What do you think life in the UK will be like 30 years from now?

[Blancmangemouse]

The year is 2053. I will hopefully be about to retire. What do you think life will be like?

I remember in my teenage years I became irrationally convinced I would die at 25. I remember reading that young people inexperienced with life can feel this way because they just can’t picture their future selves in an adult world which is unknown to them.

Now mid 30s I am getting similar feelings and it could be because the future seems so uncertain. AI, Climate Crisis, World Powers shifting- etc etc.

So what do you think 2053 will realistically look like?

How does continually increasing the population solve that??? Unless your plan is to cull them all before retirement age

It doesn't

What do you think should be the answer?

30 years ago was early 90s and my DParents still live in the same house and old schools still exist and area was about to enter better phase after being hit with decade of Thatcherism.

Now has more building less farm land and less manufacturing industry - shopping areas not doing well. Tech wise mobile phone were already a thing but are now everywhere and expected - internet was there now it's more basic infrastructure.

So likely NHS privatisation continue and we end up with a more safety net/core service - even fewer children so schools/maternity services reduced in size - very likely cash a thing of the past all electronic money.

AI in it's hype phase at minute but expect most customer service will be AI and new ways of using it will emerge and become standard in next decades. Highstreet may well be gone in most places that don't have something else to bring visitors in.

Well see many more awnings on houses possibly shutters to keep heat out - a/c units - possibly planting for shade more in towns and cities. More coastal defences and more flood infrastructure. More adaptation as climate changes.

We'll likely have very high retirement ages or p/t working in retirement being norm despite aging population bulge being past - food prices will likely be higher and less variety and there may be less international travel at least for masses- depends if airlines can go green.

May have more intergenerational living if houses continue to be expensive and care -old age/child continues to be expensive. Not sure black bin collections will exist at all as already most are 3 weeks- be all recycling perhaps.

Does spend on avoiding major wars - I think western Europe in a better position than many parts of the world - Russia and USA may well break up in next 30 years.

Hmm.

Despite my relentless optimism, I've reconsidered.

If we rely on MN futoroligists, we are indeed, fucked!

I'm never quite sure if people want humans to die our or just Brits. The solution always seems to be for us to not have kids, then ship in labour from abroad because we have none. Do we ship them out before they have kids and want to settle and just let the last Brit to die to turn off the BBC? Otherwise you still need people somewhere to have kids. So why is it always Britain that's cited as needing to stop breeding?

Took the words right out my mouth

@SleepingStandingUp

Yes isn't it funny

I have to say if kind of fills me with dread, if paired with the prediction that care will be provided by AI and robots.
I’s rather die of cancer aged 60 than live to 90 being kept alive by robots

But that is a decision many people already make, for reasons that are not related to climate change.

Many people decide against kids because it is not financially viable for them (as in, they cannot provide as well as they would like to, so they forego kids because, to them, a child should have advantages being low income does not allow for. Or they just want to remain child free to enjoy unencumbered lives. Which, to me, is being a responsible person because no one should have kids they feel they can’t afford, or don’t want.

Also, if deciding not to procreate for whatever reason constitutes ‘preventing someone from being born’, then should we make birth control and abortions illegal, and just force women to pop out however many kids they conceive?

The last point would sound right at home in a longtermism/effective altruism screed from some tech bro, frankly.

“Sure your life sucks now, but imagine how many countless trillions will get to live from your sacrifice!”

All of this plus human beings that are unable to socialise on many levels, if at all, due to technology/AI taking over. Sad.

😁 The USA forced birther brigade are already working hard to save people from effective selfishness/self-determination. Legal abortion is going down and birth control is next on the chopping block.

A significant section of the East coast of England will be under water or close to being submerged. Lots of people will be cross that the house they bought in the area is no longer worth a tiny fraction of what they paid for it , but will post the details on MN and still dispute the price is the issue

Whilst wearing waders and the photos will be taken by zoom from the top of the nearest hill

This has got to be one of the most depressing threads ever!

i had all my children pre covid. I wish id never had them. I’m not saying it’s because of covid etc… but covid certainly has a big part to play. I think it will be mass control. Government will know everyone’s every move, we preach to our kids that we played out etc which I’m fortunate my children do but I think it will literally be a thing of the past. No cash at all everything will be electronic. Poverty everywhere. No nhs everything private. I think the world will be in a sorry state 😞

😂

jesus this is depressing, I think the human race is pretty resilient so things will be better some things worse, we will of had to adapt to a changing climate etc.
Although people go on about how crap everything is for most people it’s not. People need perspective, it’s been a difficult few years all economies are struggling from the inflation mainly caused by covid etc. However in the whole scheme of things most people have a better quality of life than they did 50 years ago , 100 years ago, etc, people forget how far things have come on. Thankfully there are still progressive, positive, creative people who will hopefully shape our futures

I'm aware that people make the decision not to have kids for other reasons. The discussion I was having was about people not having kids because of fear of what the future would be like/a belief the children would have a difficult life.

Also, if deciding not to procreate for whatever reason constitutes ‘preventing someone from being born’, then should we make birth control and abortions illegal, and just force women to pop out however many kids they conceive?
^^
I have no idea how on god's green and good earth you jumped to making birth control illegal but let me reassure you that I was in no way whatsoever talking about anything at all related to that. You entirely made it up in your own head.

@Blancmangemouse

I'd rather be living without diabetes.

We need more warm bodies to fight China because of TikTok, or something. Don’t think about it, here’s a miniature American flag. USA, USA, USA!

I think in 30 years time the UK will have lost any last traces of what it means to be British. We will be importing all our TV programs, gotten rid of bank holidays and Easter/Christmas/etc because "It's all commercialised rubbish anyway". Family units will start to disappear as people are less likely to have long term partners and less children and that's assuming anyone has time and places to physically meet someone. We will spend all our time apologising for whatever our ancestors did in the past and ignoring the actions of places like China who be taking over poor countries effectively because they aren't white colonial powers, even if they are still doing the same thing as white colonial powers. The government will have stripper out and sold any our last remaining assets and we will probably have some unscrupulous company such as Nestle taking over our water supply and school catering.

I merely asked the question for clarification, based on your previous statement:

IMO the fact that someone may have a tough life is not a reason to prevent them being born.

It worries me that people believe that if you can't guarantee and easy or safe life then the only option is no life at all. It's such a small, defeatist stance.

Because birth control (and abortions) also ‘prevent (someone) from being born’. And your statement reads like you are not in favor of that prevention under most circumstances.

Have you seen the film "Idiocracy"? I think pretty similar to that.

That's a very strange interpretation. I accept that that's what you believe I said, but it isn't.

To clarify I meant choosing not to have a baby, given that was what I was discussing and given that I wasn't discussing birth control or abortion or even vaguely alluding to it.