Stranger Times: Things to Look Out for in 2026.

If 2025 felt weird, then you best buckle up.

2026 is shaping up to be one of those “blink and it’s different” years for digital & social media - let alone content creation!

Some things are quietly dying. Some things are crawling back from the grave!

…and some things are finally being taken out back and put out of their misery.

Let’s talk about what’s actually changing — and what you should probably stop doing before the algorithm does it for you.

Hashtags Are… Kinda Over.

Yes, hashtags still exist. No, they’re not doing what they used to.

Instagram is now limiting posts to five hashtags, which tells us everything we need to know. The days of dumping 30 vaguely relevant tags at the end of a caption are done. Instead, platforms are leaning heavily on alt-text — and not the half-arsed “photo of a dog” kind.

Alt-text is becoming the new old-school SEO. Think detailed, specific, keyword-loaded descriptions that actually explain what’s happening in the image. It helps accessibility, it helps discoverability, and it plays very nicely with AI indexing (AIO) too.

In short: specificity is king. Vague content gets vague results.

Interest Categories Are Taking Over.

Across multiple platforms, interest categories are being rolled out and refined — meaning the algorithm cares far more about what your content is actually about, rather than how hard you yell about it.

This is great news if you have a niche. Terrible news if your strategy is “post everything and hope something sticks.”

External Links = Reach Killer.

If you’ve noticed your reach nosediving every time you post a link?

…yeah. That’s not an accident.

Platforms don’t want users leaving. External linking is being throttled harder than ever, and pay-per-post models are creeping in (*cough* Facebook *cough*). Meanwhile, native platform stores — especially TikTok Shop — are getting a huge push from both users and developers.

Translation: if you can sell inside the app, you’re golden. If you keep sending people elsewhere, expect to pay for the privilege.

Pinterest Is Back (Yes, Really).

After its spectacularly disastrous AI moderation phase (I won’t go into that one), Pinterest is quietly thriving again — especially for physical products.

It still allows external links (soon to be a relic of the past), and it loves keywords. Heavy, yet applicable keyword usage isn’t just allowed, it’s rewarded. If you sell products or evergreen content, Pinterest is no longer optional — it’s strategic.

Longform Video Is Having a Renaissance.

Rejoice! The attention span discourse may finally be dying.

TikTok now allows videos up to 10 minutes, with pilot programmes testing up to 60 minutes for select creators — a very obvious attempt to challenge YouTube’s long-form crown perhaps?

And honestly? Good.

Scroll fatigue is real. Between rising subscription costs, Netflix’s deeply unpopular Warner Bros acquisition, and the general cost-of-living crisis, people are drifting back toward free, long-form content.

2026 could be huge for YouTube, podcasts, and creator-led storytelling.

Not “trends”. Not “hacks”. Stories.

AI Is Losing Its Shine (Huzzah).

The younger generation, in particular, are done with AI-slop — and they’re calling it out. Love it.

Big brands pumping out soulless AI content are being clocked instantly, and audiences hate it. Even the Stranger Things finale has had accusations thrown it’s way for “AI-slop script” not just because of how flat and lifeless it felt, but also for the incessant, un-skippable “have Gemini AI tell you about the plot” ads we’re getting spammed with on YouTube. Ouch.

The novelty is gone. The backlash has arrived.

The Metaverse Is Dead, Baby.

Facebook/Meta quietly pulled the plug on the Metaverse project — indefinitely.

Shockingly, no one wanted a solution to a problem that didn’t exist. Sorry, Mark.

This collapse is echoing elsewhere too: VTubers, faceless voice-over channels and hyper-synthetic personas are losing traction fast.

What’s back in fashion?

Authenticity. Parasociability. Actual human connection.
(or as close as we can get without touching grass)

Nature is healing.

LinkedIn Is Uh… Not Doing So Hot.

The younger generation has absolutely no interest in LinkedIn’s self-congratulatory echo chamber.
(Keeping it PG-13, for all you Americans)

It’s flooded with AI slop, copy-paste posts, wildly out-of-touch CEOs, and “entrepreneurs” congratulating themselves for breathing. They even launched video content on the platform!

…which died so fast most people didn’t realise it existed.

Almost like effort matters. Wild concept.

QUALITY. OVER. QUANTITY.

Yes. Louder for the people still posting three times a day for no reason.

Regulation Is Changing Everything.

Stronger social media regulations are reshaping the landscape globally.

The UK’s Online Safety Act and Australia’s under-16 social media ban have set a precedent — not just for governments, but for consumers too. Platforms are tightening rules because fines are expensive and lawsuits are inconvenient.

Add in the absolutely abhorrent misuse of AI tools like Grok — including disrobing and fetishising real people, without their consent (to say the least) — and we’re heading for serious consequences around AI use.

Diversification is now essential. Don’t be like SpongeBob and bank on “ol’ reliable”. Build multiple platforms. Spread your risk. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Trust me on that one…

Google Search Is Struggling.

People aren’t Googling like they used to.

Instead, they’re asking social media — TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and alarmingly… X
*cough* Twatter *cough*

Whether that’s a good thing is debatable, but it is happening.

Search behaviour is changing fast, and brands that don’t adapt will be left shouting into the void.

The Influencer Economy Is on the Back Foot.

And honestly? Good.

People are exhausted by disingenuous, self-serving influencers whose entire existence is “sell, sell, sell”. Brand deals, paid partnerships, fake enthusiasm — viewers are skipping straight past it.

YouTube’s “Most Rewatched” feature tells the story perfectly: people jump to after the ad and keep watching the actual content.

If your value proposition is “I exist and therefore you should buy this”, 2026 is not the year for you.

Final Thought.

The through-line of 2026 is simple:

Be human. Be specific. Be intentional. Tell stories. Build trust. Stop chasing hacks.

The rest will follow.

Stranger times indeed.

Almost makes the ending of Stranger Things seem logical and totally not rushed, huh?