Why the Future May Be Unclear Moving Forward
A question that crosses every young adult’s mind at least once every so often is: “What does the future look like? Where will I be in 10-20 years?” These powerful questions can strike both excitement and anxiety into us.
The reason we get anxious about these kinds of questions is because the answers are uncertain. We don’t actually know where we’ll be or what we’ll be doing in the next decade.
However, we can use clues about ourselves and what our interests are to make an educated guess about what we might be doing. Your major should be a good signifier for what the future might hold, but overall we don’t know exactly what we’ll be doing.
The thing I can’t get over is how many more generations this planet will have to sustain. Technology is playing a huge role. Kids born in 2010 and after grow up with a tablet or phone to play on. They ask for video games or computers rather than toys for Christmas.
As more and more children are born, there will be a steady increase in the reliance on technology. Our parents didn’t grow up with this kind of stuff. Heck, if you were born before 2000, your early childhood didn’t solely consist of technology.
I can’t say for certain future generations won’t achieve as much as our ancestors, but I think there are signs that suggest we won’t
I think with the emergence of technology there becomes less expectations of kids. Everything can be done online, and there are so many ways to cheat in high school and even college.
Frank Martin, the head basketball coach at the University of South Carolina, had one of the better and more accurate quotes about present day kids. “You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed,” Martin said. “Kids haven’t changed. Kids don’t know anything about anything. We’ve changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We expect less of kids. We make their lives easier instead of preparing them for what life is truly about. We’re the ones that have changed. To blame kids is a cop-out.”
Everything about this quote is entirely true. While he didn’t mention technology as a reason for less expectations of kids, I think it’s still a contributing factor. I think parents use this technology as a mechanism to give kids something to do when they’re being annoying. It works, but there comes a point where the kids then rely on technology for entertainment.
At the rate we’re going, there’s going to be so many extinct species in the future. You look at where animals were on the map 40 years ago and now, and the comparison isn’t even close. There are so many animals on the verge of extinction, such as various rhinoceros and tiger species. Poaching is still a thing and people are constantly leaving their garbage everywhere except the trash. You wonder how much longer earth will realistically be able to sustain human life.
The emergence of new ways to get “high” is also a reason kids today might not achieve as much. When I say high, I don’t just mean weed, although I do partially.
There are “dab pens” now, which are little vape like devices that contain THC. It seems like almost every high schooler has one now, and before you know it, middle schoolers will be using them too. It’s too easy to catch a high with those things. You can easily get high in the bathroom at school or work now.
New nicotine devices also defeat the purpose of e-cigarettes, which were made to help people stop smoking cigarettes. Now, there’s things like Suorin Airs, Juuls and Mini Fits that can get you buzzed in a few short puffs. There are already middle schoolers using these, and it’s only a matter of time before elementary school students experiment with this stuff.
Given this information, it just seems like it will be harder to sustain the quality of life that our ancestors experienced. This is part of the reason I think the Rapture could happen in 2019.
I’m not going to go in depth on the Rapture because I don’t want to get religion involved, but I will say what it is. It’s essentially the second coming of Jesus Christ. You always hear about God coming back and taking his followers with him to heaven to cherish and have eternal life. You can read more about it by searching “Rapture 2019.” It’s interesting stuff and worth reading a little about.
I can’t say for certain future generations won’t achieve as much as our ancestors, but I think there are signs that suggest we won’t. In the direction the world is headed, this is what I see. I would love for me to be completely wrong and people to be smarter than ever before and save the world.
As long as we keep bettering ourselves every day and pay attention to detail, we should be fine. Hard work and ambition can get you anything in this world, and while it seems like future generations aren’t maintaining that, that doesn’t mean you can’t. There is hope for everyone.