This is one of nearly a thousand foresight statements shared by people from around the world. To return to the Voices of the People home page or to refine your search, click here.
Name: S. E. Morris
Bio: Internet programmer/developer (specialising in Instant Messaging, etc.)
Area of Expertise: Research Scientist/Illuminator
Topic: Community/Culture
Headline: Peace, Harmony, and Lara Croft
Nutshell: More and more of us will be communicating across cultural boundaries, but the chances of world peace accidentally breaking out are slim.
Vision:People may increasingly live dual lives: one on-line and the other off-line. Most Internet "true believers" are already there, but the great unwashed masses will follow; no longer will Email and Instant Messaging be just a way to contact "real world" friends more quickly – almost everyone will have an array of acquaintances they’ve only known via a screen.
On-line video gaming will help to grow this trend probably more than anything else, as it forces complete strangers to come together to play, compete and co-operate. As games grow to epic proportions and facilitate long-term teamwork-based styles of game-play, friendships will be forged which will spill over into the likes of Instant Messaging and (if it’s still around) Email.
File sharing and other "ad-hoc" communities will also play their part. Today, discussion forums (ie. Usenet newsgroups) appeal to only a small subset of the Internet population because not everyone has an opinion they wish to trade. But, ALMOST EVERYONE has digital "stuff" to trade!
So the good news is that in the future even those who’ve never left their home town will have dozens of friends from numerous different countries and cultures around the globe. The bad news is they won’t be spending their time exchanging views on world peace and breaking down cultural barriers – they’ll be yakking about Tomb Raider and U2.
Ho-hum(!)
Date Submitted: January 10, 2005
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