Remember the great prophet Nostradamus? He was the French seer who foreshadowed numerous floods, earthquakes and wars. Urban legends say he foreshadowed the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks centuries ago. He may not have been absolutely accurate, but we have another such seer in the sociologist Alvin Toffler.
It is the 40th anniversary of his renowned book, Future Shock. In the book, he argues society is experiencing an extreme transformation from the revolutionary industrial society. The increased rate of technological and social change has overwhelmed people, leaving them suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation." Some of his predictions, including the information overload, same-sex marriage issues and increased environmental disasters, have come true to our lives. For example, we experienced one of the heaviest oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico that will affect the ecosystem for decades.
To go further, Toffler's Associates, a group of intellectuals, released a report called 40 for the next 40 Oct. 14, which identified the 40 forces that will drive changes between now and 2050. These trends vary from politics to the environment, but one of the more significant trends is the changing role of women in society.
When we compare television shows from several years ago, there are significant changes in the roles and characters women used to play and their roles now. In the past, females played more motherly and feminine roles, but now we see females playing roles that were traditionally male. For example, the role of president of the United States was traditionally a male, but recently we have seen many female presidents in movies and TV shows. This depicts the changing role of women, with more women participating in society as active agents. This trend will continue and we will probably see the first female American president elected in the near future.
There is, however, one trend the report failed to mention, the decreasing boundaries of nations. Not in a literal sense, but figuratively. Technological advancements have changed the world. The Internet has enabled us to virtually connect with anyone within minutes and have access to a variety of information is just mouse click away. As a result, regional borders are not barriers.
The increasing transportation technology will also contribute to powerless boundaries. Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that U.S. outbound non-stop air passenger traffic totaled 3.6 million in May 2010, which is an 8 percent increase since May 2009. Not only is this the case in the U.S., but the frequency of air travel is an increasing trend internationally. This is because air travel has become more affordable as technology has allowed cheaper tickets and longer distances. Therefore, people can cross borders and boundaries with just one airplane ticket. Also, countries are more interconnected and more welcoming to outsiders than before — travelers and tourists are a common scene.
From these speculations, might it be a little too farfetched to say that in the future, regional boundaries will no longer be significant to defining national identity? Will there be some kind of substitution to regional boundaries that define national identity?
The report poses many predictions and questions for society and it is most likely that the trends listed on the report will end up becoming true, so let's get ready.
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