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How Technology has Changed in the Past Ten Years
By Michael Björn
Predicting the future is easy – we do it all the time. The only tricky part is getting it right. Since it is that time of year again when we publish our annual 10 Hot Consumer Trends – our tenth anniversary of the report – let us look back at a decade of consumer technology trends.
Late in 2011, Ericsson Consumer Lab released the first 10 Hot Consumer Trends report and I remember quickly piecing it together on a plane on the way to a customer meeting. I have been the main author of all our trend reports since then, but this one certainly was written in a different and more innocent age.
Nevertheless, with the trend “Social media redefining news reporting” it already pointed to a world ruled by Tweet. And this wasn’t just about gossip columns, the report was crystal clear about serious news reporting being redefined by social networking.
The build out of 4G LTE networks formed much of our thinking back then, and the mobile technologies which would be built on top of them. The smartphone app industry and, in particular, the social media industry was already exploding around this time.
Take Twitter, for example. In 2007, Twitter users were sending around 20,000 tweets per day. By 2010, the numbers had spiked up to about 50 million tweets per day. Between 2014 and 2018, the average time spent on social media apps increased by almost 60 percent, as we found in our social media consumer report.
However, innovation in this space moves fast which makes it difficult to predict what will happen next. In the same report, we found that of the ten most popular social media platforms of 2008, five no longer existed ten years later and only two remained in the top ten.
In late 2012, we launched our second report which more or less exactly repeated a trend from the previous year, something that hasn’t happened since. It was about women driving the smartphone market, signifying that internet use was now massively mass market and no longer a “tech” thing.
The third report in 2013 launched the idea that biometrics would be everywhere, with a trend called “your body is the new password”, something to think about the next time you authorize an online purchase by showing your face to your phone. Four years later, Apple announced FaceID for the first time, based on depth-sensing infrared technology which also formed the basis of Xbox Kinect, launched some years earlier.
In late 2014 we took a big leap into the future with the launch of our 10 Hot Consumer Trends 2015 report and the trend “Mind Sharing” predicting that a wearable device to communicate with others directly through thoughts would be available by 2020. How wrong one can be! Or maybe just a bit too early, given that Neuralink in 2020 showed a pig with a brain implant and OpenBCI announced a brain sensing device that seamlessly attaches to VR goggles.
But the biggest media headlines came with the 2016 report and the trend “AI ends the screen age”. Ericsson says the smartphone will be dead in 5 years, yelled the press in what became almost like a global meme.
“What we really wanted to highlight was the early signs towards a paradigmatic shift where our everyday internet device eventually sits on our heads instead of in our palms. Hence, we followed that up in the 2017 trends with the idea that we are moving into a world of subjective experiences where AR glasses immerse us in an “augmented personal reality” and we eventually live in a “merged reality” without differing between physical and digital experiences.
In fact, the trend reports of the five last years have been quite much focused on this coming paradigmatic shift, with the 2018 trends highlighting the need for a fundamentally new user interface with “your body is the user interface” and the 2019 trends adding the idea of “my digital twin” before we wrapped all these predictions into a unified concept as the Internet of Senses in the most recent report.
While we firmly believe that physical reality will continue to merge with a multisensory digital experience going forward, we have decided to focus on a completely different development in our next report.
Michael Björn is Head of Research Agenda and Quality at Consumer & IndustryLab
QNET, leading global wellness and lifestyle direct-selling company, has successfully concluded V-Malaysia 2025, its flagship annual convention, at the Penang SPICE Convention Centre in Malaysia. Held from 21–25 June, the five-day event drew over 8,000 participants from more than 30 countries, including Nigeria, reinforcing the company’s global reach and strong foothold in the African market.
For over a decade, QNET has chosen Penang as the destination for this transformative event, which blends business networking, entrepreneurial development, and immersive personal growth experiences.
The 2025 edition underscores the continued collaboration between QNET, its event partner V Global Management (The V), Tourism Malaysia, the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), and its state-level affiliate, Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB).
In Nigeria, QNET has steadily gained recognition as a key player in the direct selling and wellness space, empowering thousands of Nigerians with entrepreneurial opportunities, health-conscious products, and financial education.
Through its innovative business model, QNET has fostered a growing community of independent distributors across states like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Events such as V-Malaysia provide distributors a platform to connect with the global QNET network, learn from top leaders, and gain exposure to cutting-edge tools and products that can be leveraged in their local businesses.
V-Malaysia has evolved into a premier platform for business networking, entrepreneurial development, and cross-cultural collaboration. The synergy between QNET and The V — an internationally recognised organisation specialising in large-scale training and events has been pivotal in building the convention’s global draw.
YB Wong Hon Wai, Penang State EXCO for Tourism and Creative Economy (PETACH), emphasised the regional impact of V-Malaysia: “Penang’s vibrant tourism and business events ecosystem continues to attract top-tier events like QNET’s V-Malaysia.
