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Trends digest: what's shaping how we share

Writer: Claudia
Claudia
13 hours ago
4 min read

Every so often, we look up from our own notebooks and ask a simple question: how are people sharing their lives and passions right now? This digest gathers five shifts that recent research makes visible. None of them is about going viral. All of them, we think, are about sharing with more intention.

Here is what we found, and what each trend could mean for your Blogness portfolio.


1. From big audiences to smaller circles

In October 2026, Pew Research Center published a large study of online communities in the United States. It found that nearly 4 in 10 US adults, including about half of those aged 18 to 29, are part of an online community. Hobbies and local areas top the list of what those communities are about, and most members (68%) knew very few or none of the people in the community they visit most before joining. About seven in ten say these spaces add something to their lives.

In other words, people are finding one another through what they love, not only through who they already know.

What it means for your Blogness portfolio: your portfolio doesn't need to speak to everyone. Write for the people who share your passion, whether that's slow travel, vintage fabrics or 1960s cinema. That is the spirit behind our idea of affinity, not numbers.


2. Sharing moves into private spaces

A second Pew study looked at how Americans engage with news online. In a survey of 5,393 US adults carried out between July and December 2025, 56% said they had privately chatted about or shared news online in the past week, while 26% had publicly posted, shared or commented about it.

The study is about news, but the pattern feels familiar well beyond it: many of our most genuine conversations now happen in group chats and direct messages rather than on public feeds.

What it means for your Blogness portfolio: think of your portfolio as something you choose to share, not a stage you must perform on. A link sent to a friend who is planning the same trip can matter more than a hundred anonymous views. Chat and shared moments are among the features we are preparing for Blogness, and they are coming soon.


3. Fewer posts, more thought behind each one

In the UK, Ofcom's latest research on adults' media lives found that around half of adult social media users (49%) now actively post, share or comment, down from 61% in 2024. More adults are also worried that their online posts could cause them problems in the future (49%, up from 43%). Ofcom notes that its methodology changed this year, so year-on-year comparisons are indicative, but the direction is worth noticing.

What it means for your Blogness portfolio: curation is the new volume. One carefully written itinerary, with the café you returned to three times and the viewpoint you would skip next time, says more about you than a dozen quick uploads. Before you publish, ask yourself: would I be happy to read this again in five years?


4. Authenticity in the age of AI

As AI-generated images and text become part of everyday feeds, people want to know what is real. In a Pew survey from June 2025, 76% of US adults said it is extremely or very important to be able to tell whether pictures, videos and text were made by AI or by people. Yet 53% said they are not too or not at all confident that they could spot the difference.

What it means for your Blogness portfolio: your own voice, your own photos and your own small details are becoming more valuable, not less. Tell us what you saw, tasted and felt. If a tool helped you, say so. Readers notice the difference between a story that was lived and one that was assembled.


5. Connection is still the reason we're here

With all this change, one thing holds steady. According to DataReportal's Digital 2026 Global Overview Report, keeping in touch with friends and family remains the top reason people use social media, cited by 50.2% of adult users worldwide, ahead of filling spare time (39.7%).

What it means for your Blogness portfolio: behind every trend in this digest is the same wish: to stay close to the people who matter, and to meet new ones who understand us. That is what a Blogness portfolio is for. Share your journeys, your favourite finds and your evolving style, and let your interests become the bridge to new connections.


Over to you

Which of these trends do you recognise in your own life? Perhaps most of your conversations have moved into a group chat, or you post less often but with more care. Tell us in the comments, or, even better, share it on your Blogness portfolio. We would love to see how you share.

Claudia Calì and the Blogness editorial team


Sources

Cover photo: Anastasiya Badun on Unsplash.

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