In many countries, brave young people have been standing up against the might of dictators who are assisted by highly technical weaponry and information systems. In our own country, laws have been passed and are still being passed which take away individual rights and freedoms.
This is a year when we can make a choice that ‘enough is enough’. We can stand up for those rights that we can still fight for. We must restore our own country and then assist those in other countries.
The digital world
Technology has helped us to stay in touch with work colleagues and friends during the long years of the Covid outbreak. However, there are questions over the mental health impacts of social media and in the design of some things such as dating apps.
Together we have power. The users of some dating apps have begun to fight back and create their own apps to help them feel safer. Twitter users are waiting to see what the future holds for this communication tool and whether to move elsewhere or move away from social media entirely.
Embrace the so-called Metaverse?
The Metaverse is the idea that we will more and more live our lives in a virtual reality world. But is this really what we want? Tapping into this new trend, the annual announcement of the colour of the year for 2023 by the Pantone colour experts was accompanied by a virtual reality immersive experience called the Magentaverse, to fully experience the wonderfully vibrant shade of dark pink/crimson red that is this year’s colour, Viva Magenta.
Generation Z may be our hope for a better future
The young people who were born in the new Millennium are now hitting their 20s. These young people grew up with technology and the internet from a young age. They are digital natives. They are comfortable with it. According to new research carried out in the US and the UK on their age group, generation Z are highly collaborative, self-reliant, and pragmatic. People are now appreciating the strength and pragmatism of this generation.
They are good at multitasking. We may need this generation to take on changing the future. Greta Thunberg, who turned 20 on 3 January, is a famous member of Generation Z. She has made a good start on leading her generation in the fight to save the planet. They provide a glimmer of hope for the future.
Dr Doolittle, I presume?
I might also make a wild prediction for 2023 that this is the year when we finally manage to use technology to communicate with animals. The consequences of this would indeed be interesting and provide us with very uncomfortable questions to answer.
I wish you all the best for 2023.
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