If you couldn't already tell from the title, our take on media's future is a bit "Jetson-esque." It is possible that this may be a bit more than far-fetched but maybe it isn't and that is what makes the idea so interesting. When The Jetson's was aired in the 60's it was a take on what life would be like 100 years from then. The 2060's was a life of flying cars and crazy space outfits and lucky for us, most of that life is not being realized... but part of it is.
By 2060, EVERYTHING will be digital. Perhaps this is a bold statement but as we've learned this year, this concept is not very far from actualization. The hard copy media in circulation today is already out-dated and there are only two reasons it has not been completely overhauled. 1.) The demographic using it does not have the ability to grasp the new digital advances and 2.) Technological advances are not available to enough of the majority. These are two problems we've addressed in class that can be summed up into one problem: the digital divide.
By 2060, we believe that society will be capable of bridging the divide. First, the group of non-digital consumers will have passed. Yes... they would have died or are so close to dying that their media consumption is at an all time low and ultimately irrelevant. Second, technology will be wide-spread enough that it can reach a very large majority of people. Once these two problems have been solved we will see a media revolution unlike any other in the past.
Our media revolution will include many of the facets we already see today ... cell phones, lap tops, and Ipods. In many ways, these technologies will advanced far beyond that to allow for complete media consumption on all of these. It is only a matter of time before these staples in our life are meshed into one powerhouse of a computer. We've already seen evidence of this in products like the Iphone and Blackberry's. It is hard to even fathom the kind of technological advances Steve Jobs or Bill Gates will come up with next. Maybe this new media age will include new household name geniuses and billionaires. Regardless, rest assured that it will be all encompassing and mind blowing.