Trends Identified
Resource Scarcity
As the world’s population continues to grow, there is increased demand for and pressure to conserve natural resources that have huge implications for poverty, inequality, demographics, and public health.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Sharing Economy
The collaborative nature of the online environment has led to the rise of the sharing economy, in which technology is leveraged to unlock idle capacity and provide access to products through renting or borrowing.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Social Media
The rise of social media as a dominant channel/platform for communication has led to new forms of rapid connectivity and interaction across the global landscape (e.g., Arab Spring, the 2016 US presidential election, Facebook groups for Syrian refugees).
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Social Unrest
As political and ethnic groups have become more empowered, there has been a resurgence of civil and social rights issues calling for change or reform (e.g., Pegida, student protests in Mexico, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the anti-GMO movement, Black Lives Matter, gender pay discrimination, LGBT rights and Planned Parenthood).
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Technization of Healthcare
Advances in technology have enabled digital medicine and bioinformatics, advanced genomics, digital manufacturing, and nanotechnology, and the widespread development of genetically modified products.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Terrorist Organizations
Political uprisings, instability, or other social unrest has led to a rise in terrorist organizations around the globe (e.g., an increasing number of organizations publicly affiliated with ISIS or the rise of Boko Haram).
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Urbanization
Cities are growing more quickly than suburban and rural areas, and are simultaneously witnessing an increasing concentration of wealth. As a result, the quality of life continues to improve in urban centers relative to suburban communities, and demand for services is increasing.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Empowerment
Empowerment the growth and re-invigoration of ideas and self-worth.Rise of the individual: In today’s society, it’s all about the individual over the collective. A culture of “me” has risen over a culture of “we” as individuals become empowered to demand specific outcomes, resulting in the decline of social cohesion and the mass market.Collaborative consumption:The emergence of collaborative consumption models has led to the rise of the sharing economy, which allows consumers to make use of their idle assets to contribute in existing markets. Collaborative consumption models are augmented by technological platforms that connect discrete players through the use of networks and geo-located devices.Triple bottom line: As consumers’ expectations evolve, an increasing importance is placed on measuring not only a company’s profits, but its impact on people and the planet as well. This focus on what’s referred to as a triple bottom line emphasizes business models and metrics that touch upon key elements of society (e.g., diversity and equal opportunity) as well as environment (e.g., sustainability and carbon dioxide emissions), in addition to the standard measures of economic health like profitability and growth.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Polarization
"Polarization the rise of divisiveness and divergence..Rise of ideology: Fueled by individual empowerment, access to information and communication technologies, and growing wealth inequalities, the world is seeing a rise in ideology as people and communities seek dramatic change from the status quo. As individuals engage increasingly over social networks due to the proliferation of ICT technologies, networks of ideological thinkers are no longer constrained by proximity and are able to grow exponentially with new followers who seek sources of insight online. Bursting digital bubble: Driven by the increase of mobile technologies that have enabled constant connectivity, the world around us has fundamentally changed. What has resulted is a pervasive dependence on technology for everything from social interaction to transactions to health monitoring. However, venture capitalists are predicting the burst of the tech bubble as the democratization of knowledge has led to an oversaturation and overvaluation of players in the market. Politicism of science: As people become more entrenched in their individual value systems and as environmental outcomes are increasingly tied to political and financial motivations, a politicism in scientific reasoning has emerged in today’s world. This skepticism is an example of one of the negative consequences of an increasingly polarized world, a “kick the can” mentality about issues which affect the long-term viability of our planet.Skillset divide: Following the Great Recession, the workforce particularly in the United States realized more significant employment declines in middle-skilled white- and blue-collar jobs (e.g., construction, manufacturing, mining) than in the high-skill or low-skill sectors. While those losses have stabilized somewhat in the US, the polarization in skillsets valued in today’s global market still exists. Institutionalized radicalism: While the term “radicals” once meant one-off individual extremists as part of a certain religion or political group, the world has evolved to a place where radicalism has become the norm. In one example, we have the rise of ISIS as a pervasive threat in the Middle East that has now infiltrated global corridors with their terrorism. We also see a different kind of radicalism emerge in the United States, the rise of untraditional political players who capitalize on general dissatisfaction with the status quo to galvanize a new tier of supporters with more money, influence, and power."
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte
Hyperconnectivity
Hyperconnectivity the emphasis on interconnectedness and collective behavior.Transparent lives: With the rise in ICT technologies, the proliferation of data has exploded leading to the rise of big data analytics and trend sensing. In today’s world, data is easy to search for, manipulate, and extract insights from. Integrated systems: In a more digital world, we are able to create beautiful “smart cities” which integrate ICT networks and leverage the Internet of Things to create a positive, interconnected, and hyperconnected world for its inhabitants. While hyperconnectivity such as this boasts many benefits, it can also lead to greater risks from the integration from physical and cyber infrastructures as hackers increasingly exploit our reliance on digital technologies. Conflict minerals: As our dependence on smartphones, computers, and technologies has grown, our consumption of the precious metals and minerals required to produce such products has also grown significantly. Smartphones each contain approximately 40 different minerals including tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold – referred to as the 3TG. Hyper-sensitive markets: As the world becomes increasingly intertwined, significant political and economic structural changes in one region have huge impacts on major financial markets leading to increased volatility. The 2008 subprime mortgage crisis in the United States sent the entire globe into catastrophe as markets were shorted and a Great Recession emerged. Global regimes: From the Roman Empire to the British Empire to Attila the Hun, the story of global regimes is not new. However, today the rise of and reach of global forces is catapulted forward by the ubiquity of social media and ICT technologies which create the possibility of connecting beyond physical borders on ideological platforms.
2017
Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World
Deloitte