A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
Ariana Grande: Ariana Grande opens up on healing and music in an Interview Magazine.
Shedeur: Browns are naming Shedeur Sanders as their starting QB.
Jimmy Cliff: Jimmy Cliff, the soulful reggae legend who helped spread the genre’s reach from Jamaica to the world has passed away.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
A Craving for Tactility Beyond the Click & Swipe
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What It Is: People are craving tangible, hands-on experiences again. New data reveals that 71% of U.S. consumers now identify as crafters. After years of touch-free, screen-based living, there’s a cultural swing back toward analog creativity: crafting, DIY projects, puzzles, vinyl records, handmade goods, and anything that feels tactile and “real.” People want to use their hands, make things, and share their creations on social media as a form of self-expression. This shift isn’t just about activities, it’s sensory. After extended periods of limited physical interaction during Covid, people are gravitating toward texture, touch, and tactility in all forms. Beauty tools, textured packaging, immersive retail environments, and hands-on leisure experiences all ladder up to the same desire: getting back in touch with our senses.
The Brand Takeaway: As the holidays approach, brands have an opportunity to lean into this movement. Activities like DIY gifting, recipe-making, crafting, hosting hacks, or step-by-step “make it with me” content resonate deeply because they offer something tech and AI can’t replicate: physicality and presence. Brands that create tactile and doable experiences whether through social content, in-store workshops, or playful interactive moments, can build stronger emotional connections and stand out in a digital-first world.
Must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
TikTok is testing a feature that will let you control how much AI content you see in the FYP.
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Instagram now allows for Reels up to 20 minutes long.
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