Roughly 5.56 billion people, nearly two-thirds of everyone on earth, will be online by early 2025. Each of them spends, on average, over six and a half hours a day plugged in, if you believe the Datareportal numbers. Steadily, the internet has shifted under our feet. Phones, not computers, are the universal portal now.
Social networks and endless scrolls of snappy video have replaced the old TV schedule, and AI increasingly acts as the invisible hand guiding us, for better or worse. Entertainment, shopping, chatting, and even learning blend, borders fading fast.
Subscription fatigue is real for many, while users seem to demand both privacy and ever more personalized services. Every part of the online world, designers, and strategists—scrambles to stay ahead of habits that lock in faster every year.
Mobile-first is now the baseline
The small rectangle in your hand isn’t just a phone; for billions it’s everything. Laptops and desktops? They’re fading into the background. We Are Social’s latest numbers say only 61.5% of online adults even bother with the classic computer interface anymore. News, shopping, content, nearly all of it has shifted to suit vertical screens, quick gestures, with sound and video that play automatically.
That old multi-window, text-heavy web is slowly becoming a relic. For online explorers seeking content like fishin frenzy, there’s an expectation that every platform feels seamless, responsive, and intuitive from any mobile device. Surgeries, job interviews, and even classrooms move into custom-built apps; few think twice before tapping open a chat or paying with a thumbprint. Companies now obsess over single tap checkouts and feeds that don’t ask you to pause. Every metric that matters, ad click, loyalty, assumes you’re tapping, not clicking.
Social video is the new default media
Everyone’s watching short videos. TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts now occupy time and ad budgets once owned by the biggest networks. Deloitte’s 2025 survey shows Gen Z is devouring user-generated clips, spending much less time on old-school TV or movies.
They find their next obsession by swiping through algorithmic feeds; what used to be planned and programmed is now instant, unpredictable, and endlessly tailored. Studios, newsrooms, and brands snip everything down for shareable, mobile-first moments. Spending follows. In America, social video now grabs more than half of all digital ad dollars, with platforms giving priority to content that gets watched repeatedly and shared widely.
Commerce is everywhere, not just in stores
Shoppers don’t head to websites anymore; they buy what they see in their feeds. Social commerce, already a $2 trillion industry by 2025 projections, blurs every line between seeing and shopping. In places like the Gulf, nearly three in four have already bought via a social platform, and most now discover new products in their daily scrolls. The leap from “that looks cool” to “it’s on the way” is often one click.
Users encountering a product in the context of fishin frenzy or trending videos can jump from curiosity to checkout without leaving the same screen. Shopfronts inside apps, influencer-driven links, and live shopping streams replace search-engine marketing and traditional online stores. Marketers focus on frictionless, conversational moments, and staying visible in the endless, restless feed.
AI is the next interface
Suddenly, it’s not just about searching. Generative AI stands ready to make decisions for you: suggesting purchases, synopsizing reviews, and surfacing just the right answer. Nearly half of consumers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia expect to use tools like ChatGPT or Copilot when shopping around, while places in the Middle East are ahead of the curve here.
Of those already on board, the vast majority use AI for brand research, price hunting, review reading. The journey is moving from keywords to hyper-personalized answers. Marketers shift from gaming SEO to building digital trust signals. Media and retail apps are adding AI to their core, anticipating your needs before you even name them.
Fragmentation and the quest for trust
People now divide their attention across more screens, channels, and formats than ever. YouGov and Zappi find fewer sticking with long-form content, and subscription rates dip as many dart between paid and free options. Gen Z leads, quick videos, peer recommendations, and private lurking instead of public posting in droves.
Privacy matters. So does feeling spoken to directly. For brands, the challenge is delivering relevance without crossing lines, showing openness about data use, and earning trust as influence scatters ever further.
Online life is bigger than ever, but the rules for keeping attention and building loyalty remain a moving target. Those who adapt quickest, with methods that feel personal but never pushy, are the ones most likely to last.