17/07/2024

20 Aspects of Society That Will Cease to Exist in the Next Decade

If you think back ten years ago, there are plenty of things that we had that we simply don’t anymore. But what about in the next decade? What things that we take for granted now are going to disappear completely by 2034? Let’s look at 18 of these things and why they’re going to go.

Physical Bank Branches

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The days of actually walking into a bank to get things done are slipping away right before our eyes. Online banking is getting better all the time, and pretty soon, we’ll all be doing our banking on our phones and our computers because it’s much more convenient. Waiting in line for a teller will completely be a thing of the past.

Car Ownership in Cities

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Owning a car in the city is becoming more hassle than it’s worth, thanks to the rise of ridesharing apps and improvements in public transit. Add in the fact that self-driving cars are becoming more common, and you’ve got a recipe for cities where almost nobody owns a car themselves. It’ll mean much less traffic and no more parking nightmares.

Paper Receipts

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Who needs a paper receipt when you can have it sent straight to your phone? Stores are catching on that digital receipts are much easier to manage and far better for the environment, so they’re ditching the paper versions. Soon enough, those little pieces of paper will be history, which will save trees and cut down on excess clutter.

Passwords

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If you’re tired or remembering a million different passwords, don’t worry. Most phones already use fingerprint and finger scans, and we’ll likely see these types of scans being used for things like our bank accounts, too. After all, this technology makes things far easier and much more secure than traditional passwords.

Incandescent Light Bulbs

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Thanks to the rise of LED bulbs, old-school light bulbs that we grew up with are on their way out. It makes sense since LED bulbs last a lot longer and don’t use up anywhere near as much power. And even better, switching to LED cuts down on energy bills, so you’ll be saving money and the environment.

Plastic Shopping Bags

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Plastic shopping bags are already being used less in many places because they’re so bad for the environment, and they’ll probably disappear completely soon. Many people are bringing their own reusable bags to the store, as they’re a lot stronger and better for the environment. Paper bags might even replace plastic bags completely.

Keychains Full of Keys

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There’s no point carrying around a noisy bunch of keys when your phone can unlock just about everything. People are using smart locks practically everywhere, including in their homes and cars, which is making traditional keys pretty much useless. Honestly, who wouldn’t want that? There’s a lower chance of you losing things this way.

Standalone GPS

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Our phone does almost everything under the sun now, which is why separate GPS devices are becoming unnecessary. You can get real-time updates and traffic alerts straight onto your phone while also playing your favorite songs. We’ve even got things like CarPlay that allow you to hook your phone right up to your car without any hassle.

Fast Food Cashiers

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The next time you go to your favorite fast-food joint, you might notice a lot more staff and fewer cashiers. Ordering kiosks have taken over almost completely, and AI is even starting to replace people at drive-thru windows. While this does mean fewer human jobs, it also means you can get your food a lot faster.

Remote Controls

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Losing the remote might not be such a big deal anymore because you can control so many gadgets right from your smartphone. There’s an app for almost everything, and it’s much easier than juggling five different remotes. This way, everything you need is literally right at your fingertips.

Privacy

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Sadly, it’s getting harder to keep anything private these days, as our phones listen in to our conversations and our apps track every single move. Before long, it might be hard to find a place where you’re truly off the grid. Privacy is taking on a totally new meaning in the digital age, and it’s not necessarily for the better.

Classroom Chalkboards

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We remember the screen of chalk on a blackboard, but kids in the future probably won’t. More schools are switching to smart boards that are more interactive and can do way more things than a traditional board. According to research, around 90% of classrooms in America use them, and it’s probably going to be 100% by 2024.

College Textbooks

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Digital textbooks are already taking over, and it’ll likely mean that carrying a backpack full of books will become a thing of the past. Digital is usually cheaper, and it means you can carry a whole library on your tablet. It’s also way easier to search for those important terms in a digital book than flip through hundreds of pages.

Manual Checks at Checkout

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Writing out a check at the grocery store already seems pretty outdated, but it’ll probably be almost impossible in a few years. According to research, 46% of Americans haven’t written a check in over a year. Honestly, can you blame them? Tap-to-pay and mobile payments are already making checking out a lot quicker, making checks more and more useless.

Voicemail

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Thanks to texting and instant messaging, the days of leaving and checking voicemail are disappearing pretty fast. After all, you can just send a voice note instead of being limited to the time after the beep. Soon enough, people might dig through their voicemail just to clear their notifications.

Wired Home Internet

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The future is wireless, and that includes our homes, as many people are skipping traditional wired internet for mobile hotspots. With entirely wireless services, you don’t need to drill a hole or trip over cables. You can get online wherever you are in your home without the stress of figuring out where the outlets are.

Hard Drives

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Since cloud storage has already become a huge part of our lives, hard drives are starting to disappear. They’re much more secure and allow you to access your files from anywhere. Better yet, you don’t have to worry about losing anything if your hard drive crashes. Cloud storage is a better choice for everyone.

Door-to-Door Mail Delivery

The amount of mail people get is already reducing, and it’ll probably vanish completely pretty soon. Many people are going digital for bills and other documents, meaning that mail carriers are making even fewer trips. Of course, we’ll still have delivery for packages, but the days of getting physical letters will probably vanish.