Selected by our experts, delivered daily.

Spotify’s Culture Next report is here and it spotlights how youth across 16 countries are remixing culture. The three trends shaking up the soundscape?

👯 Blendships: music and podcasts are Gen Z's go-to for deeper connections

🎸 Playlist Diary: hyper-personalization gives Gen Z that main character energy

🎶 Mainstreaming: Gen Z is (re)embracing the mainstream. In fact, 80% of US Gen Z say niche and underground culture are going mainstream, with near-identical percentages in the UK (81%) and Australia (84%). By comparison, 74% of Gen Z labeled themselves as mainstream in 2023, up from 59% in 2021

Medical breakthroughs have extended lives, but the pace is slowing. In the 1990s, life expectancy in the longest-living countries grew by 2.5 years per decade. By the 2010s? Just 1.5 years. And even eliminating all deaths before age 50 would only add 1.5 years to the average lifespan, according to an October 2024 Nature Aging study. 📉

Despite billionaires chasing immortality, aging isn't slowing down. As public health expert S. Jay Olshansky puts it, "Bodies don’t operate well beyond their warranty period." Bad news for the 32% of Americans who want to live forever.

It's time to focus on health-span instead of living 120 years. Women, who outlive men but spend 25% more time in poor health, could especially benefit.

Forget pricey longevity retreats — how about free preventative bio-age testing or rewarding healthy living? 👵🌿

Recent events surrounding Hurricane Helene brought the issue of fake vs real imagery into sharp focus. Speaking to his Hard Fork co-host, journalist Casey Newton reported on the circulation of an AI-generated image of a frightened young girl on a boat holding a puppy. "Yeah, so a number of high-profile right-wing accounts have been sharing this stuff online. Utah Senator Mike Lee reposted the girl with the puppy on his personal X account, although he did later delete it. That same image was shared by Amy Kremer, who is a Republican National Committee — National Committeewoman, and a co-founder of Women for Trump."

"And Kevin, I thought this was interesting because after she was called out for posting this fake image, she said, quote, 'I don't know where this photo came from and honestly, it doesn't matter. It is seared into my mind forever. There are people going through much worse than what is shown in this pic. So I'm leaving it because it is emblematic of the trauma and pain people are living through right now.' So that's a pretty rich text, I would say, because what it's telling us is, we're now in a world where we share things not because they're true, but because they're emblematic of the way that we feel."

Valuing the emotional resonance of a photo over its factual accuracy isn't limited to news events. It's a notion that's increasingly encouraged by phones and other tools people use to capture and edit everyday, personal images. Pictures of their kids, their honeymoon, a picnic with friends. A few months back, Wired spoke to Isaac Reynolds, the group product manager for Google's Pixel Camera, about Pixel's new AI tools that allow people to entirely alter photos they've taken. 

Reynolds said, "It's about what you're remembering. When you define a memory as that there is a fallibility to it — you could have a true and perfect representation of a moment that felt completely fake and completely wrong. What some of these edits do is help you create the moment that is the way you remember it, that's authentic to your memory and to the greater context, but maybe isn't authentic to a particular millisecond."

As the lines between fake and real blur at accelerating speed, businesses and marketers face new challenges and opportunities. How will consumers' relationship with visual content evolve? What are the implications for brand authenticity in a world where "authentic" might mean "emotionally true" rather than "factually accurate"? Should we stop thinking of this as a problem to solve and start viewing it as a new reality to navigate?

According to Hilton’s 2025 Trends Report, 2025 is the year of the travel maximizer. With a third of people having already booked a trip and 67% prioritizing vacation budgets over other saving goals, global travelers want to make the most of every moment. Featuring insights from 13 countries, the report is a snapshot into what will fuel wanderlust in 2025:

1️⃣ THE GREAT OUTDOORS // 1 in 4 seek out unique experiences, with 20% chasing outdoor adventures ➡️ To mitigate the impact of light pollution on wildlife, Red Sea Global is the Middle East’s first certified Dark Sky Reserve.

2️⃣ SOUL SEARCHERS // Tired of Insta-perfect vacations, 22% embrace #SoftTravel for self-discovery and mental wellbeing ➡️ Set to open in Austin in 2026, Submersive is a 25,000-square-feet spa merging art, tech and wellness for a transformative escape.

3️⃣ FAMILY FLIGHTS // Family travel is soaring – 37% vacation with parents, 40% bring extended family, especially in India, Mexico and Saudi Arabia ➡️ The Grans Go Free campaign by EasyJet Holidays saw the company fly grandparents to sunny spots like Spain and Greece for free.

