As a kid, I remember stumbling upon a 1950s TV show on PBS about the future of the kitchen. At the time, I was awestruck by it. I thought plastic clad kitchens and petticoats were the new frontier. Today, I realize that the world will always try to predict the next technological advance and inevitably fail. It is seemingly impossible to predict what the never-arriving future will bring us.

I believe that James Carey, author of Communication as Culture (1989), was 100% correct when he said “We are awash now in nostalgia for the future.” Just like the 1950s, we still dream about what the future will hold for us in terms of technology. We romanticize the constantly evolving world of electronics. In our minds, we imagine the world reaching technological perfection; a world where we can rest easy knowing that stress is a thing of the past thanks to great technological advances. We are constantly simplifying already simple tasks. For example, the paper map has become obsolete. With the price drop of aftermarket GPS navigation systems, our glove box has become a mobile junk drawer. Instead of learning the directions to our next destination, we rely on a small piece of technology to tell us when to exit the freeway, turn right and left, and even where we can relieve ourselves after drinking a Big Gulp way too fast.

To avoid sounding like some of the baby boomers out there, I don’t think technology is the root of all evil, or even making us lazy for that matter. I’m a gen Y-er and I am guilty of fawning over the latest tech gadget as well. As a reader of MacRumors, I am guilty of attempting to predict the future of technology. MacRumors is just one of many blogs dedicated to the technological frontier. Carey believed that the privileged class are the only people who have the time, energy, and knowledge to imagine the future. As the Internet becomes more and more accessible, I feel that more than the privileged class will be concerned with future advancements.

Everyone has the their eyes on the future. As technology keeps advancing and the unreachable horizon fools us by seeming increasingly tangible, more and more people will be waiting with baited breath for what impact the next innovation will have on us all. Personally, I’m still waiting for a glass refrigerator that keeps my food fresh for at least six months (see video below).