What will the world look like in 20 or 30 years? Will standards of living be very different?

32 replies

fourikeachairs · 22/02/2023 16:43

Curious about what people's opinions are on this. Will air travel be much less common for example, do you think?

How are things with food and the global economy going to play out? Or water?

I'm very recently bereaved and it's making me think of my own future a lot, and wondering how things will be in our world. I don't really expect to live a very long life myself because of lots of health issues, but if the global economy gets much harsher in terms of our living conditions I guess my life another decade or so shorter than I was hoping for!

There are a few places I'd really love to travel to if I get the chance. And always thought well there will be time to do that, but if flights become prohibitively expensive over the next ten years or so, maybe travel won't be possible the way it is now.

Anyway, rambling thoughts but would be interested in what others think about where the world is going?

OP posts:

LookingOldTheseDays · 23/02/2023 21:44

I imagine water wars will be a thing in the not-too-distant future.

I agree. Potable water is a scarcer resource than most people realise.

Peakypolly · 23/02/2023 21:48

Elderly care will be by computers/robots I do hope this is true. I would much prefer to be washed down by a faceless machine than some poor minimum waged individual feeling pressured to get to their next client.
I would like to think that travel will be experienced using virtual reality. This will reduce climate damage.
Standards of living have to decline, because the planet cannot sustain current levels of consumption, let alone the increases that will come as more nations develop. Does less consumption have to mean a decline in living standards? Can't we live happily but with less consumption?

SpanishGirly · 23/02/2023 21:54

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BloodyHellKen · 23/02/2023 22:04

I'm hoping there will be fantastic medical advancements and all sorts of illnesses that require regular, lifelong medication now will be managed with self regulating implants - eg type 1 diabetes, thyroid disorders. That would make me very happy :)

LaurieFairyCake · 23/02/2023 22:21

Well we should all start by having zero or one child maximum

Giving women control of their fertility all over the world would change everything and make living on this planet possible longer

girlfriend44 · 23/02/2023 22:22

Dartmoorcheffy · 22/02/2023 17:00

The way it's going there will be no such thing as man or woman. People will just be identifying as whatever takes there fancy and being offended if you don't address them correctly. Freedom of speech will no longer exist.

As for standards of living I suspect there is going to be a much bigger rich vs poor divide. Most of us will be working til we drop dead due to the ever increasing cost of living and I fear the crime rate will get much higher too.

Reminded me, I saw someone in the news who wants to be identified as a baby ha ha.

EmmaEmerald · 23/02/2023 22:23

JoonT · 23/02/2023 21:24

In three words, hot, overcrowded and unbearable.

I wish more attention was paid to overpopulation. It's virtually taboo. But it's at the heart of so many of our problems. In 1900, there were just over a billion humans on Earth. By 1960 that had trebled to three billion. By 2000 it was six billion. It's now eight billion. And then people wonder why the rainforests are disappearing and fish stocks are dwindling! There is a cure for poverty. It has been tried all over the world, and it always works. It's called family planning. It's also the quickest way to improve the conditions of women.

Over the next 20 or 30 years, two things are going to combine to cause utter chaos: climate change and overpopulation. Africa has the highest birth rate in the world (five children on average). In fact, its birth rate is so high their population is going to double by 2050. When climate change gets worse, that booming young population will head north for Europe, crossing the Mediterranean and landing in Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.

Then there will be rows within the EU. The Mediterranean countries will accuse Germany and Poland of not taking their share. Maybe one of them will elect a party that promises to close its borders and withdraw from the EU. Problem is, there will be no resolution. Governments will come up with all kinds of schemes and policies, but they'll be meaningless when half a million people have landed and another five million are camped along the shores of north Africa, and another twenty million are crossing the Sahara.

Yep.

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