Here is how quickly America is shifting to a new era of promise and hope. By the time adolescents of today reach their thirties, there will be for the first time ever more blacks than whites, more senior citizens than children, and more people practicing diverse sects. In the 2050s, the sluggish demographic trends that people have seen over the years will eventually reach a stage. They are going to transform what looks like America, where one lives and is afraid of.
The larger picture
People will be older and dark will dominate the white in the 2050s. During 2050, just 40% of the 35-year-old population class will be non-Hispanic whites. And by 2045, as per census estimates, minorities will become the majority in the United States of America. Immigrants will constitute a streak-breaking proportion of the population and play a key role in holding the economic burden formed by the elderly Generation X and Boomers.
The Census data reveals that there will be more elderly people than kids because of the dropping fertility rates for the first time. About 1 in 10 Americans will be about 65 years of age, putting a new amount of stress on the welfare and health care arrangements of the country.
The implications
The white male voters from the evangelical and anti-college clan who helped elevate Donald Trump to the presidency are likely to lose their authority. But owning minorities over the majority does not inevitably mean the disappearance of racial discrimination and inequality integrated into laws of the land. It will be an ongoing debate and one that is becoming progressively imperative.
Predictions
As per the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures study, the major religious followings will breathe down the neck of Christianity as the second largest religion in the United States by 2050. The vast proportion of Judaism is going to decline significantly. Approximately 1 in 5 Americans, including 40% of 35-45 year age bracket, will not represent any religion. There will be as many Muslims between the age group of 35 to 45 as Christians of the same age across the globe.
Coexistence
According to UN projections, the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population (85%) will exist in urban stretches. The cities of the nation are likely to persist to amass all the energy, technology and resources, while rural communities are lagging behind. Only twenty years ago, smaller than half of the world lived in metropolitan areas, but the studies reveal that by another twenty years almost two-thirds of the American citizens would live in cities.
The apprehensions
Thirty five-year-olds and nearly half of Americans will be born in 2050 after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of 9/11, but the youth of the future will recall Las Vegas, Orlando and Parkland. Instead of foreign terrorist attacks, reported domestic acts of violence are rooted in the minds of the youth community adults. Many Vietnam survivors will disappear, but the Soviet cyber interference in the U.S. and international elections will be noticed distinctly.
The worldwide average sea level will be up to a foot higher than it is as of now, and the global average land temperature will be close to the Paris Climate Agreement guardrail of 2.5 degrees Celsius. According to various studies, summer sea ice may completely disappear from the Arctic Circle by 2050. Technology and human actions will be even more interlinked: according to eHarmony analysis, 75% of interactions will be online by businesses obtaining piles of individual data. Internet would replace the human brains to a large extent.
Nowadays, Congressmen are struggling to understand how Facebook is operating. In an ambiance of artificial intelligence, specialized genetic engineering technology, and automated vehicles, they will face even more sophisticated regulatory and moral issues soon. By 2040, as per census estimates, 35 years of age and 45 percent of the U.S. population will be born after the launching of iPhones. Social media, which has been linked to the currently rising rates of anxiety, depression and suicide, will document their entire lives.
The accomplishments
By 2050, according to OECD estimates, both India and China will have long exceeded the total GDP of the US. However, per capita GDP in the U.S. will be still higher, nearly $87 K, up from today’s $6 K, based on proposed long-term growth rates and population assumptions. Also, according to UN estimates, an American child born in the U.S. is expected to live up to 85 years; 5 years more than the life expectancy at birth. Only 5 out of 1,000 American lives are expected to end as a result of infant death, which is half the current projection. The fertility rate will increase, and the youth of 2050 will become more educated than ever if recent trends persist.
The crux of the matter is predictions are always prone to variations. An incident like the internet or 9/11 can completely eradicate the future an individual imagines during the next few years. Nevertheless, it is already likely that the new pace of human progress is transforming the world that one knows very well in the present perspective.