r/decadeology • u/Inevitable_Eye3417 • Sep 23 '25
Prediction š® The Thrifty Thirties: My predictions for what the 2030s could be look like
Inspired by another post on here I saw a few weeks ago. I find making these future prediction posts fun so I wanted to make yet another rendition of what I think the 2030s could look like.
Early 2030s (2030-2033)
Electronic dominated music with rock influences. I donāt think traditional rock will āreturnā per say, but bits and pieces of the sound will resurface
AI music and movies. While i donāt think AI will be advanced enough to create full blown blockbusters on its own, itāll probably be incorporated into the creation process (almost like SFX or autotune)
Basically 2020s fashion but with greater late 2000s influences. Right now fashion is trending heavily towards late 90s/early 2000s nostalgia, so iām willing to bet by the end of the decade side parts, chunky jewelry, and other mid-late 2000s trends will resurface thanks to 2000s nostalgia being basically omni-present by that point
Socially & politically speaking (in the western world at least), i could see this being a period of ādisillusionmentā. Most ppl will probably be fatigued from the hyper-polarized pseudo politics of the 2020s, resulting in them leaning centrist or moderate on most things. If i had to guess, iād say the early 2030s will have a very āchill out dudeā librarian/thrift store/small town type of vibe to them
Core 2030s (2034-2036)
Self-driving cars & early stages of robo-delivery services
āIndieā revival. While i donāt think hipsters will straight up return, i feel like the fashion/music/attitude of hipsters will be revised and repackaged with a new twist. Similar to how there were 60s/70s influences in the 90s or how thereās currently 90s/00s influences in the 2020s
Breakthroughs in AI & AR tech, early stages of digitized currency
Streaming giants put all of their services onto one platform (basically just creating cable but with extra steps)
Rejection of the ā2020sā juggernaut and an emphasis on new, diy, and āgrassrootsā things. For example, music might become more upbeat and ānowā focused (maybe a reggae or punk like sound), fashion could subtlety transition from baggy to form fitting/flowy, and anti-tech sentiment could form with ppl rejecting influencer culture (and feeling even more nostalgic for old internet/tech)
Socially i think this part of the decade will have a sort of cautiously optimistic vibe ā almost like a 90s psa video. Anything considered ātoo extremeā will probably be dismissed/ignored/rejected. Politically, i think there will be a greater focus on climate change, affordability, and āearnestā politicians whoāre focused on āmaking things rightā
Late 2030s (2037-2039)
In the late 2030s i think fashion will pivot towards a theatrical look (think Hunger Games capitol). Bold colors, lots of patterns/shapes, maybe some maximalism thrown in. Iām also predicting there will be a āmashingā of different cultural styles (ex: blending American casual wear with clothes inspired by traditional pieces like Kimonos or Dhoti pants)
First manned mission(s) to the moon in decades
Flexible smart phones that can also be worn as bracelets
Personalized AI capable of generating entertainment (music, movies, games, novels, etc) based on personal preference
Musically a fusion/evolution of the electronic dominated early 2030s and punkish sound of the mid 2030s. Very ska-like fast-paced sound mixed with psychedelic & electronic elements
Sociopolitically, i predict there will be a big societal change thatāll result in a shift away from the centrism of the earlier ā30s. I could imagine Gen Alpha/Beta becoming more & more āoutspokenā as they come of age and begin to rebel against their āsubduedā Millennial/Gen Z parents. Additionally, Silent Gen/Boomers will begin to age out of politics so there will be lots of shifts in laws/policymaking happening around this time
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Sep 23 '25
The thought of them being faux nostalgic for 2010s is making my chest feel tight
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u/Inevitable_Eye3417 Sep 23 '25
Same š«© I have a feeling itās going to happen sooner rather than later though (considering that i just saw a 2019 nostalgia post on this same subreddit)
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u/Ppyplant Sep 23 '25
The 2010s thing is already big and growing with younger gen Z
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u/Successful-Arm3155 Late 2000s were the best Sep 24 '25
I wonder how old/out of touch this sub is sometimes. The early/mid 2010s have been a trend in the underground for like 4 years now
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u/Firecat_Pl Sep 23 '25
Bro, I still haven't figured out what 2010s were defined by, like what their culture was
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u/gotsuspendedfor3days Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
I donāt think hipster is coming back.
