This category covers a range of social and educational trends including:
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Behavioural advertising and personalised search optimisation contribute to the creation of balkanised “echo chamber communities” insulated from unfamiliar or alternative cultures and perspectives.
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The size of the digital universe will continue to expand exponentially with information and content shaped by a kaleidoscope of social, political, corporate (and on occasion extremist) agendas.
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Technology which makes access to information easier and cheaper while facilitating communication and collective action will support both positive outcomes (empowering individuals, increasing civic participation and corporate accountability) and negative outcomes (empowering cyber criminals and terrorist/extremist networks).
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Populations in the developed world will continue to age, while the developing world grows younger leading to differing usage patterns and competing demands on the information environment. Hyperconnectivity expands the influence and role of migrants and diasporas.
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Rising impact of online education resources (including open access to scholarly research and massive open online courses) combined with the emergence of new media and information literacy skills offer flexible non-formal and informal skill accumulation pathways.
