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What's Next

In his book Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World, Steven Johnson says: 

The institutions of society that so dominate traditional history—political bodies, corporations, religions—can tell you quite a bit about the current state of the social order. But if you are trying to figure out what’s coming next, you are often better off exploring the margins of play: the hobbies and curiosity pieces and subcultures of human beings devising new ways to have fun.

In today's context, subcultures seem to center around online influence or fashion. Connecting everything in the world, using voice and gesture to control are themes around which consumer innovation is happening. This Ericsson report on the ten hot consumer trends of the day makes for interesting reading. We crave mental obesity as a society and so there will be providers of solutions that fulfill that need

In fact, 57 percent say they want a smartphone that knows when they are becoming ill before they notice themselves, and 54 percent would like a smartwatch that senses when they are getting stressed before noticing it themselves. 

When we no longer want to know how we feel, what we truly need and want and let it all run on auto-pilot, the idea of new, interesting hobbies and avenues to exercise curiosity fades out. Following Johnson's logic, its hard to understand where the world is headed next. 

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