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Paper is really something 'from the olden days'

Paper is really something 'from the olden days'. It disappeared in about 2019, in most traditional forms, as most media organizations gave up on the idea of a business model from the 20th century that was ecologically unsound, physically impracticable and ridiculously expensive. The one bright spot? Getting a paper book via a drone from Amazon became...

Paper is really something 'from the olden days'. It disappeared in about 2019, in most traditional forms, as most media organizations gave up on the idea of a business model from the 20th century that was ecologically unsound, physically impracticable and ridiculously expensive. The one bright spot? Getting a paper book via a drone from Amazon became really, really boring. The other bright spot? Opportunities for other paper use within intelligent packaging, hygiene markets, 3D printing and other opportunities grew over time.
25-trends-for-2025foresight-receipt
Publish Date2014-12-28
Updated Date2026-09-18
Made Date2014-12-28
Target Date2025-12-31
Horizonlater
Outcomemiss
Confidencemedium

Jim Carroll’s 2014 prediction #12 for 2025.

Retrospective grade: Didn’t Happen.

Paper is really something ‘from the olden days’. It disappeared in about 2019, in most traditional forms, as most media organizations gave up on the idea of a business model from the 20th century that was ecologically unsound, physically impracticable and ridiculously expensive. The one bright spot? Getting a paper book via a drone from Amazon became really, really boring. The other bright spot? Opportunities for other paper use within intelligent packaging, hygiene markets, 3D printing and other opportunities grew over time.

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