Future Makers: 2: Our Digital Life
This is the second part from a W.I.P series, Future Makers, aimed at young digital entrepreneurs — aged between 12–18 . Visit the Future Makers Intro Page to find out about this project and see a list of all openly published parts, or catch up on the previous part, How the Internet has Changed the World (and the opportunities it means for you) to learn about how the Internet came to be and what that means for you.
We ended off the last part with a brief time-travel journey from the 1960s to 2020, looking at how, in just thirty years, our homes and our lives have been invaded by TVs, computers, the Internet, online services and wickedly awesome computer games.
Now I would like to give you a bit of a snapshot of how connected we are today, and how much we use the Internet and the services it has to offer. This is to set the scene for the next parts which will focus on the opportunities that digital tools and services brings people like you, now and in the near future.
To do this, I’m going to fire off some statistics. Ready?
STAT ATTACK 1:
Today there an estimated 3.6 billion Internet users world-wide. That is just under half of the global population. You’re right, I thought it would be more but there are a lot of less advantaged people who live in poor countries with no access to the Internet.
Stat Attack 2 gives you a window into how much clicking, tapping, downloading, streaming, swiping and shopping we do on our computers and mobiles.
STAT ATTACK 2:
- Snaps shared by Snapchat users: 2,083,333 per minute
- Tweets sent by Twitter users: 473,400 per minute
- Videos watched by YouTube users: 4,333,560 per minute
- Packages shipped by Amazon: 1,111 per minute
You are probably suffering from number overload by now, but I’m going to hit you with just a few more stats and facts. These stats show just how many people are using major internet platforms today.
STAT ATTACK 3:
- There are currently 2234 million active Facebook users
- There are currently 1900 million active YouTube users
- There are currently 1000 million active Instagram users
- And lastly, in 2017, consumers downloaded 178.1 billion mobile apps to their connected devices. Yes, we still love our Apps.
So, what can we understand from all these numbers?
In short, the Internet and all its services are now a major part of our lives. Today, whether we are working, shopping, socialising or entertaining ourselves, online services have become integrated into almost every aspect of our daily routines.
The rate of technology advancement and consumption is increasing at a rapid rate and we are relative noobs (newbies) in this digital kingdom. We are just into a new decade and it will be fascinating to watch how technology and the internet will continue to change our lives.
We don’t know exactly what life will be like in fifty years, but we can make some good guesses at what the major technology advancements in 2020 are going to be.
Here are my top three predictions for major technology trends expected in the next decade that will be key to your success as a digital pioneer.
Prediction 1: Internet access will become available to (most of) the remaining population.
This is a fairly safe prediction. With half the world still not connected to the Internet it is inevitable that soon the Internet will reach their fingertips. Today companies like Google and Facebook are already launching effective ways of getting the Internet to poorer countries and remote locations with limited to no access using solar-powered, Internet powered weather-balloons.
The impact of this is that billions of people are going to be coming online in the next decade which means more potential customers for companies selling their goods over the Internet.
Prediction 2: Artificial Intelligence will be become mainstream.
You are probably aware of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, either through movies like The Terminator and the Matrix, or reading articles about how AI is going to take over the world. The reality, I think, is somewhere in-between. AI and machine-learning technology is already being used in many different ways. To give just a few examples, AI is used in self-driving-car technology, virtual home assistants like Alexa and Google Home, Amazon shopping recommendations, Facebook and Instagram adverts, medical diagnosis, virtual enemies in computer games, and much more.
In the next decade, AI will become more embedded into online services and made available as a tool for you to use. As a young, digital entrepreneur, you will be able to take advantage of AI as an instrument to gain insight about your audience, perform production tasks and find your perfect audience.
Prediction 3: Social Media and Online Shopping are going to unite
In the near future, Social Media and Online Shopping are going to become deeply integrated. There is already a loose connection between the two, but we have yet to see the power of the two combined. The algorithms behind social media already know what adverts to show you, so it is only a natural extension for them to start offering their own retail services so that you can do your shopping and socialising at the same time.
As a young entrepreneur, you will need to understand and keep on top of these social platforms to market your product in the most effective way possible.
Right, then. I think that is enough statistics, numbers, trends and predictions for one part.
Soon we are going to dive into more detail about what platforms exist today and how you, a young dragon in the making, can use them to develop your business. But before this, we are going to look in the mirror and try to see which entrepreneurial mould best fits you.
Once you know that, and you may already do, it will help you think about how you can start applying your talents using the tools covered in later parts.
