And tomorrow we are mindful

I can reassure all those who suffer from time constraints, digitalization panic, Big Data phobia and technology fatigue: Tomorrow we'll be mindful again; tomorrow we'll hop off the hamster wheel and get back to being human. That's the prediction of the new trend study by the Frankfurt Future Institute. Good, because things can't go on like this.

But no illusions: Technology will continue to incessantly transform our society, and the complexity of our lives will continue to increase. But we will have to deal with it differently in the future if we want to survive. According to the Zukunftsinstitut, eight trends are already emerging as a countertrend to digitization; they form the framework of the "new mindfulness": aging with a zest for life, renunciation as a reaction to waste, rejection of blanket digitization and commercial noise, an eye opened to the environment and fellow human beings, liberation from the mania for self-optimization, active cultivation of mental strength and inner peace, environmental awareness without self-hatred, and a longing for coziness and trust.

At the center of all actions and decisions is the question of why. Sounds like a perfect world, but also quite retro. But we're not talking about turning back, but about finding oneself again in the modern world, with Big Data, with digitization; about clear air after the fog.

Every new generation develops new views, new media usage habits, new technologies, new values, new whys. But at its core, being human still means the same thing over and over again: a longing for beauty, for community, security and personal fulfillment, whether it's extreme mountaineering or knitting. People are looking to find themselves again in the world. And digitization gives us new opportunities to answer their warums, to accompany the individual paths to their own starting point. That's not scary and disruptive, but wonderful.

Paro, a robot seal, makes dementia patients smile. This is only perverse if Paro replaces human attention. One more smile per day, on the other hand, is a sufficient answer to the question of why.

On the one hand, digitization is haunting us as a great spectre, digital disruption is tearing us and the world in half. On the other hand, we accept without reservation anything that helps us in our personal endeavors, whether it's a complete library on a device or the ability to have a cell phone recommend a restaurant in a foreign city and guide us there. If it serves a purpose, we like it.
Slowly, the realization is dawning that a blanket digitization of all working and living environments is neither desirable nor the goal. In the future, companies that want to generate resonance in their target group will instead have to answer their why - with their range of products and services and their communication measures. And the more valid the answers, the more likely it is that a purchase will be made.

And when does the "mindful tomorrow" finally begin? It's best to start today with tomorrow. In the future, the why will also be decisive for technological innovations: Everything has been possible for a long time - but why should we do it walking?

Digitization has passed its zenith, and the era of unhesitating and unreserved affinity for the Net is over. The study by the Zukunftsinstitut confirms this.

For us, "the new mindfulness" means time for clear air, suction instead of pressure. And in answering your whys, both: always "Om" and always on.

Anne-Friederike Heinrich, Editor-in-Chief

f.heinrich@werbewoche.ch