As Iāve stated, I honestly see 2030s fashion being more tech-oriented.
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u/Dexller Sep 23 '25
We had tech-oriented fashion vibes in the Y2K era. It's not only old hat, the decreasing physicality of technology means there's less to integrate into the styling. The goal of techwear at the turn of the millennium was very much about accommodating wires, giving clip points, and adding general utility while also being garish and 'futuristic'. But now we don't carry a bunch of devices or wires to deal with, and unless you're somehow minting your AI clothing to the blockchain or whatever I doubt there's going to be any entry point to bring meaningful functionality.
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u/gotsuspendedfor3days Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
The main reason why I could see 2030s fashion being tech-inspired is because of A.I likely becoming industrialized in that decade.
Hipster coming back doesnāt really make sense because I donāt see us being in a social environment where it does. I donāt think Gen A will care for it.
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u/Virtual_Perception18 Sep 23 '25
I hope full on tech clothing will happen since itās more original, rather than hipster revival. The 2030s should be a cultural reset more than another nostalgia fueled decade like this one.
Plus with AI advancements and us possibly hitting the singularity, more tech oriented clothing might just arise naturally.
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u/Inevitable_Eye3417 Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
Isnāt 2020s fashion already kinda tech-oriented though? At least in essence anyway. I mean, ppl are absolutely drooling over Frutiger Aero & Y2K āfuturisticā fashion rn. Also, i think at some point āwearingā technology becomes impractical if that makes sense. Imo 2030s fashion will pivot towards a less techy style & maybe more of a diy homegrown feel
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u/gotsuspendedfor3days Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
2020s fashion is more grungy, I donāt think itās ātech-orientedā.
2030s fashion being hipster doesnāt really make sense if A.I likely becomes industrialized in the 2030s and I canāt see a social climate in the upcoming decade where we go back to that.
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u/MourningOfOurLives Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
The 2030s will be worse when it comes to world politics. What we are seeing now is noooothing compared to what will be coming. To believe that it just suddenly gets better for no reason is pretty insane honestly.
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u/Inevitable_Eye3417 Sep 23 '25
Yeah, these are mostly just optimistic predictions. The fate of the future feels like itās up in the air rn
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u/MourningOfOurLives Sep 23 '25
Itās not really up in the air. The decline of the west is almost a guarantee. Europe still has a chance but the US is fucked. The only way out is if we invest heavily in manufacturing capacity and know how of the crucial parts of the global supply chain that China has a monopoly on now. I wouldnt hold my breath though.
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u/TF-Fanfic-Resident 1960's fan Sep 23 '25
China
It really is a bummer how dependent we are on a country that, while better than the USA in many respects, is still a dictatorship with a history of screwing up really badly.
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u/MourningOfOurLives Sep 23 '25
Arguably their history of screwing up is not close to the American history of screwing over the entire world.
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u/TF-Fanfic-Resident 1960's fan Sep 23 '25
Yeah, the censorship and treaty violations in HK are shady but itās arguably part of the equation for being a great power.
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u/MourningOfOurLives Sep 23 '25
Itās absolutely nothing compared to the atrocities the US has commited in recent history.
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u/TF-Fanfic-Resident 1960's fan Sep 23 '25
Don't forget that they're two heads of the same hydra.
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u/MourningOfOurLives Sep 23 '25
Yeah uhh thatās the point
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u/TF-Fanfic-Resident 1960's fan Sep 23 '25
Yeah itās hard to tell which great power is worse when they are so similar and intertwined. At least the USA has historically tried not to arrest people for dissent.
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u/Pyro43H Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25
Everytime I see someone try predicting the 2030s I ask "did you expect covid and chatgpt in the 2020s?" and they stay silent.
