How to Watch the series Years and Years and Question Everything You've Ever Designed!
So, I watched the TV series Years and Years that was recently added to Netflix (btw, it was released in 2019, but you know how it goes with streaming services). I can also say, I was a little influenced by a few family members who had claimed it was very good.
It's like Russell T Davies (the creator) peered into a crystal ball, saw what was coming, and thought, “You know what this needs? A little more chaos."
I found it really fascinating, mostly because it feels like technology is advancing at the speed of an unsupervised toddler with a marker :) and we are evolving with it.
**Mini spoiler alert - but not too much** In Years and Years, we see everything from smart homes bossing people around to kids wanting to upload themselves into the cloud like they're a Spotify playlist. And honestly? none of it even felt that far-fetched. Give it a few more years and we'll probably all be holograms with subscription fees- hope not! Bethany, one of the characters, literally wants to leave her body behind and become digital...
The technology in this series isn't shiny and utopian, it’s weirdly..... normal. Which somehow makes it even more fascinating. It's like watching a news report from two Tuesdays into the future.
As an Interaction designer, I can’t help but think about how much influence we have in shaping these technological advances. The interfaces we design, and the experiences we create, all piled up into the world we end up living in.
Are we building tools for freedom and connection or accidentally helping create a future where your toaster needs a two-factor authentication code to make breakfast? Food for thought. Pun intended!
And it goes deeper I think, every tiny design choice, every "Are you still watching?" pop-up, every sneaky "sign up now!" button is a little nudge toward a certain type of world.
A world where maybe your fridge won't open unless you agree to its updated terms and conditions. Or where your car won't drive unless you watch a quick ad first. It’s a weird responsibility to be both the architect and the unwilling beta tester of the future. Anyhow, just some thoughts…
In short, Years and Years is brilliant, heart-wrenching, terrifying, hilarious (in a "laugh because otherwise you'll cry or build a bunker" kind of way) and suspiciously on point. I think it’s worth taking a look…
Teresa Di Manno
