Paula Dembeck's Reviews > Future Shock

The concept of "future shock" and wide use of the term was an important concept introduced in the management and business literature in the early seventies. In this book published in 1970, futurist Alvin Toffler defined the concept, describing its meaning as the effect of too much change in too short a period of time. The term “future shock” was not necessarily new but it was not in wide use. It was in this book that Toffler introduced the term to a wider public and popularized the concept.

Toffler believed that science, technology and society were making so many advances so quickly that it was affecting all areas of contemporary life. People were struggling to cope with the changes that affected every area of their lives from the society they lived in, to their workplaces where they struggled with new technology to their personal lives in what used to be known as the nuclear family. It never stopped or even slowed down. Before they successfully coped with one set of changes, more were already on their doorstep, the pace of new change moving relentlessly forward without them. Although some changes made life easier, many were not asked for or welcomed and most were the result of changes in the marketplace. People were feeling a sense of shock from the rapid change that was beginning to constantly surround them, with newer changes coming more quickly every year.

Toffler examined what happens when people can no longer cope with the fast pace of change, becoming stressed, feeling overwhelmed and becoming disoriented. They begin to suffer both mentally and physically, exhibiting symptoms that range from depression to bizarre behavior and becoming increasingly susceptible to physical disease and emotional breakdown. At the same time, people were losing their connection to the institutions they used to depend on in their time of need. Family, community and religion were important foundations for society but even these longstanding bulwarks were being eroded by the fast pace of change.

Toffler provides some examples for readers to consider, describing how some industries die off and new ones rise from the ashes, often affecting unskilled workers who must move to find work. Professionals who found their work had become outdated, were forced to change their careers and take on something new. Unlike years in the past, jobs that used to last a lifetime were now quickly disappearing and it was becoming more common for people to have several careers in a lifetime. People moved their residences to take on new jobs leaving the comfort of their neighborhood friends and their community behind. Those close friendships and their community were supports they depended on for comfort in times of trouble. In their new environments, they developed a larger number of relationships, but they were more casual in nature without the years of experience behind them that had bonded them with their close friends. Toffler suggests that as the rate of change continues to increase, people will be surrounded more and more by a temporary world with everything around them constantly in flux giving them little stability and providing little support to those who were struggling.

He discusses how computerization has brought so much change to business, manufacturing and everyday living but is a double-edged sword. It has made businesses more efficient, facilitated widespread communication and increased our manufacturing efficiency and capacity. On the other hand, it has generated so much information, no one can absorb it all and people have begun to feel overwhelmed by all they are expected to know and understand.

Toffler insists that change is not a bad thing but experiencing it all at once can be. He describes the warning signals to watch for when the pace of change becomes more than people can tolerate.

Toffler’s writing perfectly captured the angst of the time as people were beginning to be affected by the speed and relentlessness of change. Looking back over what he wrote at the time, those rereading this book will note that much of what he predicted has occurred. He didn’t get everything right but his ability to look into the future and predict some of it, helped people understand what was happening to them and those around them. His writing challenged the thinking that change was always a good thing and he made a compelling argument for taking accelerating change seriously, so businesses, society and people in general could learn to manage it more effectively.

The book was very readable, warned readers about the pace of change and encouraged them to learn ways to manage it to protect their lives, their health, their businesses and their environment. The book sold widely, the term “future shock” became an accepted part of our vocabulary and word spread as book sales topped over five million copies.