Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

The Future, When The Internet Takes Over


mister

Recommended Posts

So just recently the last video store in my area went out of business. With internet services like netflix taking over, video stores are disappearing. Remember Blockbuster?

This got me thinking. Pretty much almost anything can be bought online. Sneakers, clothes, electronics, home appliances, furniture, banking services, and so on. Heck even college is online now. And already we are seeing a retail apocalypse going on with major names like Sears, RadioShack, Kmart, Family Dollar, and many more struggling and closing down stores. It's happening.

What will cities look like when brick and mortar business is gone? When almost everything is bought online, kids go to school online, business meetings happen online, and even a doctors visit can happen online?

Will people get so accustomed to doing everything online that even "hanging out" with friends will happen online? Will people throw parties online? Ok maybe I'm going to extremes.

Will cities look like ghost towns with nothing going on outside? Except for a few social hubs and restaurants?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

You make some good points. I really hadn't thought about it that much. At this point, it seems a lot of things sold online come from businesses that already have brick and mortar stores. And I doubt if their online sales come anywhere close to the sales they make by people coming to the store. Some people ( like me ) still like to try their clothes on at a store, rather than taking a chance of not liking it, or it not fitting, and having to send it back. That's just too much hassle for me.

Who knows what the future holds though. All online businesses have to have warehouse space for their product to ship from, so we may see nothing but a bunch of warehouses full of products we can't walk in and buy. Online sales only.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The truth is that i haven't thought about that issue yet, mister, but you've got a good point there. We keep seeing technology increasing and no one knows where this is going. I have to agree though with something Astral Hillbilly wrote and that is the fact that the people, who like to go to the stores and try the clothes ( for example), will keep on doing that. Not everyone will be comfortable with doing everything online. Actually there are a lot of people who tend to rely on technological innovations too much nowadays (from ordering anything online more and more often to meeting with friends and not even looking at them at all, while they're being concentrated only on their phone), but i don't think that's gonna be a ''phenomenon'', which will eventually affect everyone. At least not to the same degree.

I believe, or at least i want to believe, that people won't turn into robots! :yes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cities already look like ghost town. I remember reading in 1949 a film crew went to an average neighborhood in NYC to film a movie scene. The sidewalk was crowded, with children playing, mothers sitting on stoops or hanging out windows gossiping, teenagers hanging around on street corners, men standing around talking.

Then in 1953 or so the same film crew returned to the same street to film another movie. The street was completely empty, so they went a few blocks away, another empty street. They scowered the neighborhood looking to film a street scene similar to the one from 1949.

Every neighborhood they came to was the same - empty of people, no one around anywhere to be seen. They couldn't figure it out, until one of the staff said, "Television". Society had changed drastically.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Astral Hillbilly you make a good point there. But I think that even that can be solved if online businesses start shipping out samples. For example a store can send you a whole package of sneakers which you agree to ship back in same condition or purchase.

When you see online stores begin to do this, watch out, the third industrial revolution has begun.

For now the problem is the shipping hassle but as shipping gets cheaper and more modern I think this will catch on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

StarMountainKid. Wow. That is crazy. I think we are in the midst of another acceleration in this process. And it may happen as fast as the tv revolution did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well it won't be completely dead. People still eat out simply for the sake of eating out even when you can order in. And everything can pretty much already be bought online yet people still go to stores. Plus things like bars and bowling ales. And people can easily see movies at home yet we still have movie theatre's.

I predict people when the time comes will actually pay a littel extra for the added trip and being in areas where other humans are

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a very interesting topic. There's no denying the convenience of internet shopping and the communities that have developed. I enjoy the communities myself as its a great way to interact with people all over. However it's been too convenient and made some people down right lazy. Not all mind you, just hear me out.

The first time I joined Facebook was late 2009. Like many I added all the friends I have grown up with and such. It became annoying in no time flat. Friends that lived less than 15 minutes away no longer wanted to stop by or invite me over for a beer, it was about instant messaging. They would want to bs for an hour or two on the IM and finally I said wtf, why arent we face to face with a few beers? We live so close! Then I got annoyed with every little update throughout their day cluttering up the damn feed. I really don't care when people decide to ****, shower and shave. My friends became complacent with just talking on the IM despite being so close. I also got very irritated with friggin game requests. Took less than a year and I bailed, and wouldn't ya know they had the nerve to be insulted?lol.

Fast forward to present day. Lesson learned. I'm back on Facebook under an aka name with one friend, my lady. Everyone else I follow are bands which is the only reason why I went back to Facebook. Its a great way to find and keep up with bands. Best part about it none of the lazy friends know I'm on there since I do not use my real name.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a very interesting topic. There's no denying the convenience of internet shopping and the communities that have developed. I enjoy the communities myself as its a great way to interact with people all over. However it's been too convenient and made some people down right lazy. Not all mind you, just hear me out.

The first time I joined Facebook was late 2009. Like many I added all the friends I have grown up with and such. It became annoying in no time flat. Friends that lived less than 15 minutes away no longer wanted to stop by or invite me over for a beer, it was about instant messaging. They would want to bs for an hour or two on the IM and finally I said wtf, why arent we face to face with a few beers? We live so close! Then I got annoyed with every little update throughout their day cluttering up the damn feed. I really don't care when people decide to ****, shower and shave. My friends became complacent with just talking on the IM despite being so close. I also got very irritated with friggin game requests. Took less than a year and I bailed, and wouldn't ya know they had the nerve to be insulted?lol.

Fast forward to present day. Lesson learned. I'm back on Facebook under an aka name with one friend, my lady. Everyone else I follow are bands which is the only reason why I went back to Facebook. Its a great way to find and keep up with bands. Best part about it none of the lazy friends know I'm on there since I do not use my real name.

I hear you, It's one of my only gripes about the internet.

I used to meet up with friends all the time. but now all I get out of them in passing is: "I'll talk to you on facebook".

Yet I don't bother with it. I get too frustrated with it all. I'd rather just have a face to face conversation.

Around a 1/5 of the shops in my town have closed over the last couple of years. The only shops opening now are beauty parlours, loan brokers and charity shops/thrift stores.

I should imagine that's what we should expect. (In the near future at least).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel sorry for business on the street these days. So many people go into the stores try something on or ask questions and then they leave and buy it online because its cheaper. I think in the not to distant future you will have stores which only have display items then you buy online these will probably be supported by the big names such as amazon.

A future where everything is done online would mean we would lose something of what makes life great that chance to connect with people even if its only for a moment. Smiling at a stranger as you pass them in the street, buying the newspaper from the local store where they know your name and appreciate your business.

I know the future is online and we should embrace it but we also need to keep whats good about society now

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well it won't be completely dead. People still eat out simply for the sake of eating out even when you can order in. And everything can pretty much already be bought online yet people still go to stores. Plus things like bars and bowling ales. And people can easily see movies at home yet we still have movie theatre's.

I agree with this. Also, the Internet is great for when you know exactly what you want, but if you just want to browse, say, a bookstore or restaurant, there's no way the Internet can compete with that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Personally speaking, my mother has advanced MS so she cannot physically Christmas/birthday shop, she does 100% of her shopping online; which the rest of my family is beginning to catch on to. Perhaps eventually for us parking spots and long lines will be long-gone memories of the past.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.