Life in the 22nd century!

‘How will be life, its culture and values in the 22nd century?’ What will all be the innovative technologies? Whether a new life would be created down here different from the present one? No one can certainly predict them. However, we can create a vague picture in our imagination tracing the present-day technologies and the developments in the cultural, social, and moral standards and beliefs.

According to the UN Population Bureau, life expectancy in 2200 will be around 100 for developed countries and the world population will be about 22.8 billion. In the advanced nations, emphasize will probably be on super-intelligent and disease free kids. Genetic engineering would remove all traits of a host of genetically transmitted afflictions.  Will man succeed in conquering the ageing process?  Will he be at the brink of conquering death? In another century, perhaps, man will decide when he will die. The gods can take rest and heaven and hell will be less thickly populated.  

Organized tours will be frequent to the space and moon and the tourism industry will be more vertical than horizontal.  Computer will have a far-reaching influence in our lives. The “computer-modified organism” or robots will probably be used to meet our luxuries and everyday needs 

Imaginative people predict the invention of water-fuelled engines, one of the biggest inventions of all times.  It means that the price of water will probably rise and it will contribute to the development of high-technology machines and stronger satellite 

Creating effective immune drugs will be a great leap in the medical field.  We are already on the verge of synthesizing successful anti-cancer drugs. Fitness and nutrition will be of the fad of the time. A revolution can be expected in the food habits and food production methods. Ready-made foods that will tickle the taste buds of man will replace the traditionally cooked meals. 

Little spoken languages and linguistic communities will disappear. English will predominate in the world. Each one of us living then will have the opportunity to speak, write, read, listen to and use English as a means of massive communication. All the other languages will be sidelined.

 Family structure will erode and very few women will opt for permanent marriage or child bearing.  More will rent wombs or resort to artificial insemination. This is already in vogue and  cloning mayl replace it. But the chances for the latter are less. Nobody wants exact replicas. Diversity will be more attractive.  The population will dwindle further in all the advanced countries and those of the poor increase.  Marriages of convenience will be more sought after. The strong ties of family are bound to erode and there will be professional homes to bring up children like we have ‘old age homes’ now. The gender discrimination is bound to close even in the backward regions.  

Will religions have the mad sway which they enjoy now in the less developed nations? There will be a total transformation. More than half of humanity will deliver themselves from the clutches of the organized religions. But as the religious roots can be traced to the very beginning of man’s evolution, and as human brains are fully programmed into a belief in gods it will take a few more centuries for their total eclipse. But the moment man conquers death, the death of god is certain.