Memes Will Save Us All — Taylor Mascetta

The 2010s proved to be a wild ride, and we have finally reached the new Roaring ’20s. The new decade may have only started three weeks ago, but it has already made its mark: the country may go to war, Australia is currently on fire, President Trump faces potential impeachment and the battle for the 2020 presidency grows uglier as time goes on.

These events, with their tragic implications, led to widespread fear of the unknown future. Nevertheless, they all eventually got riddled with memes, jokes and surprisingly positive attitudes stemming from the newest generations. Teens across TikTok plan to assemble an army of Naruto runners and LEGO Star Wars characters to do the “Renegade” dance across enemy lines. A viral tweet about a girl selling promiscuous photos for donations to Australian bushfires spreads more awareness to this current tragedy.

Overall, more and more people, teenagers especially, are taking troubling events and putting a positive spin on them. Global conflict still remains a serious issue, and everyone knows that. However, teenagers aren’t allowing its looming presence to bother them. They still want to enjoy their lives, and humor is a great way to cope with these sudden changes.

However, they use their jokes to bring awareness to making change. This new outlook serves as a prediction for the attitude of humanity in the 2020s: humor and positivity, often spread by social media, will protect our lives from the negative influences creeping across the planet.

The Invention of the “Z Phone” — Grace Robinson

There is a chance some of you will remember the episode of “Hannah Montana,” where Hannah lusts over the “Z Phone,” a phone that offers a holographic screen for reminders and videos.

The Z Phone may be a fictional device, but is it foreshadowing the next big thing? Despite this episode appearing over 13 years ago, I think the Z Phone has a good chance of becoming a reality in the next decade. While Apple continues to improve display features on the iPhone, there has yet to be a 3D element that would bring life to the phone’s functions, including video watching, gameplay and FaceTime calls.

Although Apple has experimented with holographic screens, I predict in this decade; they will be perfected so that every image will appear in an illuminated design that seems to defy space and time. This will completely change our relationship with technology. It will lead us to wonder how this advanced media may potentially lead us to an even deeper relationship with our phones, one that shelters us even more from communicating outside of our devices.

The End of Phone Dongles — Erica Weidner

The 2010s trend of headphone jacks disappearing will only escalate in the new decade. In the 2020s, phones will become smooth pieces of glass free of any buttons or ports. The change will take some time to get used to, but it’s a natural step in technology’s evolution.

Get ready for an era of Bluetooth accessories and wireless charging. No more pesky dongles. It will either be a blessing or a curse: you will no longer need your box of tangled cables and cords, but your wallet will take a hit when you inevitably buy wireless replacements for all your devices.