Social media is taking up more of people’s daily screen time, according to new research from DoubleVerify. The company released its 2025 Global Insights report after surveying 22,000 consumers across 21 countries, with fieldwork carried out by Sapio Research.
The reports show that 28% of consumers expect to spend more time on social media during the next 12 months. That is compared to 22% who expect more time watching user generated video, and 15% who expect to watch more broadcast television, according to DoubleVerify numbers…
This attention is important because it really impacts where advertising money goes. Facebook and Instagram together account for $192 billion in global advertising spend in 2025, according to figures referenced in the report. TikTok follows with $34 billion in global ad spend.
Mark Zagorski, chief executive of DoubleVerify, said advertising on social platforms works because people spend long periods scrolling through content that mixes entertainment, community posts and adverts. He said advertisers want clearer proof that their spending delivers results as budgets grow.
How Are News Habits Changing Across Age Groups?
Where people get their news depends heavily on age, the report shows. Among consumers aged 18 to 44, 42% prefer video platforms for news and 40% use social media apps, according to DoubleVerify figures.
Older audiences are different with the research telling us that 59% of people aged 45 to 65 and above prefer television news channels, while 37% turn to news websites and apps.
These habits affect how stories spread. News websites keep a steady audience across age groups, but they do not overtake social platforms or television as the top source for any group, according to the survey.
In APAC and Latin America, social platforms and video sites match television as news sources. In EMEA and North America, television keeps a stronger position.
How Does Social Media Influence Shopping And Advertising?
Social platforms now heavily influence buying decision. DoubleVerify found that 27% of consumers list social media among their top three tools before purchasing a product.
Influencers have a lot to do with that process. According to the report, 54% of consumers say influencers affect what they buy, and 30% made a purchase directly through a social platform during the past year.
At the same time, content quality creates tension for advertisers. DoubleVerify data shows that 57% of consumers have seen AI-generated content on social media, making it harder to tell what is human-made.
Marketers feel pressure on their side as well because the marketer survey found that 46% struggle most with reaching the right audience. DoubleVerify says this has increased demand for independent checks on where adverts appear and how they perform.
What Do Experts Predict For Social Media In 2026
We gathered insights from experts across the industry to found out what they think 2026 has in store for social media.
Our Experts:
- Hazel Andrews-Oxlade, Founder, Creative Content Company
- D. Nikki Wheeler, Founder, Working Dog Media IMC
- Karina Tymchenko, Founder, Brandualist
- Jason Patterson, Jewel Content Marketing Agency
- Willie Roberson, Organic Social Media Lead, FGS Global
- Kevin Heimlich, Founder and; CEO, The Ad Firm
- Jeannie Assimos, Head of Content and Communications, mainelove.
- Kahina Belamri, Social Media Expert, Cheri Social
- Dave Wedderburn, Social Media Expert
Hazel Andrews-Oxlade, Founder, Creative Content Company
“My expert prediction for social media in 2026 is that for local marketing, social media marketing will get more personal. Real businesses are connecting better with their target audience. This means sharing real stories, photos and videos. Video content is growing and is having incredible engagement rates when the consumer can see the real person or people behind the business.”
D. Nikki Wheeler, Founder, Working Dog Media IMC
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“In 2026, social media will reward confidence over volume, thinking over tactics, and leadership voice over brand polish. The paradox is clear. Doing less, slower, and more honestly will create more impact than ever before. Here are my predictions:
1. “Silence will outperform speed: The reflex to post immediately will backfire. Brands that pause, observe, and publish fewer but more deliberate responses will earn more trust than those chasing first-mover advantage. Audiences will increasingly reward restraint as a signal of confidence and credibility.
2.”The most influential content will feel unfinished: Highly polished posts will lose impact. Raw thinking, partial insights, and posts that invite interpretation will outperform perfectly packaged narratives. Audiences want to feel like they are inside the thinking, not consuming a finished press release.
3. “Executive LinkedIn will matter more than brand channels: Corporate accounts will continue to struggle with reach, while individual executives who post consistently will become the primary brand signal. Companies will need to loosen control to gain influence.
4. “Smaller audiences will outperform larger ones: Follower count will matter less than relevance density. Accounts with 3,000 to 10,000 highly aligned followers will drive more action, interest, and credibility than accounts with hundreds of thousands of passive followers.
5. ““Unlikable” honesty will outperform likability: Posts that challenge assumptions, say the quiet part out loud, or admit uncertainty will outperform consensus content. The brands that feel slightly uncomfortable will feel more human and more trustworthy.
6. “Comment sections will become the real content: The main post will increasingly function as a conversation starter, not the full story. Smart communicators will design posts to provoke thoughtful comments, then actively participate. Screenshots of comment threads will travel further than the original post. “Let’s check the comments.”
7. “AI-generated content will push audiences toward human imperfection: As AI content floods feeds, audiences will gravitate toward posts with visible flaws, idiosyncratic voice, and emotional specificity. The more content feels human, the more valuable it becomes.
8. “Crisis communications will start before anything goes wrong: Brands will use social media to pre-establish values, decision frameworks, and leadership voice long before a crisis hits. The best crisis response will already be on the feed months earlier.
9. “Long-term narrative will beat campaign thinking: One-off announcements will underperform sustained story arcs. Brands that treat social media like a living narrative, with recurring themes and evolving points of view, will build far more equity than those chasing viral moments.
10.” The most powerful metric will be internal resonance: The strongest signal of social success will not be likes or impressions but whether employees reference, share, and defend the content externally. When employees recognize themselves in the story, the market will too.”
