The gender stereotypes might be backward-looking (we’ll make up for it later in the day), but the technological vision is on the mark, right down to email, e-commerce and online banking. Of course, these weren’t the only people imagining an electronic, connected world during the 1960s.
In 1964, the futurist Arthur C. Clarke peered into the future and saw our connectedness coming. By 2000, he predicted, “We could be in instant contact with each other, wherever we may be,” and “it will be possible in that age … for a man to conduct his business from Tahiti or Bali just as well as he could from London.”
And then Marshall McLuhan understood the trend too. He saw electronic media turning our world into a social one, a world where services like Facebook and Twitter would make complete sense. You can watch the prescient Marshall McLuhan right here.
If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletter, please find it here.
If you would like to support the mission of Open Culture, consider making a donation to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your contributions will help us continue providing the best free cultural and educational materials to learners everywhere. You can contribute through PayPal, Patreon, and Venmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Related Content:
Arthur C. Clarke Predicts the Future in 1964 … And Kind of Nails It
Marshall McLuhan: The World is a Global Village
1930s Fashion Designers Imagine How People Would Dress in the Year 2000
Oh the hours of joy that can be attained from youtube surfing archive footage and PSA’s.
Hmm, it looks modern, but more striking in what it fails to predict. The e-commerce for example is imagined by video link…
Given that the first email was sent between Berkley and Stanford in 1969, that’s not much of a leap of faith is it?
Cool! Wink Martindale’s first starring role. :)