What things does society do now that will shock people in 100 years?

Tails142 wrote: »

I think we will look back at the direct provision centres much like the Magdalene laundries, many of them are in fact in the same buildings. People will wonder how it was let happen, were the general public aware of what happened.

They won't be able to comprehend the ewwww immigrants stigma/feeling.

Much of the anti immigrant notions of people fleeing war in syria/libya will be looked back on and people will wonder why wasn't more done to help. They will probably make films like schindler's list telling the stories of the few people that are helping now.

There will probably be tourist attractions in central Africa, much like the killing fields in cambodia, and just like there, people will visit and wonder why did the world let the genocide happen, why didn't any of the major world players step in to prevent it or help.

But we just bury our heads, close our front doors in the evening and try to get in with life as best we can and deal with our own problems, small in comparison

leggo wrote: »

I think about this stuff all the time. Some things that I think, like cars and physical money, have already been said. I think within 100 years (maybe even 20) we'll be paying for stuff with our fingerprint or something along those lines. I also think we'll be close to travelling long distances by apparition by then, if not there completely. The more Harry Potter means of doing this, for me, the better. I'd love to pop to Australia through my fireplace.

I think sexuality will be something future generations look back at us and laugh about. It's a totally human and societal construct when you think about the need we have to 'label' each other currently. I think people will kiss, **** and marry whomever they want and laugh about how the world used to cut themselves off from half of human kind sexually, and even persecute those for being different. That's not to say everyone will be bi, for sure there'll still be people who are traditionally straight and gay and just go for one gender (that's just natural) but they'll laugh at how we specifically had to label and differentiate ourselves for no particular reason. Teenagers, for example, will just naturally experiment with both by default (as opposed to starting out assuming they're straight and then realising/'coming out', as is the case now) before either going one way or dipping in and out of either side as they go on.

Handwriting is something that, even within the next 20-50 years, will just cease to be a thing and will amaze younger people when they learn about it. It's already becoming redundant sure.

Medically, it wouldn't surprise me if we'd found a way to double our life expectancy by then. Some say humans are on the cusp of realising the possibility of immortality, but the world simply isn't sustainable for that, so while we may find a way to turn the likes of cancer into about as serious an illness as the common cold in the future, evolution dictates that new ways to kill us will come along. That doesn't mean that we can't prolong our lifespan significantly, though in doing so that will cause other unforeseen issues such as reducing individual wealth or increasing the poverty gap. Ideally it'd be the former to satisfy the needs of the many but I fear it could be the latter just given human nature. But 'poverty' will mean something else with how quickly technology is coming along, so hopefully not world hunger but merely everyone living a fairly basic lifestyle except for the 1%.

I think it's simplistic and utopian to see the future bringing down stuff like nationalism, racism etc. That's just not respecting and learning lessons from world history, or even today's current events. I'm sure many in the 30's and 40's thought we'd be rid of fascism and racist dictators by now, but the biggest superpower has just elected one while Putin remains all-powerful in Russia. These things tend to be cyclical and people will always find a way to differentiate and persecute each other, it's just that the reasons for doing so will change. By 2117, America could be run by a Muslim or Latino dictator who persecutes a white minority, for example. The future won't provide an answer to all of humanity's problems, you can't see it that way. Technology will improve, and vastly, but with that simply a new set of problems will crop up. The wheel keeps on turning.

Lastly, for now, Christianity will have all but died or at least been reduced to a tiny minority religion practised in certain areas of the world. This process is already underway, though the differences will only be seen generationally. Again, that's not to say that organised religion will die out, people will always need to find a new way to moralise life and rationalise death, but what the word religion will mean may differ massively. For example I love reading about how celebrities like Oprah or sports stars are often worshipped as deities today. You also look at Gwyneth Paltrow and her cult of 'wellness' for example...is that a form of religion? Perhaps that's what religion will be in Western society: mass-marketed produce telling people how to live and adding meaning to their lives, rather than a need to believe in an all-powerful deity. It's fascinating to think about really.