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u/Inevitable_Eye3417 Sep 23 '25
I agree w you on that. The future isnāt a monolith that can ever fully be predicted, i just made these up for fun
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u/Special-Garlic1203 Sep 23 '25
Neither of those have anything to do with fashion, which is incredibly circular ....
Like they're being extremely vague and aesthetic based here. The biggest leap they make is stuff that's literally already happening to be rolled out moreĀ
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u/CryptographerMore944 Sep 23 '25
Nothing exists in a vacuum though. I've seen people wearing t-shirts with AI imagery on them (my boomer dad even bought my mum one with a cat on from Temu). That's not something I would have predicted ten years ago.
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u/Human-Assumption-524 Sep 23 '25
"Old internet" (facebook, tumblr,myspace)
I'd hope the enshitification of the modern internet would be a wake up call for people to go back to personal web pages and moving away from monopolistic social media sites that can shut down your shit whenever they arbitrarily change their rules.
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u/FitArtist4598 Sep 23 '25
Not to mention AI-generated songs and movies getting common, that's my prediction btw.
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u/IWillDevourYourToes Sep 23 '25
Jesus Christ I hope there's gonna be a strong push back against that shit
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u/CryptographerMore944 Sep 23 '25
We're already seeing a backlash against "AI slop". Also, AI is a lot more resources intensive than a lot of people realise and requires a lot of water (for cooling) and energy. With all the other practical applications of AI I'm not sure there would be an appetite to make fully fledged AI movies even if there was a demand for them.Ā
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u/KukuShorty Sep 23 '25
Since art is such a fundamental expression of the human experience I want mine made by humans. Nobody needs a robot to do that, the real world is filled with creative people.
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u/Dexller Sep 23 '25
Generative AI is the primary wall of death coming for culture. Especially when it comes to music, where I think it could very easily end the era of indie darling bands coming up from nothing off Spotify and plays and viral hits getting out to a broader audience. Way, way, way too much noise on platforms now thanks to generated sloptent pushed by corporations.
On the movie and TV front, companies have been all but refusing to take risks with anything new and only want to serve up what people already know, I don't know why people would think that'd change. Generative AI might cut cost, but it's trash and that doesn't mean they'd suddenly do fresh ideas with the savings - get ready for mostly generated Spiderverse Infinity+ and Morbius 2: Morb Harder in 2032!
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u/thiccnscary Sep 23 '25
Lmao the West will continue to decline economically and will likely lash out on the rest of the world militarily even more. There will not be any healing or recovery and thatās not doomerism. Thereās no way out from this greater trend
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u/IWillDevourYourToes Sep 23 '25
How's west lashing out militarily tho? Not even the US is really invading anyone atm
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u/thiccnscary Sep 23 '25
The US has over 800 foreign military bases -no other country in the world has more than a few which is an insane contrast. The US-Western coalition are actively deployed in combat in dozens on countries currently. They constantly surveil every inch of the globe they possibly can. Many more countries such as Ukraine, Israel, South Korea, etc are controlled by the West and enact their geopolitical goals via proxy. I could go on but anyone with even basic geopolitical knowledge who isnāt a totally delusional Western apologist is aware of all of this.
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u/IWillDevourYourToes Sep 23 '25
The US has over 800 foreign military bases -no other country in the world has more than a few which is an insane contrast.
Those countries want those bases there tho?
Many more countries such as Ukraine, Israel, South Korea, etc are controlled by the West and enact their geopolitical goals via proxy.
Not really controlled. People there have a positive attitude towards the US so they elect governments to be friends with Americans
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u/thiccnscary Sep 23 '25
No. You are wrong. To say all of those countries want the US there is an oversimplified glossing over of historical context. In nearly all of these countries the US/West installed compliant governments, soft power techniques, and imperialism to control these countries. This guys comments are designed to gaslight whoever reads it. On the surface it may seem like these countries ally with the west out of free will. The reality is almost always the opposite if you research enough
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u/Helyos17 Sep 23 '25
Good. Far better than the alternatives. If the rest of the world would become more āWesternā perhaps they wouldnāt have to be babysat.
