In the near future, there will be almost no distinction between being ‘online’ and ‘offline’ anymore. Access to the Internet is becoming like water or electricity; always there and – at least in most developed countries – no longer requiring any special mention. As mobile broadband proliferates around the globe and the BRICs leap into connectivity, we will be looking at something like 5 Billion highly-connected users in 2020. What used to be a luxury may in fact become both simply ‘normal’ as well as a new kind of burden or even a liability. The push-back against over-connectivity and Internet / mobile device addiction is already palpable everywhere, and the quest for ‘digital detox’ is becoming more common. While our entire lives will be embedded in connectivity and digital media, without a doubt, it will also become a new kind of luxury to simply be ‘in the moment’ and not have to share, connect, communicate or otherwise suck on the digital firehose of content and data. TFS host and creator Gerd Leonhard believes that we will need to debate and create a new social contract to help us define to what extent will we allow digital connectivity into our lives. Paying for privacy will certainly become a new business, and being offline will cost extra!

Read Gerd’s Digital Obesity piece on FactCoExist

The total convergence of online and offline (2011 Youtube video with Gerd Leonhard)

Browse Gerd Leonhard’s Cloud directory of slideshows, books (free downloads)

In German language: Interview SRF “Technologie kennt keine Ethik” (audio)

Gerd’s presentation at VINT2014: Design to Disrupt (PDF): VINT2014 Design to Disrupt Futurist Gerd

Gerd’s presentation at HeadOffice NL: Big Data, Big Content, Big Marketing? (PDF): Big Data Big Content Gerd HeadOffice NL

More presentations and videos at FuturistGerd.com or via Gerd’s public Dropbox server aka GerdCloud.com