Karina Tymchenko, Founder, Brandualist
“The largest change in 2026 is how each digital marketing channel incorporates AI to transform how consumers interact with brands in a real time environment. Marketing automation tools will be much more customised, as they are now being powered by AI and deep learning algorithms to provide predictive insights into consumer behavior and provide hyper-targeted content in real-time. The social commerce aspect of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest will continue to grow; as these platforms become not just ways for brands to engage with their audience, but a way to actually purchase products through seamless integrations with AI-driven experiences.”
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Jason Patterson, Jewel Content Marketing Agency
“With ad costs rising, fraud rampant, and organic reach declining across all digital channels, I expect brands to increasingly pay employees to share content on social media. It’s one of the few ways brands can really assure their content gets seen, and the greater social media reach of individuals over businesses simply cannot be denied.”
Willie Roberson, Organic Social Media Lead, FGS Global
“We live in the AI and information currency age, where attention spans, crises, heroes, villains, what’s real and what’s not, change daily…sometimes hourly on social media.
“One social media trend I see being more prevalent in 2026 is authentic, platform-specific video variations. On TikTok, for example, Lionsgate is embracing “edits” – a style of video popularised by fans on the platform. After the Creed “edit” took over the platform a few months ago , edits have been a big thing across sports and entertainment on the platform. Lionsgate is jumping on the trend, just like the NFL. I’m sure others will, too.
“The trend boils down to AI automation with video content, which will continue to disrupt social media marketing.
“The barrier to entry for good-looking, platform-specific video cuts is the lowest it’s ever been. Video cuts are being supercharged by AI editing tools like Opus, CapCut, and even Canva. As more content is created and clips are quickly shared across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, marketers will have even more data to understand what their audience enjoys.
“Authenticity is a superpower. I see a world where brands spot effective, new AI video trends on social media and deploy them in an authentic fashion to build real connections with their audience.”
Kevin Heimlich, Founder and CEO at The Ad Firm
“I have been tracking each and every platform algorithm update since 2008, giving businesses time to adjust their strategies before everyone else sees what’s happening.
“By 2026, organic reach, as we know it today, will essentially disappear for all but the top businesses. All platforms are going to move toward a “pay-to-play” model, in other words, just to see some level of visibility from your target audience, you’ll need to spend money on advertising. We can see that happening now. As an example, if you want your posts to show up in someone’s news feed on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll likely need to promote them to reach more than 2%.
“Another huge shift by 2026 is that vertical video will be mandatory, not optional. Every platform will feature short-form content that is 60 seconds or less. Your brand will become completely invisible if you continue to post static images or horizontal videos. Clients of mine who switched to vertical video about six months ago have seen engagement increase 300 percent.
“Features focused around community-based interaction will be replacing traditional feed formats. Examples include private groups, subscriber-only content, and the use of direct messages between brands and consumers as the best way to engage with your customers. Early examples of this trend include Meta’s Channels and X’s Communities. By 2026, your direct message strategy will matter more than how often you post.
“Genuine authenticity will stop being a trendy term and will instead become something that can be measured. Platforms will begin evaluating whether your content is getting actual engagement or if it is coming from bots. If your brand is paying people to follow you or if you are participating in engagement pod schemes, you can expect to be penalized in terms of how many eyeballs are able to view your content. Companies that are creating real conversations and building relationships with their customers today are laying the groundwork for future success in 2026.”
Jeannie Assimos, Head of Content and Communications, mainelove
I have been managing social media for 10+ years as part of my head of content roles…
My prediction for 2026 in social media is that there will be a massive influx of AI-generated content, as models get better and better. Meta has started to request that AI content be labeled for a reason. At the same time, there will be more need than ever for UGC content for those looking for that human connection, and to balance things in this AI world.
For any questions, comments or features, please contact us directly.
Kahina Belamri, Social Media Expert, Cheri Social
“By 2026, social media growth will be driven by proximity and intent. Brands will focus on smaller, relationship-led communities, with many startups already moving conversations into WhatsApp groups to create closer, more interactive relationships with their audiences.
“At the same time, platforms like Instagram are increasingly positioning themselves as search engines, with search now appearing as a key discovery metric in analytics. This will reward content that is clear, keyword-led, and genuinely useful, rather than purely aesthetic.
“TikTok Live usage is already growing, with users spending more time engaging in live content beyond TikTok Shop. By 2026, more brands will use TikTok Live not just to sell, but to answer questions, educate their audience, and build familiarity through real-time interaction.
“I’ve helped brands achieve up to 30× engagement growth without paid ads by staying ahead of platform updates, algorithm changes, and emerging features, and I’ve trained 100+ entrepreneurs and marketing professionals on organic social media strategy.”
Dave Wedderburn, Social Media Expert
“The defining challenge for 2026 isn’t reach—it’s trust. With AI tools democratising high-end production, polish is no longer a reliable sign of quality. Increasingly, it just looks like automation. We are seeing a a shift toward lo-fi authenticity, where brands use unpolished, human-centred storytelling. This will only accelerate in 2026 as more brands lean into social native video.
“This shift exposes a critical convergence: social media is rapidly becoming the primary search engine. Users are bypassing traditional search to find answers, reviews and how-tos on platforms. In an era of Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) and video search, lo-fi cannot extend to the metadata. The brands that win will be those that marry a human aesthetic with keyword-rich captions and structured data, ensuring their content feels organic to the user but remains perfectly clear to the algorithms powering discovery.”
