Which current things do you think will disappear entirely in the next 5-10 years?

[Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService]

Looking at the world as we see it today and the way the wind is blowing, which things that are currently (and have often long been) a part of many of our lives can you see just completely vanishing completely - whether through the writing being on the wall for them and nobody wanting them anymore, or through actually being officially scrapped/banned?

So far, I've come up with (and there's every chance that I'll turn out to be hopelessly and laughably wrong):

TV licence in its current format. I don't think the BBC will disappear at all, but their privileged funding model, payable for watching ALL live TV, will only be sustainable for maybe 5 more years at most.

Broadcast/terrestrial/scheduled TV.

Cash and all bank branches. Also bank cards - all will be incorporated in phones as standard or swapped for implants.

Royal Mail. I think Amazon will branch into collections as well as just deliveries, with a much cheaper, quicker and more reliable service - probably more for parcels, as written letters become increasingly obsolete.
Also post offices will completely disappear.

Humans being allowed to drive vehicles - also leading to no need for anybody to actually own a car of their own, if they can use an app to summon a driverless pod at any time.

Printed newspapers and magazines, as well as paper utility bills, invoices, receipts etc. No urging to switch to receiving things online, as that will simply be the only option - even for important official documents. Before long, maybe all paper will be gone and seen as much as a relic of the past as parchment is now.

Private bonfires and fireworks.

Learning foreign languages - everybody will speak into their phones and the other person will automatically and seamlessly hear it in their own language - quite probably in the exact same voice.

In-person voting.

The option/ability to live life without being online.

There must be loads more... what else?!

I think driver driven cars will go but not within 10 years. I think people will still want to own their own though for things like being able to keep stuff in their cars, muddy dogs, people eating in cars and so on.

Yes, I can see both sides. Not having to park, prepare or maintain a car to sit on your drive for most of its life, or to have to actually learn to drive in the first place; and everybody in your group being able to go out and get hammered and still all get home to their own door safely by car - these would all be popular.

But, as you say, people like a say in what car they have, and just like to have a sense of ownership and being able to leave their stuff in it. Having to keep removing your personal items from the boot/glove box and remembering/grabbing/loading it all up every single time would be irritating. No more packing the car for your holiday the night before - you'd have to gather it all outside your front door and hope that the model that the app sends will be big enough to fit it all in.

I suppose it partly depends on whether people are allowed to make the switch themselves if/when they choose to do so, or if the law changes to make it illegal for something as potentially dangerous, unpredictable and fallible as a human meatbag to be allowed to be in control of a car.

Also, from a resources and carbon pov, it might just become socially unacceptable/illegal to expect to have an entire car manufactured and then to 'hoard' it for your family's sole use for a tiny fraction of each day. Many people strongly object to well-off folk buying holiday homes that they only use for a few weekends in the year and leave unused for the vast majority of the time - so consensus on cars could maybe go the same way eventually.

The other thing that genuine non driver controlled cars could do of course is to put drivers back on the road who can't get a driving licence for physical reasons. It won't matter if their eyesight is poor or their reflexes are too slow....maybe not even if they use drugs or are drunk! I wonder what it will do about car insurance? I even wonder if driving tests and licences will be necessary?
Regarding the social aspects, I am not sure. Privately owned holiday homes have been a thing for pretty much all my life and social attitudes don't seem to be stamping them out....also I think the majority of current car owners keep stuff in their cars so i don't think that social pressure over that will happen any time soon.

Glitter, I've seen talk of banning it completely, even the biodegradable stuff. I wonder if fish scales being used in cosmetics will come back? Guanine is really pretty in old nail polish.

First line says not in the next 5 years but in the future. I think it just reads like science fiction though.

Regarding staffless supermarkets, how will everyone on Mumsnet cope (I include myself) with the lack of supermarket door deliveries?

Snow

Freedom

People saying "It's called summer" as half the population dies in temperatures of 50C. Actually, no they will still be saying it.

Surely if teachers are replaced by AI then most jobs will have gone the same way. Therefore there'd be no point educating children.

Yes some of it is definitely vivid imagination. As for marrying robots, people have been known to marry their car so I don’t think marrying a robot is going to be the norm. And not sure why you’d have to pay someone to take your robot child away, it’s not an American fridge/freezer, you could probably just put it in the garage or a large black bin bag.

It won’t happen. Amazon tried it and it flopped, no one liked it or used it so they’re closing down.

Yep this does highlight the gap between what tech people think will happen and what the public will buy into. This is why a lot of these won’t happen.

This is what my son has been saying pretty much. Powerful tech companies are run by socially awkward people (well men really) who don’t understand or care about human interaction.

Life as we know it.

Autonomy and freedom. Just like we use the phrase "Before Covid" in everyday speach. Five years from now, the phrase "Before Digital I.D" will be used in conversation.

And androids are far cheaper than human workers.

A commercial droid will cost as little as 10k, the "brains" will just be made available through subscription and piped in to the mechs via WiFi. That's why the androids are so cheap, you're not paying for the expensive, on-board "intelligence."

why will they stop?

The Royal Family

My understanding is that the ETIAS approval lasts for 3 years: Presumably people who tend to holiday in Europe will be applying for this as soon as it comes out and will then reapply matter of course like we reapply for a passport, so I don’t agree this will stop ‘most’ spontaneous European travel.

Its probably more likely to be a problem for people with an already booked holiday later in 2026 - when it goes live, how long will the approval process take and will they prioritise those who already have travel plans.

Ha! From my experience this past week, customer service IS already a thing of the past!

I'm curious about more letters in the alphabet and the end of trousers!

Indeed

I also want to know who is stopping people reading on busses.

What on earth do you think digital ID is going to do to everyone?

Why no trousers? 😀

That's why I said "spontaneous": it does stop spontaneous travel (I wake up today and want to go this afternoon, or tomorrow morning) to the ETIAS countries, which is not all European countries and that's why I said "most". It doesn't apply to everyone, because some people would never have travelled like this in the first place - but for those who did or would have, it's a loss. Of course it does not make a difference to travel planned several weeks or more in advance, except for people who will not qualify for ETIAS or can't afford the extra 20 EUR.

Donald Trump

But once you’ve got your ETIAS thingy, you can be as spontaneous as you like ? And most people who travel that way would get their approval all ready and sorted for when an offer comes up. You’re right though that someone who isn’t a normal traveller and needs to travel in an emergency would be stuck.