Time Travel Through the Decades: 2010, 2025, 2040

Where Did We Come From? Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going?

Photo by Javier Graterol on Unsplash

In this article, I want you to take you 15 years to the past, and then 15 years to the future.

This journey through time will give you a holistic and longitudinal perspective.

It will be a multidisciplinary deep dive into the forces that shaped us, the realities we’re living in, and the possibilities that await.

2010: The Year the World Became “Always On

Let’s start in 2010: 2010 was the year the world collectively plugged in. It was the rise of smartphones or social media — it was also the moment we surrendered to the idea of being perpetually connected.

• The Internet Became a Lifestyle: Facebook hit 500 million users. Instagram launched. The iPhone 4 introduced the world to FaceTime. But the real story wasn’t the tech — it was the cultural shift. We stopped logging on and started living online. The line between “real life” and “digital life” began to blur, and we didn’t even notice.
• The Rise of the Creator Economy: YouTube was no longer just for cat videos. People like PewDiePie and Jenna Marbles were building empires from their bedrooms. The idea of “going viral” became a…