Its popularity has varied over the years and it is currently in a growth mode. Since it would be useful to think about what those changes might be, how they might affect us, and how we might therefore change our lives, we ought to take advantage of understanding something about what might happen. Understanding history and change helps understand discontinuities and future possibilities. Anticipate change and react to it. Part historian, part scientist, part feet on ground part feet in air.
Approaches differ, most are closet futurists but more becoming full time.
It is more than forecasting, predicting, or palm reading. Tools are drawn from many disciplines - pick the ones that fit the job at hand. Understanding the basics of change helps group more specific changes and provides some rationale on how people approach change. Understanding the period of time you live in, peoples REAL values helps in this regard. This could be, but recognize that these large shifts between eras have several present at one time while one may be dominant.