💡 Not a travel brand? Consider how expectations created by these travel trends can be translated into your industry.

The Vogue Business size inclusivity report reveals a worrying trend on the SS25 runways. Out of 8,763 looks presented across New York, London, Milan and Paris, a mere 0.8% were plus-size (US 14+), 4.3% mid-size (US 6-12), while a staggering 94.9% were straight-size (US 0-4). While a few champions of body diversity stand firm, notably Ester Manas (see photo) and Rick Owens in Paris, Bach Mai in New York and Karoline Vitto in London, many designers are reverting to the toxic 'ideal' of ultra-thin.

As the report highlights, "the body positivity movement has lost steam in mainstream culture as the pendulum has swung back to the glamorization of thinness, amid the rising use of Ozempic and the subsequent shrinking of celebrities and influencers." This trend is building pressure far beyond runways and celebs: 31% of Gen Z and 32% of Millennials in the US say simply knowing about GLP-1 drugs makes them feel pressured to lose weight.

💊 With weight-loss drugs like Ozempic becoming more accessible, brands need to ask themselves: do we truly want to abandon body acceptance? Beyond the moral imperative of protecting people's self-image and wellbeing, inclusive representation has the power to boost sales (by up to 16%).

The 2024 Global Wellbeing Report from Lululemon uncovered a wellness paradox: the relentless pursuit of wellbeing may be making people less well. While 89% of people across 15 countries are doing more to improve their wellbeing, the global wellbeing score is stuck at 66%. Why? The report flags three key pressure points:

1️⃣ Societal pressure: 61% think they need to appear well, even if they're not. The percentage jumps to 76% for Gen Z and 71% for Millennials. For many, that pressure leads to wellbeing burnout (45%), with the majority (63%) feeling powerless to improve their wellbeing

2️⃣ Advice overload: 53% say there's too much contradictory information on how to improve their wellbeing

3️⃣ Loneliness: 89% of those with wellbeing burnout say loneliness is a contributing factor

In 2025, it’s time to break the cycle. The authors of Lululemon's report suggest quieting the noise, inviting others to join the journey and doing what actually feels good.

Improving its service for deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers, Virgin Atlantic has become the first UK airline to offer British Sign Language (BSL) trained flight crew. The airline recently put its commitment to the test by inviting deaf Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley and deaf content creators Hermon and Heroda Berhane to experience the enhanced service on a flight from London to Washington, DC — and it promoted the initiative in a sign-language-only video.

Research by RNID, a UK charity supporting the 18 million people in the UK who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus, indicates 82% of deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals plan to travel in the coming year. Over half are worried about communicating with crew members. When flying with Virgin Atlantic, they can request a trained staff member who can use BSL to welcome passengers, assist with navigation, relay announcements and help with accessible in-flight entertainment. The airline is also working on increasing subtitled entertainment options and implementing on-demand BSL interpreters for customer service teams.

Virgin Atlantic isn't the first airline to get its cabin crew signing:
🇹🇷 In 2017, Turkey hosted the Deaflympics and Turkish Airlines introduced a six-day 'international hearing impairment language training' program
🇺🇸 In 2019, Delta debuted name tags identifying crew members who speak sign language
🇳🇿 In May 2024, Air New Zealand flew the world's first commercial flight where attendants communicated with passengers using New Zealand Sign Language
🇮🇳 In May 2024, Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet started adding attendants trained in sign language to select flights
🇸🇦 In June 2024, low-cost Saudi carrier Flynas announced it would be training cabin crew in sign language
 
🤟 Those corporate DEI efforts overlap with a growing interest in sign language among non-deaf individuals, fueled by interpreters captivating audiences during concerts and COVID-19 briefings, and by easily accessible tutorials on YouTube and TikTok (not all of which are accurate 🙄). That wider popularity is making it easier for brands across various sectors to engage workers in learning sign language, potentially leading to more inclusive workplaces, public spaces and service industries. 

NIVEA's survey of 8,000 people across eight countries (🇧🇷🇨🇳🇫🇷🇩🇪🇵🇭🇿🇦🇬🇧🇺🇸) reveals a stark reality: 1 in 4 people are grappling with isolation always or often, confirming the existence of a global loneliness epidemic.

