從樂享父母到生物制造：未來世界的流行詞

What will the next ten years look like? Trend forecasting agency The Future Laboratory recently revealed a number of buzzwords to reflect the state of tomorrow. Here are a choice few.

Sharents

Those annoying adults who tweet their offsprings every utterance and cant go a day without uploading another “adorable” photo. As a result of such parental pride, it will become unusual for children to reach secondary school without an online history that can be traced back to the day they were born. Thanks, Mum.

Child Technology Officers

Does your child know more than you do about your mobile phone? Have you sheepishly1) sought their advice on how to use Vine2) or Pinterest3)? The next 10 years will see the rise of Child Technology Officers—the pint-sized4) family authorities on everything digital.

Screenagers

Worried about children today watching too much TV? How quaint5). Future Laboratorys research showed that todays under-10s see no difference between their on- and offline lives. “Child technology officers” will grow into “screenagers” whose realities are as much on screen as in classrooms and homes.

Pretail

Where brands follow our online footprints to tell us what we want before we even know we want it. On one hand, this is simply a development of a truth that successful businesses have always known; on the other, its an unnerving6) glimpse into an increasingly Orwellian7) future. See MindMeld8), an app that “listens in” to your online conversations, then offers relevant products and services.

Space-vertising

As passenger space travel becomes a reality (Virgin is set to launch its first flights soon), expect to see other big brands vying for a piece of the intergalactic9) action. Already, vodka brand Stolichnaya has sent a mixologist10) to shake a zero-gravity cocktail and Nestle has floated a KitKat in the stratosphere11). Why? Why not?

Bio-facture

Researchers at Scotlands Heriot-Watt University have discovered a 3D printing technique that uses embryonic12) stem cells to create human tissue while students at Londons Central St. Martins are looking into the possibility of a GM13) strawberry plant that can grow lace from its roots, thus combining food and textile production. The convergence of technology and biology should lead to a more sustainable future. Phew!

未來十年世界將會變成什么樣？趨勢預測機構“未來實驗室”最近公布了一些能反映未來情形的流行詞，下面就精選一些介紹給大家。

樂享父母

這些大人簡直令人煩透了，他們會把孩子的每一句話都發到微博上，哪天都少不了上傳一張“萌”照。為人父母的自豪所造成的結果是，很少會有孩子在上中學前沒有一份在線成長記錄，這份記錄甚至可以追溯到他們出生的那一天。多謝啦，老媽。

兒童科技官

孩子比你更了解你的手機吧？怎么用Vine或Pinterest，你挺不好意思地問過孩子吧？未來十年會出現越來越多的“兒童科技官”——他們個子雖小，卻是家中數碼產品的絕對權威。

屏幕少年

你擔心現在的孩子電視看得太多？真是老土了。“未來實驗室”的研究表明，現在十歲以下的小孩子覺得在線和離線的生活沒什么兩樣。“兒童科技官”將成長為“屏幕少年”，他們的現實不僅在教室和家里，更是在屏幕上。

預測銷售

各大品牌通過追蹤我們上網瀏覽的痕跡，在我們自己都還不知道想要什么之前就告訴我們要買什么。一方面，這不過是將成功企業已經諳熟的經營策略發揚光大；另一方面，這也讓我們在驚恐不安中瞥見了一個越來越貼近奧威爾描述的處處受人監視的未來。看看蘋果應用軟件MindMeld吧，它是通過“監聽”你的在線對話來提供相關產品和服務的。

太空廣告

維珍集團準備將首批航班送入太空，太空旅行即將成為現實，未來各大品牌一定會為一次太空活動而相互競爭。著名伏特加品牌“蘇聯紅牌”已將調酒師送去調制失重狀態下的雞尾酒。雀巢公司已經能讓“奇巧”巧克力餅干漂浮在平流層。為什么要這樣做？為什么不這樣做？

生物制造

蘇格蘭赫瑞瓦特大學的研究人員發明了一種3D打印技術，可以利用胚胎干細胞培養人體組織。同時，倫敦中央圣馬丁學院的學生正在研究是否能種植一種從根部可以長出蕾絲的轉基因草莓，這樣既能種出食物，又能產出紡織物。通過技術和生物的完美融合，未來的發展將更具可持續性。哇喔！