The META Trending Trends: 2023
Analysis of 50+ Global Forecasts → 16 Most Reported Social Shifts
A Prologue —
It’s the 60s.
Amidst a backdrop of psychedelic tripping — voluntary and involuntary — the Vietnam War, moon landing, nuke preparations, and JFK assassination rip a hole through our collective reality.
What is even real?
Then comes Manson, dialing it all to 11.
Reality is too strange to be this real.
There must be order behind it all.
Conspiracy. Explanation. Reason.
In the wake of these events, “Discordianism” emerges: a pseudo-religion, mocking the rest of them. It declares that chaos and disharmony are essential to our reality, just as other religions claim harmony and order to be.
Its founders reason: instead of organization, the foundation of our reality is strife, chaos and discord. It’s simply better to embrace this confusion than to fight it. Years later, its descendants invent the Illuminati, parodying conspiracy and disorienting all further.
Cut to Kek & Trump. Brexit. Epstein. COVID-19. January 6th.
Disorientation is now our norm – we’re chronically dazed, drowning in unpredictability. For many, fictional explanations were (and remain) more believable than truth itself.
Reality is too strange to be this real.
More recently, headlines covering contested elections, NFTs, and a metaverse were replaced by those covering shadow-bans, verification checks, and generative AI. Yet the question remains:
What is even real?
Featured on 60 Minutes this past year, the Birds Aren’t Real movement crystallized peak-conspiracy and Gen Z’s Discordian, ironic clap-back. As I write this, #corecore is the meme of the moment — a montage of clashing clips commenting on the absurdism and chaos of our time.
Meanwhile, Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal struck a nerve. Distorted reality is now packaged and served back as entertainment.
From college admissions, lavish lifestyles, and startup funding, to chess champs, crypto execs and political resumes, the age of the sly grifter is now one of the blatant bullshitter.
Colorado decriminalized psilocybin, and Merriam Webster Dictionary named “Gaslight” 2022’s word of the year.
Truth is a mirage.
In response to a ubiquity of falsehoods, we grasp for answers: mysticism, UFOs, conspiracies. Seemingly stretches, but explanations nonetheless. Call it cultural control.
As professional thinkers, it’s easy to look down on culture and snicker at QAnon believers.
But we’re lost in this chaos too.
Pursuing answers along with the rest, we obsess over another compass: trends.
Friend, we’re all conspirators.
Trends are our patterns. Our Explanations. Our order and organization amidst chaos.
We’re each theorists with red string. Navigators looking to the stars, spinning narratives via spotted constellations — desperate to make sense of our increasingly complex and unpredictable world.
This rampant paranoia results in reported micro-trend nothings: empty -cores, “vibe shifts,” and aesthetics that dominate our discourse. But it’s just self-reassuring signal and sense amidst a hallucinated reality.
When there’s a disturbing REVERSAL of social progress (from the rise of antisemitism, to the overturn of Roe v. Wade), of course we’ll dream of progress — no matter how inconsequential it may be. Pop another In/Out list. It’s junk food change.
Stuck in a spin cycle of nauseating nostalgia, our desperation for forwardness is laughable. No. Literally. It’s now a joke. This past year, SNL’s Aidy Bryant and Bowen Yang played trend forecasters. This wasn’t a one off, peripheral, 10-to-1 absurdist sketch. This was the pinnacle of mainstream mockery: a recurring bit on cable TV’s Weekend Update.
A viral folder of collected industry trend reports is a signal in itself. Catching them all is now a feat. Over the last five years, the number of published trend reports has roughly tripled. But this year, LESS THAN HALF of published trend reports include a methodology. And only two reports of 50 had the rigor to look backwards and reflect upon what they shared a year earlier.
As turmoil is torqued up, so too will the presence of trends.
And to author a preferred future, we first need to understand our current, chaotic moment.
So... we need to do this right. And there is a right way.
To conduct cultural analysis correctly (accurately and ethically) we need many things: a coherent and consistent methodology, quantitative rigor, a diversity of input and collaboration, iteration (learning from past findings), a removal of organizational and personal bias or agendas, reflection, risk, realism, a curiosity about the fringe and overlooked, and a vision of a preferred future.
This field and these reports are upstream of significant innovation and budget. If it weren’t the case, why would so many organizations author them, or so many people read and share them?
