I’m a futurologist – I can tell you what sex will look like 100 years from now and everyone will be having more of it
WHAT will dating and marriage look like in 2123?
Will Chatbots and the metaverse take over, or will there still be room for some In Real Life romance? Tom Cheesewright, a futurologist and author, gives his predictions to Claire Dunwell.
LOVE ISLAND FOR LOVE SEEKERS
LIFE after divorce will look very different to now.
Singles looking for a serious new relationship will be able to mingle on constructed dating holidays with like-minded people.
Where much of our time will be spent in virtual worlds like the metaverse, we’ll likely seek out new serious relationships in real life.
Dating holidays for singles looking to settle down will become commonplace and they will work a bit like Love Island.
But people who aren’t chasing a romantic connection will be able to use sophisticated robots that run the house for interaction, without the need for a partner at all.
Sex with robots will also be more commonplace, especially after divorce, for those who don’t want another commitment.
Sex toys will be more sophisticated and more acceptable, especially for those who aren’t ready for another human relationship.
And the line between sex toys and sex robots will blur: What’s the difference between a toy that learns what you like and a robot?
But I think we’ll always have a little caution around robots that look like humans.
IRL REPLACES RIGHT SWIPING
FOR those who do want a casual date, swiping right will be replaced by old-school dinner parties.
During the past 12 years we’ve seen online dating shift from being a choice for the minority to it being the most popular way for people to connect.
However, even sophisticated technology is a million miles away from human touch.
I expect we might see a backlash to the technology and see a resurgence in raw human relationships — and we might value them more.
The metaverse will be dominant in 2123, with multiple planes of reality.
You can dip into virtual reality but you can also encounter virtual things in the real world through your smart glasses or contact lenses.
We’ll spend most of every day in the metaverse, interacting with AIs and robots as much as people.
But the metaverse still won’t be a match for the real thing.
The more time we spend there, the more we will value physical contact, human love and empathy.
In 2123, when we’ll be wearing smart glasses 24/7, the etiquette will be to take them off, and focus entirely on the person you’re with similar to how you would put your phone away in company.
We’ll place more value on those moments of being entirely connected to a human being.”
DIVORCE DONE BY SCANNING THUMBS
FROM digital bank accounts and mortgages to shared online music collections and NFTs (non-fungible tokens, ie digital assets), so many assets in relationships are already virtual and that will only increase over the next century.
This in turn will make it far easier for people to engage and disengage in relationships without baggage.
Next century, if a couple divorce, it will be so much easier to divvy things up such as the home and furniture.
We’ll have a complete inventory of all our possessions, and a live assessment of their value at any point in time.
All of the paperwork around marriage will be digital too.
A thumbprint scan or even a read of your unique heartbeat could replace the signature on a wedding certificate.
And if a couple divorcing are on amicable terms, they could simply put their handprint to a reader in the metaverse to say it’s over.
The courts will only be involved if a split is extremely messy.
The emotion of divorce won’t go away but I suspect we will be better at managing the processes with new therapies and a deeper understanding of the human mind.
MULTIPLE MARRIAGES
MARRIAGE will look completely different in 100 years, too, as more of us will want multiple partners over our lifetimes.
While traditional marriage won’t be extinct, we’ll probably date more before we settle down with the average age of marriage already rising.
We won’t be afraid to have several important relationships and to say to our partners: “I loved you ten years ago but I don’t see myself with you for the next ten.”
In much the same way as we can have more than one career in our lifetime, multiple marriages could be the norm.
People will live longer and three, or four across a lifetime won’t be unheard of.
Whether that’s with a real human being or a robot, only time will tell.
PEOPLE DELAY HAVING KIDS
A HIGHER proportion of people will be living longer, healthier lives, which means they will delay settling down and having children.
We’re already seeing a substantial shift in the age couples choose to have kids.
And with advances in medicine, it won’t be unusual for women to have children in their fifties, perhaps even later.
Deciding not to have children will be more commonplace too, with more people living out fulfilling lives in virtual worlds.
When the digital world is so compelling and fulfils every fantasy, not just sexually, more will disappear into the metaverse.
Especially appealing for those who don’t want to interact with humans.
BOTS WILL FREE UP SPARE TIME
THE monotonous jobs of everyday life such as paying the bills, doing the food shopping and servicing the car will be long gone for humans.
These will be the jobs of robots.
With more free time to spare and less strain on human relationships, couples 100 years from now will have more time and energy for each other — and sex.
Working from home will be the norm by then, giving couples lots more opportunities to be spontaneous.