I wanna predict 2026 too, yo
Shamelessly ripping off this fun post, I thought I'd just sort of agree or disagree with it's points and add my own little ideas. I'm sure this will be dripping with naive optimism!
In:
Textures and color becoming big after our years-long focus on very smooth slabs and muted surfaces. I think Pantone is so wrong for picking a white tone for 2026! Instead, color theory taking the place of skincare obsession.
hard want! What do you mean I'm predictable... There's just been such a rumbling already about how fed up people are with the muted colors and lack of visual stimuli irl these days. I'm all for minimal design and taste but that really doesn't mean you have to forget colors and textures exist. Clean minimalism seems sort of like a gimmick that was meant to highlight the advancement in tech design and product manufacturing, and well, it's no longer impressive or a sign of something premium.
Hosting repair parties for you and your friends. Visible mending aesthetic on clothes.
That would be amazing. I'm already on the cutting edge of the look lol since I hate letting go of a garment I like without a fight.
Big focus on timelessness as the trends have become too fast to follow or fully monetize.
I hope so. "oh, you're still into/doing that?" should be fully complimentary and a source of humblebrags everywhere. YES I am still doing the thing, YES, I am still putting hard work into this thing from months ago and it's amazing. At the very least, lets keep the trends within smaller circles of friends or social groups like an inside joke that evolves over time.
Pictures of lived-in places and groups hanging out, instead of just being alone in all your pictures. Pictures become more about the group activity than showing off your looks or clothes; more weight on long-term friendships and showing off that you’re doing offline activities together.
you're calling out my pinterest board lmfao. Well, I'm trying to migrate to same.energy right now and better curate my chaos of 10+ years on pinterest. Flexing stuff like this I hope means that all the effort I've tried to put into memorable social experiences will actually be appreciated and more people will get on board, because right now I feel like the only person I know irl that sees the value of these. Well, besides my mom lol she's where I get it from.
Small, highly curated and niche personal collections, even companies going back to a core lineup.
here's where I have no idea. I don't really keep up with fashion anymore. Or maybe this is meant to be more general? Either way it doesn't sound bad.
Tech predictions:
- Unfollowing and blocking influencers.
- More switching to Linux.
- More focus on hyperlocal social media via people’s orgs, clubs, areas, cities, etc. having their own servers and retreating there.
- New forms of social media that will try to be a mix of group chat, Notion and (AI-)Pinterest. Not saying this is good, but I could see it happening.
- Apps with an algorithmic feed asking for your mood when opening and then showing content based on the answer.
Holy based I can only hope. Minus pinterest unless it gets WAYY better. I'm going to remain neutral on that last point. Actually, to finally add my own take, I think places like Listography, Rentry, maybe even cyberspace.online will grow with people looking for something that is simple that serves very straightforward needs. I think that's going to be the minimalism that people want. I also think Neocities will continue to grow and probably go through some changes due to different types of people making websites and other people becoming less new and more focused on what they want from the service. I think imageboards and even text boards are going to see more users, or maybe more will be made to accommodate certain wants. I think the "scatter" of people leaving popular social media and branching into other places is already happening, but as it continues and begins to approach the normieverse, the more radio silence we'll see on these popular apps, besides people just trying to make a following for money or companies being most of the noise. Kind of like a dead mall, in a way. I hope I can still connect with people who aren't local to me because I'm in the middle of nothing with people so different from me I think they consider talking to me an act of charity lmfao. But despite that I do try, and I'm more just wanting to talk about books and crafts with people who provide some conversation about it.
Out:
- Pretending loneliness and isolation is selfcare or wellness, hard boundaries as a personality (“protecting your peace at all costs” etc.), as the real flex will be not being part of the loneliness epidemic.
- The idea that focus is moral.
- Superapps and megabrands that aspire to be everything.
- Reinventing and “rebranding” yourself completely.
thank you, this isolation shit always felt so off to me. Maybe because I'm jealous of people who have so many people clamoring for their time that they had to even take a stance. I only get this type of stuff with my retail job wanting me to come in on my day off lmfao. It's interesting to propose that focus isn't moral (it's neutral), because I've certainly been doing that a lot without thinking about it much. It's hard not to when my adhd makes pure focus on anything so hard to get sometimes. I feel a certain wave of relief if I can do it for the day on something I mean to do because it feels like I'm winning a fight. Maybe a lot of my guilt for not focusing is stopping me from taking better care of myself and my own life. Superapps and whatever are so lame, like who even asked for this? Just because a tool can be useful if it does a lot of things doesn't mean I value a company that insulates me into it's ecosystem. On the rebrand thing, I think I used to fall for the idea that I can just wash myself of my past failures and be fresh again like these failures of mind are dirt. They are not! They are experiences that I need to honor and thank for leading me in a better direction. I have to make peace with the mountain of failure humans often have to climb to see things differently and more clearly. I am not a brand, I am a limb of a universe experiencing itself and the negativity is a meaningful part of that experience. Of course, I'm also welcome to start every new day without carrying a mental burden of guilt and shame over who I used to be, instead acceptance and understanding of all facets of who I was, good and bad. Shame and guilt often seem to get in the way of taking responsibility and making meaningful change. you know?
- Relying on AI for everything and pushing it into everything. The novelty wears off, the testing people do privately slows down, and they come to their own conclusions about what’s really helpful and what’s bullshit irrespective of what companies promise.
- Passive friendship maintenance via just liking your friend’s posts. It will no longer count as real or sincere to people and they expect more (hopefully).
- Bragging about impulsive or excessive purchases. Everyone’s tired of seeing strangers’ hauls and Klarna debt.
- Trackers for every media consumption (books, movies etc.).
- Matcha and pistachio; I think we will see more roasted or black sesame drinks and sweet potato.
I hope for most of these or am neutral. But I think I disagree about the tracking part, I think that's going to gain more traction. Maybe it's a big city thing, but no one really does that around here and often trends do seem to come here late; this is missouri after all lol. But I think overall most of the population has yet to really grab onto this but I'm thinking it will happen at some point. I'm sure the early adopters of this sort of stuff will kinda cringe at that. Personally I like the idea of keeping things you love or experiences you've had with media in a nice list or chart, but that's very much my brain and usually my adhd makes it hard to really do that, which makes it seem even more special. I'm so jealous of people who do things carefully; everything I do, this post included, feels on a whim. But I don't have half-assed feelings about these things I do, I feel them intensely. Perhaps instead of online spaces that celebrate the careful logging of experiences, something new will arise that celebrates spur of the moment action.
Also, I've never had a sesame latte, or a sweet potato one, but they sound amazing on a day like today. It was 5 whole degrees this morning...):