Mindfulness is paramount. These reports are self-fulfilling prophecies. We report on trends that already exist, and create a future centering these trends.
This cycle explains the minimal deviation of reported trends over the last five years.
Cultural analysis is an ouroboros — a snake eating its own tail. We make culture as much as we study it. Several 2023 trend reports feature my writing as their support. This report — an analysis of existing reports — will also inform thinking. That’s just how culture works.
To hedge against the risk of repetition, stagnation and crap reporting, we require two more ingredients: accountability and imagination.
When 100 organizations claim to be the authority on what’s next — yet only pump hype further, inject ads of their services, and cluelessly report the same observations from five years earlier — self and public accountability is required.
These are competing voices hoping to shape their future. Is “theirs” the one we want? Or does theirs even have a vision? We don’t have to listen nor act upon a forecast if we don’t want to.
Which brings us to the second need: imagination.
Is this narrative just another comforting illusion amidst what’s really in front of us: just more chaos? I hope not. But...
Accepting chaos does not mean forfeiting control.
Tolerate not knowing what’s hidden around the corner, and work towards imagining what we want to see there.
We often forget that we maintain control over our systems and culture.
Nothing is fixed.
“Manifesting” is in fact possible.
Instead of using reports as the answer key, we can scrutinize them as input when drafting our own blueprints.
In the face of overwhelming Discordianism, “Meliorism” is our antidote: in between optimism and pessimism, it declares that our world can only improve with human effort.
So instead of reporting what’s already trending, how about we interrogate it? Or better yet, instead of predicting things we don’t even want — and considering it predetermined — we author stories and strategies for what we want the future to hold?
We’re at the wheel.
And if anyone’s to push us out from the rut and steer us in a more equitable, sustainable, diverse, mindful and exciting future, it’s you.
Q: WTF are META Trends?
A: META Trends are a distillation of the industry’s reported trends — an annual meta-analysis of 50+ global cultural forecasts.
This META report is a reflection on the most frequently reported trends, and commentary on the practice of trend forecasting itself.
My intent from the first 2017 META Report was that we can leverage reliability (all available reports) as a proxy for trend accuracy.
But over the years I’ve found significant systemic flaws in the reports — bias, lack of methods, etc. “Accuracy” has an asterisk.
While META Trends still provide value by helping us understand the collective’s outlook (with a ~3yr horizon), META Trends must not be considered the final product, but the beginning.
The edges are the sharpest, and the fringes are the future.
So... Three ways to approach The META Trends Reports:
Consider all that’s reported as table stakes – catch up
Interrogate what’s presented — consider all other angles
Use this report as a filter — consider what’s not discussed
Your Invitation
Reach out for a collab, presentation, bespoke mapping or press
Connect with NWO.ai to learn about their cultural intel platform
Share this report with credit — let’s increase cultural fluency
META Methodology
Read 50+ 2023 global reports and parsed 550+ trends in Excel 1
Analyzed each trend description and color-coordinated themes
ID’d 16 META Trends (i.e. the largest themes, trending trends)
Designated ~10x words/phrases to rep each of the 16 META Trends
Used NWO.ai to score each collection of keywords for a rank 2
“Corp Rank” = published reports’ trend mention frequency vs.
“AI Rank” = NWO.ai’s proprietary “Impact Score” for keywords
Applied The Overlooked Framework to interrogate each META Trend
Input META Trend write-ups into DALL·E for impressionist visuals
Our Intro
“Life is like a big roller coaster. Sometimes it's peaceful and calm, but sometimes it can get really wild and crazy. Right now, it feels like it's been wild and crazy for a while. People are trying to find ways to feel like they are in control and make things better. Technology is giving us lots of ways to take back control and make us feel like we can handle things. It lets people help shape the world around them and get more out of the things they love. Things may look different after a big change, and sometimes it's hard to know what to do during these crazy times, but people are finding new ways to do things and make things better.”
— OpenAI summarizing thousands of words of report prologues “to a 5-year-old,” and then their art generated by DALL·E using the exact text as input
The 16 2023 META Trends
01. Gamed Defictionalization 🎮
Hype around play, experimentation and a ground zero, fuel virtual blurs
Corp Rank: 1/16 3
AI Rank: 11/16
Keywords: gaming, metaverse, phygital, AR, VR, fantasy, avatars
Drivers: time online, metawashing, escapism, (lack of) innovation
What If: The metaverse could just be our more playful internet?