😞 Ripple effects
Health repercussions: 53% report worsening mental health and 48% feel physically worse, with loneliness linked to a 29% higher risk of heart disease and a 32% higher risk of stroke.
Stubborn stigma: 58% feel helpless when seeking support and 40% feel shame about their sense of isolation. While 67% know where to find help, only 46% feel comfortable reaching out.
Empathy deficit: 81% think people today are just looking out for themselves. 58% of them feel alone even when they are around other people.

🌍 NIVEA's response
Since 86% of people are convinced loneliness is only getting worse, NIVEA just launched NIVEA CONNECT. The project's mission is to bridge the loneliness divide, dismantle the stigma and spark meaningful connections. By 2026, NIVEA CONNECT will be active in 40 countries, working with experts and local communities to drive lasting change.

✨ Your mission?
What shape is your brand's community in? Think about its purpose: does the community genuinely connect people over their shared interest or passion (for your brand, or for what it enables them to be or do)? Could you take it up a notch by partnering with local organizations and health professionals to tackle the loneliness epidemic head on?

A recent survey by Innofact for Miele shows that 70% of German consumers see the circularity of domestic appliances as crucial for the future of our environment and society. And not just as a collective concern: 60% say it matters to them personally. Let’s zoom in:

🔄 Recycled and refurbished: 73% trust the durability of domestic appliances containing recycled materials or refurbished components (65%)

💡 USPs that matter: When it comes to purchasing decisions, price (79%), durability (76%) and energy efficiency (71%) top the list

♻️ Eco-motivation: The top drivers behind circular practices are to reduce waste and conserve resources, both at 89%

🛑 Circularity hurdles: 62% worry about quality defects, and 58% think the product range is too limited

🔧 DIY repairability: 70% of respondents want the ability to repair domestic appliances themselves to save time and money

With eco-concerns rising and the right to repair spreading across product categories, it’s time for brands to adopt a 360° approach to circularity: 

Design phase
Are your products built for disassembly and longevity? Think Miele’s vacuum cleaners embracing the cradle-to-cradle model or Somer’s modular, future-proof kitchens.

Use phase
Whether offering after-care services or empowering DIY repairs, how are you helping consumers extend the life of goods they own? Take inspiration from London’s Fixing Factories, a community hub for free repairs and skills, or Yelp’s AI chatbot, bridging the gap between consumers and repair pros.

As artificial intelligence weaves its way into daily life, Chinese kids are embracing the technology through a somewhat unexpected medium: smart watches. The "Youth Blue Book: Report on Internet Use of Chinese Minors 2024," published by the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reveals that over 45% of minors surveyed have used an AI-powered product at least once. In cities, 20.5% of minors reported using AI-enabled devices, compared to 8.1% in rural areas.

As reported by Sixth Tone, the surge in AI-enabled wearables for children comes in the wake of government crackdowns on screen time for minors. Phone bans in Chinese schools are driving parents towards smart watches, particularly those by the brand Xiaotiancai, or "Little Genius." Besides allowing parents to contact kids and track their location, vital signs and emotional state, the devices feature native AI apps like one that turns text prompts into drawings, and a game that uses chatbots for interacting with characters.

The trend mirrors global developments in AI-integrated wearables, including Meta's continued push into smart glasses (worth a watch: this interview with Mark Zuckerberg by The Verge). As experiments with dedicated AI hardware proliferate worldwide, China's experience with smart watches for kids could offer valuable insights into how younger generations might adopt and interact with artificial intelligence.

The latest State of Dating Report from The Kinsey Institute's Dr. Justin Lehmiller and Feeld dives into the intimate thoughts of 3,310 members of Feeld, a location-based dating platform active in 71 countries. The results? Dating norms seem to have flipped: 81% of Gen Z fantasize about monogamy, while Boomers dream of joining a polycule. In fact, 75-80% of older generations fantasize about open relationships... 🔄

Despite Gen Z romanticizing the simplicity of old-school relationships, they're also breaking barriers with the most expansive views on gender and sexuality ever 🌈 As norms continue to evolve, how can you help people explore relationships in fresh ways? From senior sexperts shattering sexual stigmas to singles walls for those suffering from app fatigue, there's plenty of room to innovate and cater to everyone's dating fantasies.

While doing so, keep in mind what Dr. Kinsey articulated back in 1948: "The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats, and not all things are black nor all things white. It is a fundamental of taxonomy that nature rarely deals with discrete categories. Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeon-holes. The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects.”

