami.Vice.1984

[jpaul1]

- i stopped counting in the 2000s

- i'm not Mme Soleil (generic name we give to future tellers in France)

- the temperatures will be more of a concern to me than music (you would think the same if you'd live where i live. with literally death valley temperatures)

but here are my clue concerning the future (i will try not to go politics):

- temperatures will become a real problem. i mean a really serious problem. it's not me, it's the NASA that says it

 

from there i predict a possible economical, and social collapse in some countries. the costs needed to adapt to the climate change being too much for the governments to handle. we can dream of a society that goes back to a more circular, and local economy. and succeeds in recreating a balanced system in time. but it's gonna be complicated

i think you got i see the 2020 in a quite pessimistic way (no smiley)

sorry for the bad editing, but it's not my fault. seems the spoiler thing is messed up

Edited June 29, 2019 by jpm1

[airtommy]

The 2020s will have no unique cultural profile, same as the last 3 decades.  I don't think the 1980s were necessarily better than previous decades like the 1920s or 1950s or 1970s.  I just think the Eighties is an extra-special era mainly because it's the last memorable one.

[MichaelAce]

well everyone is talking about the 80s, 90s, 2000s to simplify everything but in fact, the transitions were not exactly in 1980,1990 and 2000 according to me

The Disco/Funk era lasted approximately from 1975 until 1983 and then, pop rock was the main thing until 1987 where RnB, sad songs, Rap and stuff lasted until 1997 and then, it was mainly electronic music, Gringe and Rock from 1997 to 2003 before Pop until 2013 and now, it's all about RAP

"None of that rap crap" (Tommy Smith - KDST, GTA San Andreas)

So I'd say that today, at least in my country, the thing that defines the 2010s is rap, sportswear and football/basket clothes

Edited July 1, 2019 by AdrienSpy

[IA-SteveB]

Just a few random thoughts...

Fashion: I think we will be seeing more and more people dressing down as we head into the 20's.  It is so mainstream to go out in public in pajamas that no one even cares anymore.  Even business casual has dropped to barely professional standards.  I could walk into Wal-Mart at 1:00am wearing flippers and a scuba mask and not seem out of place at all.  For fashion in general, there is so much more out there to see due to electronic media.  It isn't like the old days where you picked up on fashion trends by seeing what peers were wearing at the mall.

Social media: I do agree that social media exposure will continue to trend upwards.  It is the new way to show people that you are better than them and live a better life.  Everyone has an outlet now so they can be offended about something, have a strong opinion to force on others or be free to bully 24/7.  I think there will be a 70/30 split between people who can't live without it and people who once liked it but are now fed up.  It used to be that a child could go to school and only really have to deal with bullies M-F during school hours.  It's a scary 24/7 deal now.  Arguments are all for public consumption with even Hollyweird personalities following suit with their "feuds".

I do like that acceptance is growing.  People have a right to be happy and live/love how they want.  I like seeing infinite diversity in infinite combinations.  

We will continue to become more and more desensitized to events that were once jarring on a national or global scale.  I think we will become even more aware of what we have done to the Earth through our practices and the continued deterioration of infrastructure that can't support the growing population.  A lot of things will be realized far too late.

The IoT will continue to grow and grow giving way to new exploits we never thought were possible.  You will need anti-malware software on your refrigerator to prevent it from being stocked up with a delivery from Amazon Grocery that you did not order.

Cars will continue to become more interactive leaving us to wonder how much is too much.  As if there isn't already a plethora of distractions for drivers.

We will continue to expect technology to do everything for us.  Everything will need to be available in an app or some sort and we will expect instant gratification through ordering goods and services.  I'm not saying this is a bad thing ... just different.  We will also continue to be overstimulated by electronics which will continue to wear at our attention spans.

I still think the 80's are an extremely important time in our cultural evolution.  It's no wonder that Hollywood continues with reboots since they are able to capture the adult crowd that lived in that time and the young crowd since it seems like fresh stuff.  I enjoy most 80's reboots, especially Cobra Kai on Youtube.  That series is quite amazing.  

Part of the charm of the 80's was that the world was a much smaller place in the absence of the Internet.  I'm in the industry and still much prefer being a kid in the 80's.

 

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by IA-SteveB

[pahonu]

3 hours ago, IA-SteveB said:

 

...the world was a much smaller place...

 

 

This statement is generally true as the decades and even centuries pass.  New technology shrinks time and distance.  Think about how the railroad across the US reduced travel time from months to days, and the telegraph then telephone made instant communication possible.  This trend seems unlikely to reverse, though the pace of change can vary.