BUT What If: Hollow PR stunts deplete real innovation budgets?
To Play: Make virtual real, and real virtual for joy, not work
Human Needs: exploration, play, curiosity
+ Related Dive: Beyond VR & The Metaverse
02. Me-Maxxxing 🎉
Anti-perfectionistic, feral individualism is our hedonistic self-care
Corp Rank: 2/16 4
AI Rank: 14/16
Keywords: maximalism, me, kidulting, sleaze, goblin, rave, slob
Drivers: faced mortality, exhaustion, trauma, DGAF-ism, neartermism
What If: We normalized quirks and all forms of healthy self-care?
BUT What If: Radical individualism undermines collective progress?
To Play: Drop charades — embrace burnout and uniqueness to heal
Human Needs: freedom, relaxation, catharsis
+ Related Dive: Nihilistic Hedonism
03. Active Advocacy 🌎
Athletes’ voices dethrone celebs’ as accessibility and age advocacy loudens
Corp Rank: 3/16 5
AI Rank: 12/16
Keywords: sport, punk, under-rep, include, Gen Z politics, ability
Drivers: impatience, anti-instituion, Gen Z, inequality, posturing
What If: We validate and remember that doing good is good business?
BUT What If: We don’t have something to be angry over anymore?
Human Needs: service, fairness, civility
To Play: Keep moving and handing “it” over
+ Related Dive: Retirement Crisis
04. One of Us 🔗
Alone and over the mainstream, niche and tight communities flourish
Corp Rank: 4/16 6
AI Rank: 10/16
Keywords: community, we, fix, long tail, P2P, collectivism, margins
Drivers: desires for progress, anti-institution, a friend recession
What If: Scaled sense of belonging heals our mental health crisis?
BUT What If: Communities only further cement in-group mentalities?
To Play: Pivot: “Community Management,” to “Community Participant”
Human Needs: camaraderie, intimacy, social contact
+ Related Dive: The Future Distributed Trust
05. AI Plural Perception 🤖
Creativity and humanism are put into question as AI raises and lowers bars
Corp Rank: 11/16 7
AI Rank: 1/16
Keywords: Open-AI, GPT4, deep fake, DALL·E, Midjourney, generative
Drivers: innovation, curiosity, accessibility, laziness, low costs
What If: We get a renaissance, surpassing old techniques and ideas?
BUT What If: We mindlessly go too fast, or become overly reliant?
Human Needs: power, evolution, novelty
To Play: Use AI to give us q’s not a’s, double down on human magic
+ Related Dive: This piece
06. Health Care 🫁
The one thing we can control is our physical health... so we sweat… hard
Corp Rank: 15/16 8
AI Rank: 2/16
Keywords: sport, active, fitness tech, gym, diet, cold bath, class
Drivers: pandemic mortality and habits, control, status seeking
What If: We can foster body-positivity and work to be healthy too?
AND What If: We don’t give up on addressing obesity or one another?
Human Needs: energy, prosperity, achievement
To Play: Promote various pursuits to health — there is no one path
+ Related Dive: Old-Phobia
07. Psychic Healing 🍄
Seeking answers and control, we look to our ancestors’ resolutions
Corp Rank: 14/16 9
AI Rank: 3/16
Keywords: grief, trauma, astro, spirit, moon, nature, manifest
Drivers: decline in institutions, bottomless-wellness, permacrisis
What If: De-stigmatized “fringe” practices offer benefit?
BUT What If: The real, self-reflective work never gets done?
To Play: Offer stabilization, don’t push McMindfulness, slow down
Human Needs: spirituality, competence, assistance
+ Related Dive: Paranormal As Cultural Control + Modern Religions
08. Spatial & Temporal Distortion 🌀
At home, space and time blur, rituals are wrecked, and culture skips async
Corp Rank: 8/16 10
AI Rank: 4/16
Keywords: flex, habit, routine, circadian, work, boundary, schedule
Drivers: WFH and remote life, lost in life online, content overload
What If: We only had to slow down to regain our bearings?
OR What If: The scariest moment, March ‘20, is the time to revisit?
