Future Trends That Will Rule - Courtesy The Pandemic

Every few years there is some disruptive event that makes us think. These events bring about a change that stays with us before the next disruption changes the course of our thoughts. 2020 by far has been the year of the biggest disruption in the history of most of the living mankind.

The year 2020 will probably go down in history as one of the most stressful years experienced by humanity. Now in 2021, we have a lot of expectations for the situation to go back to normal. The pandemic is far from over, but with new vaccines coming out every day, we expect things to improve in the latter half of the year.

But we should also thank 2020 for the way it changed the mindset of people across the globe. Life is all about change, and 2020 has been a year of massive change.

Thanks to the pandemic, we must accept the new normal and align ourselves to these trends that are here to stay in the years to come.

Why is it important? Because these trends provide you an opportunity to gain from them. It allows you to build your future forecast in line with these streams, which may further help you in whatsoever you are doing in life.

Remember — It always pays to be ahead of the curve.

Here are the 6 trends that will rule 2021; courtesy of 2020

Trend # 1- Work from home-

This should not be a surprise to anyone. Probably the biggest change brought by the pandemic. It is here to stay. Some of us may hate it. It has taken a psychological toll on people. It has narrowed the gap between our professional and personal lives; it has robbed us of an office experience — an environment that was a part of our life.

But work from home has many benefits,

1) Flexibility- It is good for employers because research shows that flexibility increases productivity. Airtasker’s survey on remote working on US employees observed that remote employees work 1.4 days extra every month.

It’s good for the employees too — it’s easier to be a working parent if you get to work from home. I am working from home for the past 6 months, which has helped me spend more time with my 2-year-old kid. It helped me to strengthen my bonds with him.

2) Less travel time- The average one-way travel time in the US is 27.1 minutes, almost an hour every day traveling to and from work.

In India, an average person spends 7% of their day shuttling to the office. That’s more than two hours every day.

3) Reduced expenditure — WFH cuts down on fuel cost, car maintenance, parking fees, outside lunches, and even your clothing and accessories. These savings are not just for employees; even employers gain significantly.

According to Global Workplace Analytics, a company can save around $ 11,000 annually for every employee who works from home for some time. This is due to reduced infrastructure cost, the maintenance expense of premises, air conditioners, parking rentals, and water-tea-coffee dispensers.

Trend # 2- Online Education.

The school has moved from the traditional classrooms into laptops and smartphones in 2020. As we arrive in 2021, it seems the trend is here to stay.

Of course, in-person learning will resume once the virus has been controlled, but students and teachers have now discovered how much more can be accomplished without being at the same place. Students can study from remote locations. Teachers can engage from afar.

The benefits are many;

1) Flexible schedules- classes can be pre-recorded, and students can structure their learning sessions as per their convenience.

2) Accessibility- Thanks to attending schools from home, parents of students with special needs can tailor each detail for their kids. Yes, schools go that extra mile to help them, but kids will always love to be in their parents’ care.

It makes learning so comfortable. Learn from home has opened the door for increased parental involvement and guidance in the process.

3)Affordability, location, independence- Online learning can be a little less expensive than attending public school. It also opens up new possibilities for children like studying at schools far away from home, in fact, anywhere across the world from the comfort of home.

Trend # 3- Digital Currencies.

Digital or cryptocurrencies are the future. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherium have proven to be resilient during the pandemic. The pandemic gave a boost to digital currencies as physical contacts were considered hazardous. The investor interests in them have seen an upward trend with the likes of Elon Musk investing in cryptocurrencies.

However, not all governments are supportive of these currencies. The broad consensus though is that it’s just a matter of time. It is the future and everyone will eventually have to take the plunge.

China is already testing the digital Yuan. The US, Britain, France, South Korea, and several countries are taking similar steps.

Why? Because it allows you to make payments fast and inexpensively. It cuts down on printing costs, so you don’t need special paper with watermarks.

In India, we are already making full use of contactless payments like Paytm, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, and Phonepe, in Russia there’s Paypass and Applepay, Chinese are already accustomed to paying by QR codes and even face scans, and in America people love to go to AmazonGo stores to pick up whatever they like and simply walk out with their purchases, while their accounts get charged automatically.

Digital currencies are a logical way forward to this transition and may become a reality in the years to come.

Trend # 4- Digital health passport

What is it? A digital record of your health with details of pre-existing medical conditions, blood test results, your vaccination records; using it means you don’t have to repeat yourself each time and unlike contact tracing apps, a health passport may eliminate the need for tracking movements in many cases.

Major airlines across the globe have already rolled out digital health passports for passengers. Soon it may become a standard solution for all airports, hotels, cinemas, concert venues.

Trend # 5- Advanced soldiers

Don’t be shocked. You must be thinking that I am writing about a weird idea after watching a sci-fi movie like Transformer or Terminator.

But this is real. So here’s about advanced soldiers.

France is working on increasing the physical and mental abilities of soldiers to make them ready for modern warfare. It has approved research on the development of enhanced soldiers.

What does this mean? It just means that they’ll have soldiers resistant to pain with enhanced physiological skills and extra brainpower.

These soldiers can stay awake for longer periods, can identify their enemies from their allies. How the hell is this possible, well; by planting a microchip inside the soldiers. France maintains that it will mark clear ethical lines for such technologies.

But here’s the flip side, China is also exploring such technologies — John Ratcliffe once warned, “Beijing is breeding genetically modified soldiers.” Now, if you are expecting China to uphold ethics in the pursuit of power, that would be asking for too much.

Trend # 6- Future foods

So let’s move from fight to food. The future of food will be something like this — you see is a tender chicken nugget on your plate with a sign that reads, “no animal was harmed in the making of this off, no animal was slaughtered for this nugget.”

Unbelievable, Believe it. Because the piece of meat was grown in a lab and not in a poultry farm. That is the future; a slice of lab-produced meat.

Singapore is the first country to sell it; it looks the same, and apparently, it tastes the same as well. Just like your real chicken.

So if you are thinking of trying it, please know this, it comes with a fat bill. Lab-grown meat is very expensive with one chicken nugget selling for fifty dollars US.

While cost may not be the only unappetizing factor for millions of consumers, the shift may take a big leap of faith for thousands of poultry farms. The shift will mean they now have to search for a new job. But don’t worry, it won’t happen overnight.

So these were the 6 major trends that would define our future.

Here are some more bonus trends that are relevant.

A web of interconnected devices, everything from smartphones, kitchen appliances, to your electronics. Your gadgets will talk to each other.

5G- the fifth-generation mobile network with greater bandwidth. Nearly fifty operators are expected to offer 5G services in thirty countries, by the end of 2021.

Next are the exceptional technological trends — virtual reality and augmented reality. They are currently used primarily for gaming, in 2021 expect these trends to get fully integrated into our daily lives — in entertainment, education, marketing, and surgeries.

Why is important to understand these trends?

These trends are in their initial stages of development and that means, you have a tremendous opportunity to tap into some unexplored areas that these trends will influence as they continue to evolve in the future.

We often look for something new or something unique. It couldn’t be a better time in exploring these untapped areas.

Think of areas where you can add some value. Something which can take advance of these trends like a niche in online learning, a tool or advice that will add efficiency to people working from home, or investing in cryptocurrencies for the future.

Finally, if 2020 was about survival, 2021 will be all about carving the future. The future of work, learning, travel, health, money, social welfare, or food.

After managing to survive a pandemic, we now have to wield technology to our advantage. Using the tools and lessons learned from the year gone by, to improve the years ahead.

All the best!!

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