Trends 2020: Looking Ahead to A Year of Breakthroughs-Part 2
TREND 4: Breaking Big
The Power of How
Back in 2007, we began tracking the public’s growing appetite for life-long learning. Every year since, digital learning continues to exceed our predictions. The freshest frontier of knowledge transfer is audio. In 2020, podcasting revenues are projected to hit $659 million, marking a 110% growth. When it comes to schooling, the proportion of all students enrolled exclusively online grew to 15.4% (up from 14.7% in 2016), or about one in six students. The share of all students who mixed online and in-person courses grew slightly faster, to 17.6% in 2017 from 16.4% in 2016. Market research firm Global Industry Analysts projected that “E Learning” would reach $107 billion in 2015 — and it did. Now, Research and Markets forecasts show triple the revenue of 2015, meaning e-learning could grow to $325 Billion by 2025.
The bigger “digital culture” story is playing out over at YouTube. The zeitgeist it spawned feels more like an empowerment zone — putting can-do, know-how into people’s hands. The result is a rising confidence that everything can be learned online — any lesson, tip, or DIY hack is accessible. Google surveyed YouTube users, discovering 86% turn to YouTube to learn things, busting the myth that users seek entertainment over education. This is the power of how.
Takeaway: If you want to deliver value to your customers, teach them something they want to learn.
Seeking Knowledge Online
TREND 5: Breaking Big
Crushing Tech-induced Insomnia
Every night, about a third of adults have trouble falling and staying asleep. As they lie in bed, many are caught in the classic paradox of insomnia: wanting sleep so badly that their anxiety keeps them from falling asleep. Why is this a problem? No sleep, no dreams. As any Jungian analyst will tell you, dreams allow us to access vital psychic material that helps us grow and develop. As the speed of change amps up, sleep improves our resilience to life’s daily stressors.
The biggest culprit seems to be technology. Our cell phones, tablets, computers and other gadgets are such a huge part of our lives that we bring them into bed with us. Keeping your phone in a charging cradle on your nightstand may seem smart, but technology disrupts sleep in more ways than we realize. You may not be surfing the web, playing a video game, or texting — but even setting your phone as an alarm late in the evening keeps you from a restful night. It comes down to production of melatonin, the hormone that controls our circadian rhythm. It’s sensitive to interruptions–and even the mildest light sources. Reduced melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep. Sleep experts advise giving yourself at least 60 minutes of gadget-free transition time before hitting the hay. Just think of how much that little hack adds value to your life. Instead of scrolling, you could be talking with your partner, reading a book, brushing your dog’s coat.
Takeaway: Expect many more revelations in 2020 about ways that technology arrests life-sustaining daily routines such as sleep, dreams, human connection and imagination.
Further reading: Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker PhD
Now that you’ve had a taste of what’s to come, we hope these insights give you food for thought and help you better prepare for the changes ahead. Do let me know if you would like to know more about my trend-based talks, retreats for groups, and custom events for your business category. patricia@patricia-martin.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patricia Martin speaks and writes about pivotal trends at the intersection of commerce and culture. The award-winning consulting firm she founded in 1995 advises some of the world’s most respected brands: Discovery Communications, Dannon, Target, NASA, Unisys and the New York Philharmonic. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, USA Today and Advertising Age. Earlier in her career, Patricia helped major brands pioneer forward-looking initiatives. She designed the blueprint for the first philanthropy of Bill Gates, who was quoted in the New York Times saying, “History will get right as my most important legacy.” She collaborated with Vinton Cerf, father of the Internet, on a 25-state connectivity effort in public libraries and was on the team for Coca-Cola’s first cause-marketing partnership with Warner Brother’s Harry Potter franchise and Reading is Fundamental. She lives and works in the Chicago area where she is a scholar in residence at the Chicago Public Library and a professional affiliate of the C. G. Jung Institute. Author of RenGen: The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What it Means for Business published by Platinum Press/Simon and Schuster, her most recent book project, Will the Future Like You? is based on an eight-year investigation into the hidden power of the digital culture to reshape our sense of self, soul and society, and is expected out in late 2020.
CC Creative Commons 4.0 designation, you are free to share and adapt this work (except for photos) provided you give attribution to its author, Patricia Martin, January 2020.
SOURCES
Ford Motor Trend Report, 2019
The General Social Survey, 2018
Mary Meeker, Internet Trends 2019
Precision Nutrition Trend Report, 2019
Pew Internet Research
Wunderman Thompson, Future 100 Report, 2019
PHOTO CREDITS
TREND 1: Photo by Laura Dewilde on Unsplash
TREND 2: Photo by George Becker from Pexels
TREND 3: Photo by David Larivière on Unsplash
TREND 4: Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
TREND 5: Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels
