Questions For The Future

WILL WOMEN STILL NEED MEN? -- WILL POLITICIANS MATTER? WILL WE HAVE ANY PRIVACY LEFT? -- WHAT WILL MAKE US LAUGH? -- WHAT WILL WE DO ON SATURDAY NIGHT? -- WHAT WILL OUR HOUSES LOOK LIKE? -- WILL WE EVER LOG OFF? WILL WE STILL GO OUT TO THE GAME? -- WILL THE CRIME RATE KEEP FALLING? -- WILL A WOMAN BECOME POPE? -- WHAT WILL WE WEAR? -- WHAT WILL OUR SKYLINE LOOK LIKE? -- WILL TEENAGERS DISAPPEAR? -- WHO WILL BE THE NEXT ELITE?

So dazzling are the technological marvels promised by the future that we sometimes tend to lose faith in ourselves. No matter how fast the modems or how great the bandwidth, certain human traits will never change. Men and women will still struggle to understand each other. We will still worry about what influences our kids, look for leaders to guide us wisely, seek spiritual uplift and leisure downtime. In this, the second installment of TIME's series of questions for the 21st century, we focus on how we will live, work and play in the years to come. Technology will change much, to be sure, but most intriguing will be watching how we harness it to satisfy our everyday needs, our deepest passions and our highest aspirations.

Explore Visions of the 21st Century: How We Will Live online at time.com/v21