#NoFilter Series: 2030 Scenario — Fake

Perhaps we’re too focused on the present; perhaps we are too afraid that some things are beyond our control. I believe that tomorrow is always the result of what we do today, as individuals, as teams, and as a society.

In the last article, we saw what 2030 would look like if the #NoFilter and #FilterDrop campaigns gain momentum in the coming years. We may also find ourselves in one of the three other scenarios that were developed using the 2x2 matrix method of scenario building — the ‘Fake’ world, the ‘Surreal’ world, or the ‘Freal’(Fake becomes real) world. Today, we’ll explore what a ‘Fake’ world might look like.

A world where people flaunt their ability to alter the real

One morning in 2030, you open Instagram to see what your friends are up to. Nowadays, Instagram looks more like a Pinterest board, magazine, or Tumblr of the past. The world looks much more aesthetic — it’s more than the fakeness we saw in the early 2020s with blurred-out blemishes, it’s editing as a form of art.

You scroll past influencers giving demos on how to edit photos to make them look “trippier” and how to create certain illusions on their photos. Ads of editing apps and cosmetic products frequently pop up on your feed. It’s shocking what these apps and products are capable of.