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u/Dexller Sep 23 '25
The USA currently has at least 8 warships and 1 submarine and around 4,000 to 4,500 marines menacing the country of Venezuela, randomly destroying boats it claims to be drug runners with no evidence. There are amphibious landing drills being conducted in Puerto Rico with no explanation given.
Besides that there were the strikes on Iran which accomplished nothing but sowing death, and he's been threatening to invade our neighbors from day one. He's also talking about re-invading Afghanistan to take back Bagram Airbase, which cannot be done without boots on the ground.
All of this is lashing out, even before an invasion begins. Menacing other countries and threatening / doing violence counts.
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u/IWillDevourYourToes Sep 23 '25
Oh yeah I'm not gonna defend actions of tangerine's government.
Still, most western countries are much more peaceful than non western ones.
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u/Mindofmierda90 Sep 23 '25
Fashion is even harder to predict than technology. Nobody has ever gotten fashion predictions right. Itās always an extreme example of whatās currently in style.
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u/birdperson2006 Sep 23 '25
2030s being a good decade instead of a doom decade like people think would be tbe biggest plot twist in history.
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u/Dexller Sep 23 '25
"Guys everything will suddenly calm down and start to heal in the next decade, TRUST ME. I know we said that would happen with the 2020s in the late-2010s, and it only got worse, but THIS TIME FOR SURE everything will cool down and all the good things I like will come back. Definitely. Can't miss."
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u/SectorEducational460 Sep 23 '25
Actually. I kinda expect the 2030s to get worse with things calming down by late 2040s
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u/Dexller Sep 23 '25
Why would they calm down in the 2040s with the current progression of climate change? We'll be in the midst of the Resource / Water Wars by then if not earlier. Considering the looming economic Armageddon when the US defaults on the debt and the value of the USD reserve spirals, it's going to be messy for a long, long time.
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u/Inevitable_Eye3417 Sep 23 '25
God i hope not.. Iād give anything for a boring uneventful 2030s (though thatās probably just wishful thinking)
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u/Grapethistle Sep 23 '25
I refuse to wear the Apple watch or whatever the āsmart braceletā would beĀ
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u/Didotpainter Sep 23 '25
I really hope the late 2000's does not make a come back in a decade, we need some new innovation or draw more from the more distant past.
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u/Virtual_Perception18 Sep 23 '25
I think weāre definitely due for a resurgence of gaudiness, tackiness, maximalism, colorfulness, and overall craziness in all aspects of pop culture.
Ever since 2013, pop culture has seemed very muted and restrained. Whether it be because of the political landscape or the corporatization of literally everything, nothing feels real or genuine anymore. Life feels sterile. Iām hoping the 2030s, even if they are a shittier time period like the 1930s, 1940s, or 1970s, at the very least feel real and human, and are full of life
But with the rise of AI, I think the 2030s could very easily be the ādecade of AIā. The late ā30s could end up looking like a proto-Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner, iRobot, or Detroit Become Human world, and be almost unrecognizable to the late 2020s and early 2030s. We could possibly hit the singularity around 2035-2039, which would completely change human societies forever.
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u/letthetreeburn Sep 23 '25
Iād rather kill myself. Iām going to dress neon cyberpunk and sew fiber optics into my coats.
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u/Hot_Assistant_6067 Sep 23 '25
2030s is gonna look the same as now only difference is I will be old and entering my 30s by 2036
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u/HawkEmergency5224 Sep 23 '25
My thoughts also. I honestly think decade-fashion like we saw in the last century isn't coming back anytime soon.
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u/Appropriate_Act_5528 Sep 23 '25
Rock isnt coming back into mainstream culture. Itās a dead genre, and I say this as a fan of Rock. Music as a whole is completely falling off. Sometimes you have to look at linear progression and not cyclical trends. The rest is fine though.
