What a
beautiful thing. I remember hearing about a chat platform when I was a
teenager, and the thought of talking to another person that is unknown and far
away really excited me. It was exciting to be able to connect with others, and
not know who they are – totally defeating the “don’t talk to strangers” rule. This
was possible because of the internet. The internet has evolved drastically –
from basic static information to real time “EVERYTHING!” Some of our entire
lives are on the internet, and we never know who is looking. I believe we are
looking at major privacy issues that have already risen but are being neglected
or ignored because of the social norms of conformity. I truly think that having
the internet at your fingertips will not be enough in the next 5-10 years.
People will demand change, people will demand more and the Internet may have to respond to increased capacities.
Devices
that I think will become obsolete are going to be cameras and video recording devices.
Let’s face it, our “smartphones” are becoming better and better at more than
just talking. Someone once said “the
best camera you can have is the one in your pocket”, which makes total sense –
Unless you are a professional photographer or offer recording services, items
such as cameras and video cameras have already been substituted by Smartphones
and in most cases perform better than regular cameras out there.
Other
devices that I think will become obsolete are pocket calculators and financial
calculators. Again, our smartphone can support applications which will very
shortly completely replace such items as calculators – as soon as classrooms
get over the “no phones while class is in session” rule.
Lastly,
another series of devices I believe will become obsolete are personal desktop
computers. The laptops have already taken over and unless you’re in a business
setting, personal desktop computers are almost non-existent! Soon enough, they
will become extinct! J
As far
as where I see the Internet going 10 years from now, I wish I knew!
On the
one hand, my thinking hat tells me to look further into the future where
microchips can be implanted into our brains – chips that are connected to the
internet and that can help you access any and all information. In a way we’re
slowly going to turn into robots – after all, we can replace most body parts
with artificial ones…what’s stopping us from “frying” our brain. If you really
think about it, having a microchip with unlimited information will make our
brains lazy..are we heading towards an era of increased idiocy? On the other
hand, my realistic self-snaps me back into reality where the Internet will
probably not change that much. What might change are the devices we use, but
the internet, it can only get better without having to drastically change!