Remember VHS? Remember how critically important they were to our lives before being replaced with DVDs? Then, remember how important they were before being replaced with Blu-Ray? Then remember how important they were before being replaced with a multitude of streaming services? Those for sure aren't going anywhere, right?
Right?
Reddit user, u/My_Names_Jefff, wanted to hear about:
What can you see going obsolete in 5 years?
Apple Pay Says "What's Up?"
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Cash in 1st world
I don't think it's going anywhere in the next 5 years, at least in the US. Cash is still pretty popular for quick purchases under $20, because card reader systems are too unreliable and slow. And it's still common to pay tips in cash, so people who work in food service tend to have cash on hand.
Japan still loves cash, too.
Take It Where You Want
Desktop computers. Most people will have laptops plugged to a bigger external monitor. also wire headphones and toys for 4-10 year olds since they will only like devices, computers, and TVs... oh and also stock brokers, you can buy and sell shares without paying fee just by using Robinhood, webull or Td Ameritrade app.
Is It Curtains For...Well, You Know.
Curtains. I live in Germany, and most of the houses have Rolladens. They're like curtains, except they block out more light when you need them too and also they're metal so they would do good in tornado alley. I don't understand why only Europe uses them.
We'd Have To Vote A Lot Of People Out To Make This One Happen
Fossil cars. Of course people will continue to drive them for longer than that, but in five years I think EVs will completely dominate the new sales. For many use cases, EVs are already cheaper in the long run, and they'll continue to drop in price.
There's No Link Between The Two...Yet...
Wired headphones, then people will realise they are connected to cancer and wired will come back.
Bluetooth headphones are adequate for audio books but real music fanatics are starting to realize the sound is a little thinner and instrument separation not as distinct.
My Opinions = Your Views
Social Media Influencers.
They're already at a point of everybody and their dog thinking they can be an "influencer" simply due to having an opinion...
Stranded On A Germ-Filled Boat
Cruises i think.
The current crisis really shed light on how much the environment can recover from not being polluted on the scale we do. Now, Airplanes aren't going anywhere because we need to travel fast and cheaply across borders.
But cruise ships? Giant hunks of floating metal that consume an entire car tank worth of fuel per stroke, is nothing but an opulence and exercise in luxury and ruining marine life.
This One's Interesting In A Few Ways
Television
Hmm maybe. Definitely declining but a lot of older demographics still watch cable and network TV. I work in advertising and it's like radio - I'm always shocked at how many people still watch/listen.
That said - I'd say in 20 years it's done for sure. But while streaming services and tech get easier to use I'm sure more and more older people will realize how much money they can save and still get "channels" delivered differently.
It's A Prime Catch-22
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Working in an office. This pandemic is proving that there's no need for offices already.
Better hope you're wrong, because if there's no reason to have an office, there's no reason to hire first worlders and pay first world salaries for people to work from home.
The Way Of The Future
Drivers after self driving cars and trucks become common.
Uber and Lyft hope to have fully autonomous fleets eventually, and I'm sure the major trucking companies would love to have automated rigs.
And don't even get me started about how much the car insurance companies would be drooling once self-driving cars get the accident avoidance bugs sorted out.
Another Way To Learn In Your Pajamas
Colleges will still exist, but they will be obsolete in the sense that most people will demand online learning. Cheaper, more convenient, and the online classroom tech is making leaps and bounds due to the pandemic.
This One Will Be A Real Bummer For Most Kids
Snow days, unfortunately. Now that school can be done remotely kids will no longer have the excitement of waking up to a snow day. Super sad.
Think About The Last Time You Actually Used One
Personal checks. With the majority of banking transactions now being done digitally, the cost of processing checks just isn't worth the upkeep of the systems.
The Days Of Blowing In Cartridges Is Long Behind Us
Five years might be an under estimate, but how about physical video games? I abhor the idea of going all digital but I could see it becoming a reality.
That sounds about right. This current generation will likely be the last generation of consoles to have physical copies of games.
However, there will always be collectors of old games such as myself. I don't have any super rare games, but I do have some that are actually worth money such as Mario Party 3 and Silent Hill. I'm never going to sell them. When new releases go all digital, and physical games get rarer and rarer, I can see physical games really going up in value because there will always be people willing to pay for them. Especially extremely successful franchises like Super Mario, Legend of Zelda and Resident Evil. A physical copy of Super Mario 64 is going to be worth a lot a decade or two from now.
How Are These Still A Thing?
Landlines
Im surprised this hasnt happened yet
I fogure it'd take some kind of eradication of mobile phone network blsck spots in people's homes for it to happen. There's like 3 rooms in my house I get 0 signal.
We're Somehow Cycling Back On Ourselves
Single streaming services. There's a glut coming, and they're all going to compete against each other. I think in five years they're going to band together and we're going to have an option similar to cable, where there's competing packages.
Ironic isn't it? This was exactly the original promise of Netflix: all the shows, one platform. No more subscribing to giant tv channel packages just to get the 3 shows you actually watch.
Hey, If You're On The Planet Earth, You Speak American!
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Language other than English requirements for students. We're getting really close to having the technology to speak into a computer and have it translate in real time.
Those aren't required to be useful, they're required because they've always been required for a university degree and there's no way to justify having a language department if you don't require students to take classes that are totally useless to them.
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