Bain's The Visionary CEO's Guide to Sustainability 2024 is here, revealing consumer insights across 10 countries (🇺🇸🇬🇧🇳🇱🇩🇪🇫🇷🇮🇹🇯🇵🇧🇷🇨🇳🇮🇩). Here are our top five stats:

• 💸 27% believe living sustainably would cost them less, from 17% in the UK and Germany to 52% (!) in Indonesia.
• 🌱 61% say climate change worries have grown over the past two years, especially in climate-vulnerable countries like Brazil (78%), Indonesia (73%) and Italy (70%).
• 🔥 40% say experiencing environmental disasters (like floods or wildfires) is their top motivator for buying sustainable products.
• 💪 76% believe a sustainable lifestyle is important because their actions matter.
• ♻️ 60% care about packaging's environmental impact, with 48% demanding recyclable and 40% pushing for reusable packaging.

The disparity between 52% of Indonesians thinking sustainable living could save them money — compared to just 17% in wealthier nations like the UK and Germany — presents an opportunity for brands marketing to consumers in the Global North. How could you flip the script and turn eco-conscious choices into a way to save money?

Gen Z: lazy or redefining productivity? We’ve asked it before and Samsung’s new survey, The 2024 AI-Preneur Effect, digs in, too. Gen Z isn’t lounging on the couch — they're hustling! Based on insights from 7,000+ Gen Z across France, Germany, Korea, the UK and the US, Samsung reveals how this generation is using AI to boost productivity and chase their side-hustle dreams.

Here's the scoop, directly tied to three key trend opportunities:

🚨 NEW LABOR // Ready to fully embrace Gen Z’s work mode?

49% of full-time Gen Zers say their jobs fall short of expectations. Plus, 87% globally struggle with full-time work issues like inflexibility (60%) and job insecurity (58%). Amazon, are you listening? 😉

💼 SIDE HUSTLE HEROES // How can you help them unleash their inner entrepreneur?

65% of Gen Z value a steady paycheck and benefits, followed by career growth (44%), learning new skills (35%) and the chance to follow their passions (35%). No surprise, 73% dream of starting their own side hustle.

🤖 M.E.O. // Which AI tools could you launch to support the one-person CEOs of tomorrow?

73% of Gen Z side hustlers (think personal trainers, content creators, artists) are already using AI to supercharge their gigs, with 69% calling AI their go-to work resource. But with 67% of aspiring hustlers unsure how to tackle certain tasks, there’s room to offer tools to help them thrive.

A survey from Finnish mobile phone manufacturer HMD of 10,000 parents in the UK, US, India, Germany and Australia finds that 54% regret giving their kids smartphones because:

• 70% believe their own smartphone-free childhoods led to better family time
• 75% fear smartphones expose their kids to internet dangers, with over half admitting they don’t know what their children are doing online
• In their kids, they observe negative impacts on sleep (64%), physical inactivity (61%) and reduced time socializing with friends (54%)
• Nearly half report changes in their child's personality due to phone use

📵 The new school year has reignited the debate over smartphone bans. Parents and educators are concerned about the impact of screen time on youth, citing mental health concerns, cyberbullying worries and declining attention spans. Schools across the US and Europe are already experimenting with bans.

Beyond classrooms, how can brands help parents curb Gen Alpha’s screen time? Stricter social media age limits (set to be imposed in Australia) and pushing dumbphones (as EE is doing in the UK) won’t cut it. Instead of blaming parents for using YouTube as a digital babysitter, brands could offer better tools for keeping kids engaged and entertained.

Companies scaling back their diversity and inclusion efforts in marketing may want to reconsider. A global study conducted by the Unstereotype Alliance and researchers from Oxford University's Saïd Business School has empirically proven that inclusive advertising — which it defines as "content which authentically and positively portrays a full range of people and is devoid of stereotypes," has a significant positive impact on business performance across multiple metrics.

The study, which analyzed 392 brands in 58 countries, found that inclusive ad campaigns deliver 3.5% higher short-term sales and 16% higher longer-term sales compared to non-inclusive campaigns. They also result in a 62% higher likelihood of the brand or product being a consumer's first choice and 15% higher customer loyalty. Crucially, these benefits extend into the long term, with inclusive advertising contributing to stronger brand reputation and higher brand value over time.

Using proprietary data provided by Unstereotype Alliance members Bayer Consumer Healthcare, Diageo, the Geena Davis Institute, Kantar, Mars Incorporated, Mondelez International and Unilever, the research covers diverse product categories, including confectionery, personal care, alcohol and household products. It represents the first comprehensive, data-driven challenge to the notion that inclusive advertising could negatively impact business performance — an argument that's been used to resist or dial down inclusive marketing despite a lack of evidence.