December 23, 2019
The new decade brings 5G technology to our doorstep. China is rapidly expanding their capabilities, and everyone is slowly preparing for super-fast mobile internet everywhere. But what will all this potential new usage of devices entail? Continuing the series of 2020 Predictions, here's my take on "Connected Consumers" or as I call it: The Browsing Dead.
If you want to start at the beginning, I urge you to read my intro about these four mega trends before diving into my take on the first trend.
Streaming...
According to Ericsson’s recent analysis, video streaming will drive the data-usage levels up to a total of 76%. This means that ¾ of our time on phones will be spent streaming Youtube videos of kittens… Or on Netflix watching The Irishman, despite Scorsese’s warning:
I would suggest — if you ever want to see one of my pictures, or most films — please, please don’t look at it on a phone, please. An iPad, a big iPad, maybe. [1] [2]
Martin Scorsese
The Walking Browsing Dead
So with great speed comes great addiction. I think there will be a further evolution into mobile zombies, a sort of The Walking Browsing Dead. As screen time will go up, we will also see a rise of power to companies who master content– further supported by Youtube vloggers and content creators / influencers on SoMe. I think our global phone addiction will spread as fast as the 5G speed and we will see a further strengthening of mobile as the primary entry point. But is that a bad thing?
As Duff puts it:
In real life, I only see her two out of every 14 days. On Instagram I can bend time and space to stay connected to her. But I was also posting them for myself. I only have my daughter with me two out of every 14 days, and I miss her every single day that she is not with me. It’s painful. What Instagram has allowed me to do is to employ a kind of digital physics, to warp my experience of space and time in my favor. [3]
Duff
More data and speed enable us to share our lives with family and friends across countries. I think we should rethink the dichotomy of good and bad use of devices.
It is a baseline for our lives, and it will connect us even more.
[1] FastCompany 2019 - Get ready for 5G to make your phone even more addictive
[2] Showbiz 2019 - Why Martin Scorsese Doesn't Want You to Watch 'The Irishman' on an iPhone
[3] Wired 2019 - Instagram, My Daughter, and Me
Curious for more?
Read my next predictions for what we will see, during the first years of the next decade, in the coming weeks or read my previous posts:
(Non) Sustainable Habits
Organisational OS 2.0
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