To Play: Sync with live and celebrate nature (our OG metronome)
Human Needs: order, routine, equanimity
+ Related Dive: Will Smith, Cultural Synchrony & A Climate Crisis
09. Green to Black ♻️
Disenchanted, eco efforts are seen as both empty and complex — *shrug*
Corp Rank: 5/16 11
AI Rank: 5/16
Keywords: lethargy, quietism, greenwash, PR, transparent, guerrilla
Drivers: capitalism, critics, no sacrifice or progress, optimism
What If: Relentlessly bullying brands to bully government works?
BUT What If: Ecoterrorism comes next?
Human Needs: progress, peace of mind, leadership
To Play: Remember money is the greatest lever of change (both ways)
+ Related Dive: Degrowth Economics
10. Pigs & Piggy Banks 🐷
Prophesied economic hardship ushers in a mood frugality and austerity
Corp Rank: 6/16 12
AI Rank: 8/16
Keywords: DIY, pre-own, rent, repair, sub, co-live, open salary
Drivers: interest rates, recession, inflate, hustle survival, debt
What If: Financial literacy and savings were timeless practices?
AND What If: “Eat the rich” satire drives stagnation, pacifying us?
To Play: Prevent a creator crash and realize degrowth is required
Human Needs: independence, ownership, status
+ Related Dive: The Creator Paradox + Fractional Work
11. Doomerism 🔥
Permacrisis collapse triggers sobering nihilism and overwhelming anxiety
Corp Rank: 7/16 13
AI Rank: 6/16
Keywords: disaster, climate, growth, prep, trust, extinction, heal
Drivers: political stagnation, climate, inequality, mortality
What If: Collective complaint de-motivates those with solutions?
BUT What If: Meliorism infects, spreading hopepunk and action?
Human Needs: control, expectation, faith
To Play: Stop fueling anxiety, inspire and work toward alternatives
+ Related Dive: Memento Mori
12. Nostalgia Spins ⏳
The eternal spin cycle of nostalgia throws up Y2K… and any time but now
Corp Rank: 12/16 14
AI Rank: 9/16
Keywords: reboot, glitter, romcom, digital cam, normie, revisit
Drivers: escape, comfort, algorithmic repetition, unoriginality
What If: We stare too long in the rearview mirror and crash?
BUT What If: We dared to acknowledge and embrace this moment?
To Play: Quit regurgitating, iterate upon the past to grow
Human Needs: familiarity, idealism, warmth
+ Related Dive: Future's Nostalgia + The Creator Paradox
13. No Lo Alc 🧃
Drunk on functionality, sober curiosity forces an evolution of served vibes
Corp Rank: 16/16 15
AI Rank: 7/16
Keywords: elixer, tonic, CBD, mock, proxy, NA, 0 proof, hangxiety
Drivers: wellness, no time or friends, cost, digital footprints
What If: We look back on alcohol the same way we do on smoking?
AND What If: There are healthier ways to create feel-good vibes?
Human Needs: relief, clarity, virtue
To Play: Offer joyful remedy and minimize downside and regret
+ Related Dive: Vibe Dosing
14. Localism 🏠
Tethering and cocooning soothes souls, so we plant our roots for place
Corp Rank: 9/16 16
AI Rank: 15/16
Keywords: neighbor, 3rd place, staycation, region, garden, train
Drivers: lockdown habits, cut travel budgets, anxiety and comfort
What If: We cared about our neighbors as much as those online?
BUT What If: We hide in our nest under cozy covers for too long?
Human Needs: refuge, affinity, hospitality
To Play: Kindle social warmth inside and outside the home
+ Related Dive: Low Sodium & Gentle Gaming
15. Pink & Grey, No Blue 💄
At tension, both gender fluidity and feminism flourish, while men remain lost
Corp Rank: 10/16 17
AI Rank: 13/16
Keywords: agender, ID, sex, Roe, subvert, chad, barbie, sigma, trad
Drivers: cultural evolution / comfort, Gen Z, brand plays, toxicity
What If: We killed store sections and used character as a label?
BUT What If: Some men stay aimless, further radicalized?