In 2024 alone, Penang recorded an estimated RM1.29 billion in economic impact from such events – a testament to their significance. QNET’s long-term commitment brings not only economic value but also strengthens Penang’s global reputation.”
Trevor Kuna, Chief Marketing Officer of QNET, added: “For QNET, Penang is more than just a venue; it’s a home for inspiration, collaboration, and transformation.
“Our strong base in Nigeria and across Africa makes this event especially meaningful, as we bring together entrepreneurs from across the continent to share ideas and build cross-border relationships that accelerate personal and economic growth.”
The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), a government agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and parent body of PCEB, plays a pivotal role in Malaysia’s business events ecosystem. In 2023 alone, MyCEB facilitated 248 business events, brought in over 180,700 international delegates, and generated about RM 2.8 billion in economic impact.
For V-Malaysia 2025, MyCEB’s expertise in destination marketing, strategic facilitation, and coordination between federal and state levels (through PCEB) has been instrumental in elevating Penang’s standing as a premier MICE hub.
Complementing this effort is Tourism Malaysia, whose targeted incentives and logistical backing helped deliver V-Malaysia 2025 as a high-impact global event. Their support underscores the government’s broader commitment to positioning Malaysia as a top-tier host for international conferences and high-impact corporate events.
As part of the event’s activities, QNET also unveiled new wellness innovations, including Harmoniq, a bio-signaling patch designed to enhance energy and well-being, and QWIK, a line of oral health and nutrition strips — products set to expand into markets like Nigeria in the coming year.
V-Malaysia 2025 is not just a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship; it is a dynamic platform that exemplifies how global vision and local action, especially across Africa, can reshape the future of direct selling. For more information about V-Malaysia 2025, please visit QNET’s official website.
In today’s digital world, teens are using social media to connect with their friends, learn and explore their interests.
Instagram has developed a variety of tools to give parents peace of mind, support safer interactions, and empower teens to make thoughtful decisions online. Whether you’re new to the platform or want to stay informed, here are essential safety tools every parent should know about:
Teen Accounts: Teen Accounts were designed to support parents better and give them peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place. Teen Accounts have built-in protections that limit who can contact them and the content they see. By default, teen accounts are set to private and teens under 16 can only change this default setting with help from a parent or guardian.
Supervision tools (parental controls): As part of Teen Accounts, Instagram offers supervision features that allow parents to stay involved in their teen’s experience on the app. With this feature, parents can monitor how much time their teen spends on Instagram, view who they follow and who follows them, receive updates when their teen reports accounts or content, and set daily time limits or scheduled breaks to help manage usage.
Daily time limit: The daily time limit feature is also part of Teen Accounts. It allows parents and teens to set limits on app usage, encouraging healthier and more mindful engagement over time.
Block, restrict and report feature: Teen Accounts include tools that allow teens to block or restrict people they don’t want to interact with and report harmful content or behavior. Restricted users won’t be able to see when your teen is online or if they’ve read messages.
Sensitive content control: This safety feature, also available through Teen Accounts, lets users filter out potentially upsetting or mature content in Explore and other surfaces. content across Explore and other surfaces.
Educational Family Center: Instagram’s Family Center is an educational hub that provides articles and guidance to help parents have meaningful conversations with their teens about their online experiences and how to make time spent online a positive experience. The hub focuses on providing parents with practical tools from online safety experts, organisations and academics on everything from bullying to cybersecurity.
Take time to explore these features with your teen and use them as a starting point for open, ongoing conversations about their online life. When parents and teens navigate these digital spaces together, everyone wins.
In a bold move to blend digital empowerment with fun and entertainment, the Anambra State ICT Agency, in partnership with the Geeks and Founders Alliance for Soludo (GEFAS), announces the availability of free WiFi at the Anambra Mega Fest/Grand Opening of Solution Fun City.
Powered by Pine Heights Systems (PHSWEB), this initiative reinforces the state government’s commitment to bridging the digital divide and bringing connectivity directly to the people.
Set to hold on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 1 PM, the grand opening of Solution Fun City will light up Awka with a mix of tech-forward innovation and high-energy entertainment, all under the distinguished hosting of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR.
Attendees are in for a tech-enhanced experience featuring music, dance, comedy, games, and electrifying performances from Flavour, Umu Obiligbo, JeriQ, Jennifer Eliogu, Ugoccie, Apete, Ojadili, Ogbuefi I Go Tuk, Onye Obodo, Prince Neche, and many more.
“Technology is one of the greatest equalizers of our time.
Through digital access, we are not only empowering citizens, we are deepening civic participation and driving progress,” said Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, MD/CEO of the Anambra State ICT Agency and Convener of GEFAS.
The event signals a new chapter in Anambra’s smart governance journey, where technology, inclusivity, and community celebration come together in one dynamic space.
To connect to the Free WiFi: turn your phone’s WiFi, select Soludo Solution WiFi and follow the prompts on the landing page
For details, call: 0201 410 1240
Follow the conversation: @gefasoludo across all social media platforms.
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