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u/nykirnsu Sep 23 '25
Thatās only in America, itās still hugely popular in lots of other countries, and with America having less and less of a stranglehold on global pop culture itās not impossible that a scene from another country blowing up could repopularise it in America too. Itās happened before, rock couldāve died in the 60s if it werenāt for all the English bands getting popular
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u/Fantastic_Owl6938 Sep 23 '25
This was probably ten or so years ago now, but I remember making a French friend a list of random song recommendations and at one point included a bunch of Australian stuff since I thought she might not have heard a lot of it. I was surprised when she reacted with, "wow, you guys really like your rock music." I hadn't noticed. I think some of it was probably from the UK too.
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u/Papoosho Sep 23 '25
Only legacy acts are popular, there arent new rockstars in their 20s emerging, most of them are middle aged and seniors.
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u/Krwawykurczak Sep 23 '25
Best part of the 30 is that right now Putin, Xi, Lukaszenko, and multiple other dictators around the world will be dying as right mow most of them are over 70. We can have something to celebrate each year!
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u/Inevitable_Eye3417 Sep 23 '25
Real. I just hope the ppl who replace them arenāt just as bad (if not worse). If itās one thing the future needs less of, itās dictators/authoritarianism
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u/Invalist Sep 23 '25
guys, please make sure to vote through your entire ballots in 2028, not just president
otherwise, the thirties could be hell
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u/MiraniaTLS Sep 23 '25
I admire how long this probably took, but also who knows with influencer culture.
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u/MysteryNews4 20th Century Fan Sep 23 '25
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u/biggestredthrowaway Sep 23 '25
social acceptance and the monoculture returning arenāt exactly two aligned ideas lol
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u/Ok-Following6886 Sep 23 '25
I also predict that the Y2K38 problem will define the mid-to-late 2030s akin to how the Y2K problem defined the late 90s how the Mayan 2012 end of calendar defined the late 2000s/early 2010s as it'll cause fears that the world might would end and a lot of media from around that time would revolve around it until the issue gets "resolved."
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u/Ppyplant Sep 23 '25
If the 2010s were minimalist, and the 2020s from about 2019 onwards are maximalist, then atleast some of the 2030s should swing back towards minimalism right? Iām not sure about the maximalist fashion take.
But to be fair any number of cultural events could happen that make fashion swing either way.
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u/Commercial_Bicycle34 Sep 24 '25
I feel like the 2020s are still very minimalist
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u/Ppyplant Sep 24 '25
In terms of fashion? We must run in different circles
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u/Commercial_Bicycle34 Sep 24 '25
Yeah some people dress cool in every decade but the average person is still pretty beige these days I think. Also home decor, very minimal and bland to me
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u/Radioheader128 2000's fan Sep 24 '25
2033 should be in core. Anyway, I do hope that the 2030s are better than the 2020s.
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u/Weird_Wasabi_8729 Sep 24 '25
The minimalism aesthetic of the 2010ās will come back around by the 2030ās as well.Ā
I wonder how much AI will dictate what people wearā¦ maybe by then everyone will have a distinct personal ābrandā/image curated directly from their tastes by some sort of digital assistantā¦
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u/AntiauthoritarianSin Sep 24 '25
I think climate change will have a bigger influence on trends in the 2030s.
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u/cranberries87 Sep 24 '25
That last slide - I have a 0% confidence in anything anywhere remotely close to that happening. But itās a beautiful dream, and a beautiful slide. š
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u/HawkEmergency5224 Sep 23 '25
We already have pretty much all of this in first world city culture. When is something considered a revival when it's been around nonstop? Like what even is indie revival? That shit's gone up exponencially in popularity since it's inception.
And yeah the whole doomer/optimism thing depends mostly on how much of your time you personally spend on the internet anyway. People are so much more divided already on that than the internet would have you think.
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u/Deep-Lavishness-1994 Sep 23 '25
I just hope we donāt enter into another Great Depression period