To Play: Elevate sound male figures, disrupt tropes, and be nice
Human Needs: individuality, expression, acceptance
+ Related Dive: Beauty Memes, Role Reversals & Self-Care
16. Dihydrogen Monoxide 💦
Environmentalism makes us reckon with a great threat and opp: our water
Corp Rank: 13/16 18
AI Rank: 16/16
Keywords: underwater, rain, drought, sea moss/weed, algae, bath
Drivers: sustainability, innovation, scarcity, ingredient play
What If: It gets so bad, clean water becomes a luxury signal?
OR What If: We learn more about Earth from below, than above?
Human Needs: adventure, abundance, cleanliness
To Play: Don’t look far for problems or answers — it’s all here
+ Related Dive: Natural Awe
About the author:
Matt Klein is a cultural theorist and strategist. He advises brands, investors, the press and philanthropies on how to strategize around social change. Unrelated to the META Trend Report and ZINE, he is currently the Head of Global Foresight at Reddit.
Complete META Trends Series: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022
Related Pieces: 5 Year & 7 Year Reflection & META FAQs
NWO.ai Experiment Series: Quantifying, Spotting New, De-Biasing
This piece is an educational review and does not infringe upon any copyright material as covered by Fair Use, Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107.
Analyzed Reports: We Are Social, Canvas8 Outlook, Day One Agency, Pinterest, Accenture Song, Well + Good, Catawiki, Mintel, Oxford , OMD Signals, Bullish, Trend Watching, WEF, BOF McKinsey, Wunderman Thompson, Snaxshot, MindBodyGreen, Adobe, Frog, Instagram, Nourish, VICE Fashion, 99Designs, WGSN, Bacardi, Deloitte Tech, Bompass & Parr, NEXTATLAS, Bompass & Parr Food, Mintel Food & Drink, Bumble, MTM, Klarna, a16z, Economist, HBR, Canva, Trend Hunter, Forerunner Ventures, Booking .com, Creative Blow, Wavemaker, Webby Awards, Foresight Factory, GWI, Dentsu, TikTok, Ogilvy, Ford
NWO.ai’s proprietary “Impact Score,” which was used for our “AI Ranking,” calculates global signal volume, volume change, sentiment, search interest, source reach and diversity, etc. across news publications, social media, patents, academia, lyrics and even sci-fi film scripts
Gamed Defictionalization:
Games Everywhere — Dentsu
Mindful Gaming — WGSN
Games as Theater — a16z
Games Supplant Social Networks — a16z
Queer Gaming — MTM
Gaming, Not Metaverse — Wavemaker
Branded Game — Trend Hunter
Metaverse Reality Check — The Economist
Metaphysical — Trend Watching
Metaverse Fashion — Trend Hunter
The Metaverse Goes Fashion Forward — a16z
Meta Dress — Canvas8
Metatravel — Wunderman Thompson
The Meta-Physical Flex — Stylus
Virtual Nurturers — Wunderman Thompson
Virtual Experimentation — Bacardi
Virtual Voyagers — Booking
Ethical Escapism — Stylus
Experiential Escapism — Adobe
Escape Through Fantasy — Canvas8 Outlook
Extra Experiential — Canvas8
You, Me & My Avatar in Web3 — GWI
Identity Freedom — Canvas8 Outlook
Digital Identities — Wunderman Thompson
Everyday AR — WGSN
VR Health Care — Well+Good
Streaming Districts — Bompas & Parr
Ultra-Personalised Fun — Bompas & Parr
Criss-Cross Culture — Canvas8
Nature-Tech — Canvas8
Trend-Space Continuum — Canvas8
Recognizable World — Instagram
"Try It On" Commerce — Wavemaker
Always Shopping — Dentsu
Connected Park — Trend Hunter
For You — Trend Watching
Expanding Identities — We Are Social
Through the Glass — Deloitte Tech
Regaining Agency Online — Canvas8 Outlook
Alpha Development — Canvas8 Outlook
