Trends 2022

The influenza pandemic that began in 1918 killed approximately a 100 million people in two years. It was one of the deadliest disasters in history, and to which all pandemics since then are now compared.

However, such a catastrophic event was practically forgotten after World War I and then the Great Depression. Many of us wonder if the fracturing of democratic norms or the economic problems that COVID-19 has triggered could cause us to repeat history.

At Blackbot we believe we are at a pivotal moment where we can and must collectively decide what comes next after this crisis. What is the next story we will tell? What is the story we will tell in the future about the events of this era? It is a fact that the pandemic is not over yet, and to be honest it won’t, at least not overnight. Its end will be long and prolonged, and so will be its consequences. However, it is not the only evil that stalks us, nor the most distressing. This year more than others we realized, in our own communities, that the impending* blow of climate change is already here, and it may not be as slow and prolonged as the pandemic has been.

We have run out of time to be short-sighted, we need to become conscious and reflect on what kind of ancestors we want to be, the actions that will define our existence on this planet, on what we have and haven’t done, but above all, on what we will or will not continue to do.

This report, more than a trends showcase, is intended to be a place for reflection on what is happening and the possibilities it will bring. That is why this year we decided to use the Greek prefix: META, which usually has three meanings:

• Encompassing, transcending. For example: metalanguage.
• Mutation, change, transformation. For example: metamorphosis.
• Subsequent, beyond, after, later. For example: metaphase.