Auntie Jen's Family Trees: How will Genealogy Research be Different in the Future?

How much has genealogy research changed over the past 50 years? Or even history, for that matter. Think about it. Fifty years ago would have been the year 1975. Computers weren't available for research. (Microsoft was founded in 1975) To access documents like census records, you would have had to go to the library and page through censuses on microfilm. No index. No search feature. No shaky little leaves on Ancestry. Actually, Ancestry.com wasn't even around at this time.

They didn't become a company until 1983. So all your records would have been on paper, on microfilm, and in libraries. Seasoned researchers would tell us we have it easy today. Years ago, people never expected access would be available for specific documents. The birth of the internet in 1983 has changed all this. Every day, documents are digitized and made available to the public.

A Year In History - 1975 Archives

But have you given any thought to how genealogy research will be different in the future? Let's say another 50 years? That would put us in the year 2100. Most of us won't be here anymore. So what will be available? What will be different? What won't be available? What records can we access that wouldn't have been available 100 years ago?
I sat down and talked with my adult child (they are now 21) about this topic. Life is definitely different from what it was in 1975. To learn more about the statistical information from 1975, head over to Census.gov, and you can compare differences from then to today.

National News: Adults are now struggling to hit these four milestones, Census Says

So, I asked my child what they thought would be available and how research would be different in light of the changes our society has undergone.

Here are some topics that are different in society today and how they do/will impact our research:

More people are having kids without getting married
More people are having multiple partners with multiple kids
Polyamorous Relationships (maybe marriages one day)

How will these facts affect research?
DNA will play a bigger part

Changing of names

Different names used in censuses, obituaries, newspapers, etc.
Might make it more difficult to trace ancestors

Changing of genders

Multiple genders
Legal and surgical

Marriages between the same gender

Know the state laws and policies
People could have gone to other states to get married and live

Depending on the topic, more sources will be available to support the results. The question about changing genders and same-sex marriages came up in my beginner genealogy class a couple of years ago. While this wasn't something that was addressed back 50 years ago as much as it is now, it's something we need to start thinking about when it comes to records and sources. But the same format will still be used for checking the validity. If there's no record or source to support the claim or the story, then it's not proven to be true. (See the Genealogical Proof Standard.) So it's necessary to start saving information with proof for future researchers.
In the future, we will have access to more and different records than we've had available to us in the past. In an age where the internet runs our lives, there is almost nothing we can't access or learn about someone. And with the changing of how we live our lives, more records are kept that weren't available 50 years ago.

What different records or sources will be available that weren't in the past?

Credit Reports (Currently only available to the named person or, if they have passed, a legal representative or executor)
Medical Records (Currently only available to the named person, or family if permission was granted in writing)
Social Media Accounts

Able to download data
Can designate a person to take over the account after death

Driving Records (Available to the public without personal information)
Cloud Access
Cell phone data
Email Accounts
More access to out-of-the-country records
Social Security Records - the use of a Social Security number has changed quite a bit since its creation
Employment Records - more employers keep detailed files on past employees

As you can see, some records are available ONLY to the named person, or to a descendant who is an executor, has a court order, or is in the paperwork. With the creation of new records comes new privacy laws. Before, we mostly dealt with the fact that census records were only released every 72 years, birth records were unavailable in some states until 100 years after the event, and sealed adoption records. Today, identity theft is a major concern, and efforts are being made to make personal data harder to access. Which is great! Unfortunately, it may also affect how we research in the future. So it's important to prepare.

Now, with all these changes, some records won't include the same data they used to, or some records will become obsolete. Newspapers used to be a great source of information about our ancestors' lives (they still are for the past), but now, with rising costs and privacy concerns, you are lucky if an obituary was published that included any family. And more and more publishing companies are producing less paper and opting for digital formats.

What records or sources may not be available, may change, or may be obsolete?

City Directories (They are phasing out for privacy concerns)
Immigration records may not be as accessible
Passenger lists
Census Records will be asking different questions
Newspapers are changing

They don't share as much information as they used to because of privacy concerns
Cost of publishing obituaries can be astronomical, so more people are not even publishing one
Leaning towards more digital formats and not printed formats

Marriage bonds - "A man would file a marriage bond to legally affirm his intention to marry a particular woman and confirm there was no legal impediment to the marriage." - Family Tree Magazine

Now you may be asking, why focus on what will be available in the future when genealogy research is focusing on the past? Good question! Thinking about how things will be different will help us determine what we should save today for future researchers. As stated above, some sources are only available to executors or those with a court order. So we need to start today. Save copies of documents, sources, information, or anything you think will be important.

There are a few books written that address saving items for future generations and how to downsize. I recommend the following:

I've been a genealogy researcher since 2012; not as long as others, and in that short time, I've seen many changes in how we research. It's causing me to approach my own research differently. We all need to start collecting, digitizing, and preserving our history for the future. Based on what we have seen over the last 50 years, we don't know what's going to be accessible or available to us. So prepare now.

How do you think Genealogy Research will be different in the future?
Leave your comments below.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.