New Online Communications — Canvas8 Outlook
New Realities — Wunderman Thompson
Me-Maxxxing:
Goblin Mode — Oxford Dictionary
Imagining Joy — Canvas8 Outlook
Making Space for Joy — TikTok
Slobwear — VICE
Rave — Instagram
Rave Resurgence — Trend Hunter
All the Raves — Pinterest
Anti-Aesthetic Authenticity — Canvas8
Chaotic Wellness — Canvas8
Hot Mess — Canvas8
Pastel Maximalism — Canva
Maximalist Style — Catawiki
Unapologetic Expression — Bullish
Unapologetically Me — Foresight Factory
Me Mentality — Mintel
New Year, Old Me — MTM
Now or Never — Foresight Factory
Freedonism — Trend Watching
New Freedom — Creative Bloq
Elevated Expressionism — Wunderman Thompson
Expressive Beauty — Instagram
Pleasure Revolution — Bacardi
Formalwear Reinvented — BOF x Mckinsey
What Does Heaven Look Like Anyway — Bompas & Parr
Beyond Normal — Catawiki
Gemini Hair — Pinterest
Fringe with Benefits — Pinterest
New Rot-Times — Snaxshot
Garbage Pail Kids — Snaxshot
Gross-eries — Snaxshot
Hedonism As Escape — Canvas8 Outlook
Contradicting Luxury — Canvas8 Outlook
Everything "Sleaze" — VICE
Viva Magenta — VICE
Kidcore — Adobe
Brightly Colored Blooms — MindBodyGreen
Bold Cosmetics — Trend Hunter
Light Relief — Foresight Factory
Affirmational Beauty — Wunderman Thompson
Active Advocacy:
Gen Z Politicians — Instagram
Female Football Icons — MTM
Fever Pitch — Canvas8
Sports Inclusion — Trend Hunter
Sports Reframed — Catawiki
Ageless Play — Wunderman Thompson
Unretirement — Wunderman Thompson
Disability Advocacy — Instagram
Disability Wellness — Trend Hunter
Accessible Commerce — Wunderman Thompson
Accessible Micromobility — Trend Hunter
Techcessibility — Wunderman Thompson
DEI Forward — HBR
DEI Revamped — Trend Hunter
All-Abilities Brandscapes — Stylus
Amplifying Diverse Creators — Wunderman Thompson
Foundational Diversity — Creative Bloq
Diversify and Decolonise — Foresight Factory
Taking a Strand — Ford
Power Up — Canvas8
Counter Culture — Klarna
Punk Revival — 99Designs
Real-World Allies — Canvas8
Impact Influencers — Canvas8
New Age Activism — Forerunner Ventures
Actionable Entertainment — TikTok
New Heroes, More Narratives — Catawiki
Independent Tastemakers — Catawiki
Anti-Establishment Design Revival — Canva
Mass Inclusive Brands — Wunderman Thompson
Equity Benefits — Wunderman Thompson
Brand Being — Trend Watching
Responsiblity — Dentsu
Shifting Values — Webby Awards
One of Us:
Communities— Wavemaker
Community Orientation — Canvas8 Outlook
Community-Built Ideals — TikTok
Community-Based Beauty — MindBodyGreen
Community Hubs — Bacardi
The Need for Community — Forerunner Ventures
Power to the People — Mintel
Power to the People — Trend Watching
Power of Us — Bullish
Peer Power — Foresight Factory
Mega Niche — Canvas8
Never Niche Enough — Webby Awards
Margin Chasers — We Are Social
Decentralized Discourse – Frog
From Decentralization To Frictionless Interoperability — NEXTATLAST
DeSo (Decentralised Social Media) — WGSN
In Us We Trust — Deloitte Tech
Anti-Anti-Establishment — Canvas8 Outlook
New Cooperatives — We Are Social
I'm A Believer — Accenture Song
Mental Health Communities — MTM
Oversaturation of Content — Bompas & Parr
The End of Millennial — Bompas & Parr
Genuine Connection — Bullish
Food Without Borders — Nourish
Horizontal Knowledge — Canvas8 Outlook
Taking Action — Instagram
Unified Bar — Trend Hunter
Gaming Support — Trend Hunter
Feel-Good Feeds — Wunderman Thompson
Joyning — Trend Watching
AI Plural Perception:
