Twelve Things That Will Be Obsolete in 10 Years

In the age of social networks and constant connectedness, are we face(book)ing the obsolescence of the independent mind?

When asked by The Mark what I thought might be obsolete 10 years hence, I must admit to being stumped. A dark anxiety rose up in the back of my mind and suggested that 10 years from now, on my 57th birthday, I would be obsolete. Try as I might, I could not foresee what would be relegated to the dustbin of history. So I did the obvious thing and threw the question out to my minions on Facebook (I prefer to think of my virtual collection of “friends” as minions. One does what one must do to make life interesting).

Eager to avoid doing whatever it was that they should be doing instead of mucking about on Facebook, my virtual minions responded with all manner of possibilities. Paper clips and staplers were the first candidates, but perhaps the one furthest from the mark. Every year since the desktop computer arrived, paper printing has gone up in offices. This trend may slow over time, but I am not about to toss my trusty Swingline 444 stapler just yet.

A number of voices suggested the telephone landline. With less than 25 per cent of Canadian households relying solely on the landline, this could be a good candidate for obsolescence. Except for one hitch – I love my landline. A cellphone-less baby boomer, I plan to be here in 10 years, along with my landline.

Trusted minion Justin cleverly suggested the written signature. Perhaps, but the rarer that literary skills become, the more will they stand as a marker of elite status. Mere minions may one day lose the skill or need to write their own name, but their evil masters will still be signing on the dotted line.

Minion Matt opined that wired electronics would soon be gone, but for reasons more complicated than the longevity of landline owners, this is not likely to soon come to pass.

Other suggestions included snail mail, postal junk mail, and music and video retail outlets. Yet 10 years is too short a time frame for the 11 billion pieces of mail delivered annually by Canada Post to diminish to none. Ten years ago, internet gurus predicted the imminent demise of most retail stores, yet we see little change in retail, while numerous internet gurus now look for new work.

Perhaps looming obsolescence is not to be found in mere things, such as the obvious and inconsequential candidates of hard drives, VHS tapes, and analogue TV. What if the obsolescence we face is more personal in nature? In the age of social networks, of looking over everyone else’s virtual shoulder, of being constantly and desperately connected to our friends and minions, what may soon be obsolete is the independent mind. Are we destined to go so far down the digital path of being sold on everything that Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg make that one day we find that the independent mind, the self disconnected from the digital collective, is no longer valued? I’ll ask my minions what they think about that and get back to you.