Watch the video “Our Lives in 2025.” You’ll see technology’s ability to bring people together through artificial reality in ways that make them feel face to face. The video features hologram technology, translation and wearable technologies, data visualization and what it will be like to live in a ‘smart city.’ This is supposed to take place in just 8 years from now. What do you think of this estimate? Will this be your life in your life? Even if it takes longer for some of these (or sooner), what will it be like to live in a world with faster information, closer artificial connections, and smart technologies that read our messages and body signals and tailor our world to ourselves?
When I first watched the video “Life in 2025” I automatically thought that the advancements in technology were a little ambitious considering that it is currently the year 2020 and much of these technological advancements are not being used by the greater population. Then I took a step back and thought about the technological advancements present in this video and realized that many of the products exist today but are simply not in widespread use. For example, there are many electric cars available today but they are simply not used as frequently as cars that run on gas. There are many forms of renewable energy present in the video that is used by people, companies, and countries today; such as solar panels and wind turbines, but not used by the majority of families and individuals. In addition, Virtual reality is universally used in the video and less common to see today. I do not believe it is impossible to imagine a quick increase in use in the next five years considering the research showing how “addicted”/ dependent people are on technology in their everyday lives in the year 2020 (Tiku, 2018). I would not label it unrealistic to see these forms of technology used almost universally in the next five to ten years. Although I am not sure that I will be living in a “smart city” like the one presented in the video in five years, I do believe that it will be the reality within my lifetime. I am confident in this prediction because humans as of now show addictive tendencies towards technology and I do not see this “addiction” lessening in the future. Considering that “almost 50 percent of people say they couldn’t live without their phones, which we check every 12 minutes and touch an average of 2,600 times a day”, I believe that any of the technologies presented in the video are capable to sparking addiction and therefore will be used in day to day life(Tiku, 2018).
I believe that a world with technological advancements, such as the ones presented in the video, will be a world that functions very efficiently and effectively, but will also be a world that is filled with people that are lacking empathy, conversational skills, and are feeling the negative effects that excessive technology use have on mental health. Throughout history, people have been wary of the effects that technology can have on mental well being and there are well-publicized books that have “exposed the tole of technology on our mental and physical health” (Tiku, 2018). In addition to having the potential to affect your health, technology is also hindering the conversations we are having with others. Studies have shown that “the mere presence of a phone on a table between them or in the periphery of their vision changes both what they talk about and the degree of connection they feel ” (Turkle, 2015). This was shocking for me to hear because I had to acknowledge the fact that conversations I have had with my loved one have most likely been negatively affected by the presence of our smartphones being in arms reach. Lastly, a team at the University of Michigan “found a 40 percent decline in empathy among college students, with most of the decline taking place after 2000” (Turkle, 2015). The constantly increasing use of smartphones by the greater population and younger people especially is said to have lasting effects on people by making it harder for people to see events from others’ perspectives and understand the consequences of their actions. Although I do believe that a smart city like the one in the “Life in 2025” video will be time-efficient and eco-friendly, I think that the continued increase in use and dependence on technology will have detrimental effects on mental health and interpersonal relationships.
Work Cited
Life in 2025: Imec’s vision on future technology in daily life. (2001, March 15). Imec. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from
Tiku, Nitasha. (2018, April 18). The Wired Guide to Internet Addiction. Wired. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from https://www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-to-internet-addiction/
Turkle, Sherry. (2015, September 26). Stop Googling. Lets Talk. The New York Times.Retrieved February 13, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/stop-googling-lets-talk.html
Technology and the Family 