AI-nxiety — Day One Agency
AI Bias — HBR
AI Design — Creative Bloq
AI Influence Becoming Real — Ogilvy
Generative AI — Wavemaker
Creative AI – Frog
Opening Up to AI — Deloitte Tech
Aided by AI — Trend Watching
Mainstream AI Adoption — a16z
Virtual Influencers — Instagram
Synthetic Influencer — Adobe
GPT Unlocks Credit Counseling — a16z
Production-Ready Generative AI for Every Type of Game Asset — a16z
OK, Creativity — Accenture Song
Responsive Dinners — Bombas & Parr Food
Robots, AI, and Connected Kitchens — Nourish
Technology Driven Art — Catawiki
Health Care:
Self-Optimization — Bullish
Aprés Sports — Snaxshot
Influencing Better Health & Wellness — Ogilvy
Health Anxiety — Bullish
IRL Fitness — Well+Good
Mobility Training — Well+Good
Tracking Inactivity — MindBodyGreen
Primal Movement — Pinterest
Fantasy Fitness — WGSN
Wellness Guilds — Wunderman Thompson
Joy Workouts — Wunderman Thompson
Hospital-ity — Wunderman Thompson
Get Well Boom — Day One Agency
Psychic Healing:
Ethereal Treasures — Catawiki
Cosmic Comforts — Mintel Food & Drink
Astrology & Spirituality — Adobe
Moon & Stars Wellness — Well+Good
Stars Aligned — Instagram
Intergalactic Luxe — Wunderman Thompson
Spiritual Snax — Snaxshot
DTC: Direct to Communion — Snaxshot
Mysticism — 99Designs
Psychic Waves — Adobe
Manifestation Obsession — Canvas8 Outlook
Cross-Cultural Revivals — Stylus
Mush-rooms — Pinterest
Modern Nature — Canva
Spatial & Temporal Distortion:
The Daily Shift — Bompas & Parr
The Bank of Time — Bompas & Parr
Sloppy Eats — Canvas8
Work-Life Rethink — Canvas8
Choice is Future of Work — Forerunner Ventures
Non-Linear Work — Wunderman Thompson
Balance — Bumble
Circadian Cocktails — Bacardi
Circadian Health Homes — MindBodyGreen
Circadian Skincare — Wunderman Thompson
Good Eats, Better Sleeps — Nourish
Sleep Health — MindBodyGreen
Elite Sleep — Wunderman Thompson
Revolutionary Rest — Wunderman Thompson
Decentralized Living — Bullish
Ritualistic Apps — Wunderman Thompson
TV Moments — Wavemaker
Everyday Celebration — Foresight Factory
As I Was — Accenture Song
Transformational Tastes — Bacardi
Super-Commuters — Wunderman Thompson
Hybrid Flex — HBR
Green to Black:
Value Fatigue — Canvas8 Outlook
Buy Now, Save the Planet Later — GWI
Tackling Greenwashing — BOF x McKinsey
Sustainability Lies — OMD
Climate Action Hiatus — WEF
DIY Fashion — Instagram
DIY Beauty — Well+Good
Climate Optimism — Wunderman Thompson
Optimistic Climate Crisis — Well+Good
Climate-Positive Initiative — Trend Hunter
Climate Silver Lining — The Economist
Ethical Indulgence — Canvas8 Outlook
Earth as Stakeholder — Wunderman Thompson
Eco Banking — Trend Hunter
Eco Air Travel — Trend Hunter
Unconsumed — Trend Watching
Futureproof Process — Canvas8
Triple-C Transparency — Bullish
Cost of Living as Sustainability Catalyst — Wavemaker
Tablestakes Sustainability — Forerunner Ventures
Affordable Vegan — Trend Hunter
Conscious Cocktails — Bacardi
Garbage Gourmand — Snaxshot
Post-Vegan Adventures — Bombas & Parr Food
The Rise of Reducatarianism — Nourish
Glass Box Brands — Trend Watching
Re-Conomy — Day One Agency
Pigs & Piggy Banks:
Cost of Loving Crisis — MTM
Cost-of-Living — WEF
Financial Renaissance — Instagram
Financial Literacy — Instagram
Recessions Loom — The Economist
Two-Track Spending — BOF x McKinsey
Alternative Investments — Catawiki
Frugal & Thrifty — Instagram
Financial Renaissance — Instagram
Financial Literacy — Instagram
Side Hustle — Instagram
Major Mini Moments — Canvas8
