December 2025 - Trend Spotting - Social Media
Dec 17, 2025
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Trends We're Watching |
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December 2025 FutureGood is a consultancy focused on helping visionary leaders build a better future. Through DEI consulting, strategic visioning, keynotes, retreats, and online learning, FutureGood helps thought leaders (like you!) to deploy futurism. |
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We are watching so many interesting trends each month that we've decided to share them with our community. If you want us to look out for a specific subject, reach out and let us know! |
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Social Media |
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Social media is reshaping adult cognition, not just youth culture. Dopamine-driven platforms fuel comparison, distraction, and validation-seeking, contributing to anxiety, fatigue, and shortened attention spans. In response, more adults are setting digital boundaries and seeking offline time to protect focus and mental well-being. |
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What this could mean for the social sector: As digital fatigue grows, nonprofits will need clearer, more disciplined communication to reach overwhelmed audiences. Leaders may face rising burnout without healthier tech norms. Organizations that model intentional, human-centered digital practices are likely to build greater trust and sustained engagement. |
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Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa argues that social media platforms have become “dictators of influence,” shaping truth, memory, and trust through algorithms that reward outrage over facts. She warns that reversing this trajectory will require greater accountability from tech platforms, stronger independent media, and digitally literate citizens able to resist manipulation. |
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What this could mean for the social sector: As trust erodes, nonprofits will face higher stakes in how they communicate. Advocacy and coalition-building will become harder in a disinformation-rich environment. Organizations that model transparency, support media literacy, and center truth in their work will be better positioned to sustain civic trust and democratic engagement. |
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Learn to spot trends relevant to your work |
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If you want to learn more about futurism, including how to spot and make sense of these trends, you can! Sign up for our online learning program, FutureGood Studio, and empower yourself to be future-ready! |
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In response to online radicalization and divisive digital culture, groups like Black Men Build are intentionally creating healthier online communities. These spaces emphasize belonging, critical thinking, and shared power, replacing extremist narratives with purpose, civic engagement, and multiracial solidarity. |
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What this could mean for the social sector: This shift shows nonprofits that digital spaces can be reclaimed as tools for connection and collective action. Nonprofits that design online communities around dignity and leadership can counter harmful narratives and translate belonging into real-world civic participation. |
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Social media is enabling new forms of global solidarity. Movements for climate action, women’s rights, and democracy are using digital platforms to share strategies, amplify voices, and coordinate action across borders, turning isolated efforts into connected struggles for justice. |
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What this could mean for the social sector: This connectivity allows nonprofits to learn faster, reach wider audiences, and build allies beyond their local context. Global digital networks can amplify local work, support coordinated action, and strengthen the sector’s collective resilience. |
