Un content passes before the eyes and disappears. Another is saved “for later.” A message, however, remains: it ends up in a chat, is commented on among friends, perhaps mentioned verbally during dinner. That’s where the strongest opinions are born today, even if no one sees them scrolling through a feed. From 2026, social media will not change its face, but it works. They will continue to be present everywhere, but they will count less as stages and more as passage spaces. The difference will be made by what manages to leave the screen and remain in people’s lives. Driving this change is above all Gen Z, the first generation that no longer really distinguishes between online and offline.
What happens to social media? The history of a brand is no longer enough
For a long time it was enough to say “we have always been there” to be credible. Not today. For many young people, a brand’s history is just information, not a guarantee. There is no refusal, there is no controversy: there is distance. Instead, brands that have a recognizable face work, a coherent voicesomeone who has been talking for a long time and continues to do so. In beauty, but not only, brands born around creators grow because they start from an already existing relationship. Trust does not come from the past, but from constant presence.
When the person communicating becomes a filter
Creators are no longer simple testimonials. They have become a kind of natural filter. They decide what fits into their space and what doesn’t. When they talk about a brand, they do so by translating it into their language, the one that the community knows and recognizes. This means that companies have to give up control of everything. But it’s also the reason why these collaborations work better than classic advertising: they don’t interrupt, they insert themselves. And when something doesn’t feel authentic, it’s simply ignored.
The feed is just the beginning
Scrolling does not mean participating. A post can make numbers and disappear the next day. This is why the value of what takes people out of the feed grows: live podcasts, events, meetings, recurring appointments. In Italy, projects like Dyework or Porecast show that an online community can become a real presence. When someone moves physically or takes time to date, the bond changes. It is a more solid relationship, less fragile than the attention of an algorithm.
Visibility is no longer the center of digital life. Social media is changing its role without changing its shape (Getty)
Less entertainment, more utility
Light content continues to exist, but it is no longer sufficient. More and more people use social media to understand, learn and orient themselves. They look for simple answers to concrete questions: how something works, what should be done, who to trust. Profiles that explain well work, that make information understandable and practical. From health to dissemination, from daily advice to professional skills, the winner is whoever manages to be useful without appearing cold or distant.
It matters how you behave, not how you look
Aesthetics are no longer the basis. It no longer distinguishes. What is observed is consistency over time: how a brand reacts to changes, what it really supports, what it avoids. You don’t need to be perfect. You need to be recognisable. People notice if there is continuity between what is said and what is doneespecially when the context changes.
“Dark social”, where opinions really arise
Most conversations matterit doesn’t happen under the posts. It happens in chat, in voice messages, in private groups. It is the so-called “dark social”the invisible space where advice is shared and decisions are made. Likes don’t count here. What matters is the tone, the way in which something is told. A piece of content may not appear to be performing and yet have a huge impactbecause it circulates in places of trust.
Living on multiple screens, together
What really works are contents that can be followed even halfway, which do not require total concentration but remain recognisable. Appointments that create habits work: weekly podcasts, columnsrecurring formats build familiarity. People come back because they know what to expect, not because they’re hoping for a surprise. Additionally, people are constantly moving between screens and real life. A piece of content can originate online, be discussed in a chat and end up in a live conversation. Thinking in watertight compartments no longer works. What counts is the coherence of the story, not the channel. Basically, in 2026 social media will continue to be everywhere, but they will count less for what they show and more for what they put into circulation. Visibility will make less noise. Trust, however, will continue to move people, often away from everyone’s eyes.