Money Less Taboo Topic — Bumble
Creator Inc. — Trend Watching
Creator Autonomy — Bullish
Live a Little — GWI
Intentional Spending — Mintel
Money Matters — Forerunner Ventures
Gen Z Investing — Trend Hunter
Solace as Service — Trend Watching
Conscious Commerce — OMD
Hipstoric Home — Pinterest
Cha-ching Challenge — Pinterest
Heirloom Pieces — Catawiki
Saving to Splurge — Booking
Conscious Consumerism — MTM
Crisis Retail — Wunderman Thompson
Mending Goes Mainstream — Wunderman Thompson
Doomerism:
I Will Survive — Accenture Song
New Age of Anxiety — Wavemaker
Global Fragility — BOF x Mckinsey
Facing Our Fears — Ford
Now Processing — Pinterest
Hyper Fatigue — Mintel
Societal Polarization — WEF
Healing Pandemic Trauma — HBR
Age of Healing — Trend Watching
Mutual Escapism — Canvas8
Mind = Muscle — Bullish
Mental Fitness — Well+Good
Staying Sharp — Mintel Food & Drink
Gastro Survivalist Chic — Bombas & Parr Food
Survivalist Dining — Wunderman Thompson
Weatherproofed Provisions — Mintel Food & Drink
Skin-Care to Well-Care — Forerunner Ventures
Climate Beauty — Instagram
Sense X — Frog
Preppers in Paradise — Booking
Crisis of Control — Canvas8 Outlook
Naked Citizen — Foresight Factory
Anti-Dopamine Dressing — VICE
Precareious — Trend Watching
Design for Deceleration — Stylus
Nostalgia Spins:
Y2K Everything — Adobe
Y2K is Now — Catawiki
Y2K Collectables — Catawiki
Y2K — Klarna
Y2K Evolution — Creative Bloq
New Y2K is 2000s Normore — VICE
Highschool 2K — VICE
Millennium Mode — Catawiki
Nostalgia — Wavemaker
Nostaliga With a Twist — Bacardi
Romcom Core — Pinterest
Acid Graphics — 99Designs
Glamorizing the Good ol' Days — Booking
Retro Active — Adobe
Fratigue — Day One Agency
No Lo Alc:
No Lo Interchangeability — Bacardi
NA Spectrum — Snaxshot
Free Spirits — Pinterest
Malternatives — Catawiki
Alcohol Wellness — Trend Hunter
Zero-Proof Lifestyles — Wunderman Thompson
Sotol — WGSN
Localism:
Regional Realities — BOF x McKinsey
Public Art: A New Dawn — Bompas & Parr
Unlocking the “Third Place” — a16z
Home as Portal – Frog
Outside-in — Canvas8
Next Nesters — Canvas8
Total Local — Canvas8
Nesting — Catawiki
Rising Regions — Catawiki
International Localism — Mintel
Geographical Data — Wavemaker
The Great Retreat Indoors — Wavemaker
Human Cities — Canvas8 Outlook
Sweaters for Furniture — WGSN
Breaking the Chains — Nourish
Folklore Grandma — VICE
Local Retail — Trend Hunter
State of Place — Trend Watching
Rise of Cocooning — OMD
All Aboard — Pinterest
Railway Revival — MTM
Pink & Grey, No Blue:
Fluid Fashion — BOF x McKinsey
No Norms, No Rules — Catawiki
Beyond Blue & Pink — Pinterest
Beyond Barbiecore — Canvas8
Hyper Femininity — Klarna
Men Reject Stereotypes — Bumble
Masculinity Rewired — Wavemaker
This One’s for the Ladies — Nourish
Women ADHD & ASD — MindBodyGreen
Women's App — Trend Hunter
Eco Menstrual — Trend Hunter
Tampon Industry Overflows — Well+Good
Femtech Futures — MTM
Sexual Wellness — Well+Good
More Candid About Sex — Bumble
Inclusive Jewelry — Trend Hunter
Airy Styles — Pinterest
Recleisure — Well+Good
Dihydrogen Dioxide:
Deepsea Tourism — Wunderman Thompson
Underwater Frontiers — Bompas & Parr
Pool Pawties — Pinterest
Chance of Showers — Pinterest
Rainscapes — Pinterest
Algea Ascendence — Snaxshot
Algae-Based Alternatives — WGSN
Microalgae Meat — Trend Hunter
Sea Moss — WGSN
Uni Flavour — WGSN
Vitamin Seaweed — Pinterest
Residence at Sea — Wunderman Thompson
Waterless Skincare — Trend Hunter
Enhancing Resilience — Stylus