Greed takes a rest next year as a nation battered by the recession lowers its expectations and settles for smaller cars, smaller houses and an appreciation of all things local, or so says Richard Watson, a professional adviser on future trends. Watson, a 48-year-old Briton who lives in Sydney, looked into the future for times2 a year ago and proved spot on when he foresaw a year dominated by loathsome bankers, contempt for high-earning CEOs and campaigns to protect local businesses.

Now he sees a sombre 2010 where loneliness and depression become preoccupying issues. Watson argues that prediction is about interpreting and illuminating the present. Some trends, he says, endure, not least the instinct to protect ourselves when we feel threatened and the extreme reaction to this — the rise of right-wing politics.

But as he casts his eye over 2010 it’s not all bad news — here at least we’re celebrating Watson’s belief that we can expect newsprint, magazines, novels and yes, paper, to live on as “slow media” becomes a watchword for 2010.

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