[jpaul1]

i think a miracle is still possible. i mean i hear everyday more, and more about 'going back to the source', permaculture, that kind of things you know. i'm not talking of weirdos, or hippies here. i'm just talking of people who wants something just less complicated. know what they eat, know what they do, and why they do it. there aren't still no horses back in the streets, but honestly i think we aren't that far from it. lot of people i speak with are tired of ruining the world. they want to get out that consumption craze. outside of the crazy money cycle. i see a return to rurality in the 2020, or a start of return

Edited July 1, 2019 by jpm1

[BunMVO]

Thanks for all the inputs and thoughts, guys. I think that the start of a new decade has some kind of mystique, especially for me - in the beginning of 2010, I was just a 12-year-old boy hitting puberty. I never thought about time or that it was a new decade or even the year. As I grow older, I think more and more about what year it is and how it relates to the past.

In reality, January 1, 2020 will just be another day. And our "culture" now will just bleed over the first few years until defining characteristics start to take hold in our everyday life (think of the first time you got a smartphone, most likely in the early 2010s). It does sound exciting and futuristic in a way and I try to see it that way rather than look at the way the Western world is going and thinking about where will be in 2030, 2040, 2050 and so on. It's absolutely terrifying. Unless something major changes, we will not recognize America or the rest of the West by that time.

Personally, I don't buy the "climate change" hysteria. I have evaluated many sources and I don't believe anything the mainstream media promotes. They are the enemies of the people. And cultural Marxism is on track to destroy our countries. Just ask any of our European friends here. I know that this paragraph is kind of politically charged, but that can of worms has already been opened. Sorry, not sorry...

[jpaul1]

well you're right that we should not go too much into politics. but high temperatures over 5 years you can discuss. temperatures increasing over 30 years in a regular, and (IMO) alarming way there's obviously a problem. i mean these are facts. last week we got 46 °C here in France. with records broken over almost all the territory. 46 it's death valley august average temperatures. sorry if too much political

Edited July 1, 2019 by jpm1

[Ferrariman]

3 hours ago, pahonu said:

  New technology shrinks time and distance.  

...and yet we grow further and further apart from actual physical one on one contact with each other.

I know I'm gettin' old and I never thought that I would hate technology, but some of the latest trends simply disgust me.

Every TV commercial has something to do with either a cell phone or some new self-driving car.   Sorry, I don't want my cell phone to control every facet of my life. I feel perfectly comfortable turning on the lights in my home with that old fashioned switch on the wall.  I don't need google to do it for me. 

 I can also drive my car just fine without it braking for me or telling me I'm wandering out of my lane. And if someone else happens to wander into my lane, well that's what the horn is for.

   Yes I do actually e-mail and text people but that's it. I don't surf the net on my phone, I don't use facebook or instagram. I also don't tweet or use uber and I'm just damn sick and tired of seeing people walking around like zombies with their face buried in their phone. Look where the hell you're walking!   Probably the best reason for inventing self-braking cars!

Aside from my personal gripes I'm sure reality TV will simply get worse and worse. The Kartrashians will continue to get richer from all the losers who follow them. 

Social media will continue to rule our lives (not mine) until machines do eventually take over the world. 

Until that day I have to say I'm very happy with my life. I did move from New Jersey to Toronto, Canada but not because of Donald Trump.  It was for love, and I couldn't be happier!

[timm525]

[Miami.Vice.1984]

I totally agree with Ferrariman and I personally have the same lifestyle as him. People who are glued to their screens become problematic especially on the road!

Oh shit look T-800 has returned from the future to enslave us!..... Seriously there is a part of truth in The Terminator ..... a hidden truth about what will be our world with the perpetual advancement of technology.... 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Miami.Vice.1984

[mjcmmv]

9 hours ago, IA-SteveB said:

"The IoT will continue to grow and grow giving way to new exploits we never thought were possible.  You will need anti-malware software on your refrigerator to prevent it from being stocked up with a delivery from Amazon Grocery that you did not order."

You commentary was spot on, but this comment was priceless! Love, love, love it!

Now let me resurrect my grandmother's ice box!!!

 

 

 

[mjcmmv]

1 hour ago, Ferrariman said:

...and yet we grow further and further apart from actual physical one on one contact with each other.

I know I'm gettin' old and I never thought that I would hate technology, but some of the latest trends simply disgust me.

Every TV commercial has something to do with either a cell phone or some new self-driving car.   Sorry, I don't want my cell phone to control every facet of my life. I feel perfectly comfortable turning on the lights in my home with that old fashioned switch on the wall.  I don't need google to do it for me. 

 I can also drive my car just fine without it braking for me or telling me I'm wandering out of my lane. And if someone else happens to wander into my lane, well that's what the horn is for.

