Everyone is IN-LINE

-In 2050, Everyone is In-line

 

In 2013, there is an app for everything, it is already a common joke. “There’s an app for that” started as a commercial slogan and ended as a meme. This is breeding a belief that technology can and will contribute to almost any activity. It is also generating a general comfort with offloading functionality into an app, memory being the most obvious.  Apps that connect people are exploding. And the content is evolving in every direction. Some forms are getting longer, free video calls across the ocean to parents and friends for hours, while others are getting shorter, such as a single emoticon flashed on a screen. A tension is emerging between quality time and being constantly connected.

 

In a medical research lab it is learned that immediate empathy can be created when two individuals have a series of physiological links. It is called being “in-line” when two people are able to exchange visual, aural, mental, chemical and physical signals to one another.

 

In 2050 …

 

The highlight of the day is escape from constant distraction and to gain a moment with someone. Coffee shops are dying as meeting places. They are considered too distracting, with constant music, internet and layers of conversation. When people want to meet and connect, they go “in-line” at one of the local chains: “####” or “#####”. The rush is on for low priced options to emerge that are capable of full inline experiences, as the current models only offer relatively simple connections. The other slang is to go “closed-loop” with someone, meaning it is only you and them without any of the external stimulation or connection.