   Yes I do actually e-mail and text people but that's it. I don't surf the net on my phone, I don't use facebook or instagram. I also don't tweet or use uber and I'm just damn sick and tired of seeing people walking around like zombies with their face buried in their phone. Look where the hell you're walking!   Probably the best reason for inventing self-braking cars!

Aside from my personal gripes I'm sure reality TV will simply get worse and worse. The Kartrashians will continue to get richer from all the losers who follow them. 

Social media will continue to rule our lives (not mine) until machines do eventually take over the world. 

Until that day I have to say I'm very happy with my life. I did move from New Jersey to Toronto, Canada but not because of Donald Trump.  It was for love, and I couldn't be happier!

This is so true, Ferrariman! Forces controlling how we buy, vote, love, think!!! It's a frightening world we live in. But I'm determined to pass my "spidey-sense" to my kids; make them cautious...ask questions, don't be accepting and complacent. We owe it to the next generation to warn them and keep them ever-vigilant! 

[Robbie C.]

Raise your kids like Gen-Xers and they'll be good. Question institutions. Understand (not just use) your tech AND its limitations. Know how to function on your own without depending on anyone. Don't believe what you see on the internet without verifying, especially Facebook (Rockstar had it right calling it LifeInvader). Tech is not the answer, nor is it necessarily the problem. It's a tool, just like the printing press, the radio, and the telephone. People will always remain the problem and the solution. Know where you fall in that spectrum.

[BunMVO]

3 hours ago, jpm1 said:

well you're right that we should not go too much into politics. but high temperatures over 5 years you can discuss. temperatures increasing over 30 years in a regular, and (IMO) alarming way there's obviously a problem. i mean these are facts. last week we got 46 °C here in France. with records broken over almost all the territory. 46 it's death valley august average temperatures. sorry if too much political

That is true, but I am not terribly concerned about it, maybe because I live in Minnesota and our temperatures have been far below average this year.

[BunMVO]

2 hours ago, Miami.Vice.1984 said:

I totally agree with Ferrariman and I personally have the same lifestyle as him. People who are glued to their screens become problematic especially on the road!

Oh shit look T-800 has returned from the future to enslave us!..... Seriously there is a part of truth in The Terminator ..... a hidden truth about what will be our world with the perpetual advancement of technology.... 

Yeah, I need to learn to live that way again. Sometimes i don't realize how much I depend on my technology. I wish we didn't have it.

[mjcmmv]

53 minutes ago, pmconroy said:

Yeah, I need to learn to live that way again. Sometimes i don't realize how much I depend on my technology. I wish we didn't have it.

We just need how to learn to control it. It's supposed to be a tool, not a master!

[Miami.Vice.1984]

Exactly

[Robbie C.]

5 minutes ago, mjcmmv said:

We just need how to learn to control it. It's supposed to be a tool, not a master!

It all has an off switch. You just have to be brave enough to use it. And if that doesn't work, a rock or a .45 is always close by.

[mjcmmv]

6 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

It all has an off switch. You just have to be brave enough to use it. 

That is true. I used to think Social Media would keep us connected. Now, I look for ways to turn it off!

[Robbie C.]

Just now, mjcmmv said:

That is true. I used to think Social Media would keep us connected. Now, I look for ways to turn it off!

Social media is like an invasive phone. How many times did you turn the ringer off if you wanted to be left alone? Social media sort of takes that power away, and compounds it with its ability to distort reality. I always preferred message boards and the like for that reason. They lack the invasiveness. You see one you like, you can lurk for a time and join if it suits you. If not, you move on. It doesn't follow you home and start force-feeding you ads or photoshopped pictures of your 'friends' trying to show you how much better their life is than yours.

[mjcmmv]

1 minute ago, Robbie C. said:

Social media is like an invasive phone. How many times did you turn the ringer off if you wanted to be left alone? Social media sort of takes that power away, and compounds it with its ability to distort reality. I always preferred message boards and the like for that reason. They lack the invasiveness. You see one you like, you can lurk for a time and join if it suits you. If not, you move on. It doesn't follow you home and start force-feeding you ads or photoshopped pictures of your 'friends' trying to show you how much better their life is than yours.

I have a Fit Bit Watch that tells me when I get a message and who it's from. More than I ever wanted to know. If it's an emergency, my family can reach me. If someone wants to sell me something or worse, set me up for a scam-I don't want to alerted. 

[Robbie C.]

Just now, mjcmmv said:

I have a Fit Bit Watch that tells me when I get a message and who it's from. More than I ever wanted to know. If it's an emergency, my family can reach me. If someone wants to sell me something or worse, set me up for a scam-I don't want to alerted. 

Never got into any of that, especially since in many cases you don't really control your information. Or if you do it's very hazy.