The Internet Is About to Change Fast: What to Expect in 2026

And Why No One Is Talking About This

Dec 11, 2025

Hello friends,

Something important is shifting online, and it’s happening faster than most people realize. Australia just banned social media for teens and a number of other countries are planning to follow suit. More than 40 U.S. states are already suing the major platforms. And everyday users—people like you and me—are quietly changing how we use the internet.

I’ve been tracking these patterns for my latest YouTube video and new Epoch Times essay and I wanted to share a quick snapshot with you.

Think of this as a simple guide to what’s actually changing and what it means for all of us as we head into 2026.

Here are five things people quietly stopped doing online, and why it matters.

1. Posting Personal Updates

Not long ago, people shared daily life online without thinking twice. But when posts stopped reaching friends and started landing in front of strangers, bots, and advertisers, people changed.

Most people didn’t announce they were done, they just felt the space change and pulled back even if they couldn’t describe it in words, the action is there and there’s now a term for this social trend: POSTING ZERO.

2. Commenting in Public

People still read comments, but fewer and fewer are willing to join the conversation.
A single sentence can now trigger arguments, pile-ons, or misread intentions. Many decided it was easier—and safer—to stay quiet and talk to someone they actually know.

3. Sharing Family or Children

Parents used to post freely, but now many hesitate because the audience is too big, too vague, and while they see posts disappear quickly, they know that every post is permanent online. For a lot of families, that was enough to slow down or stop completely.

4. Trusting the Feed

People scroll, but they trust less. Ads look like posts. Posts look like ads. Some content is written by humans, some by software, and it’s getting harder to tell the difference. So people skim, keep their guard up, and move on.

5. Treating Social Media as “Normal” for Kids

This might be the biggest shift. Parents and teachers have watched how these platforms affect kids in real time causing attention issues, frustration, social struggles.
So limits went up. Policies changed. And now governments are stepping in.
This isn’t theory. It’s adults responding to what’s right in front of them.

What All of This Means

People didn’t quit the internet, they simply stopped giving as much of themselves to it. That’s the real trend heading into 2026.

And here’s the part the platforms don’t want to admit:
Technology is changing fast, but the public are changing fast now too. And when the public shifts, the tech companies have no choice but to follow.

People are naturally gravitating towards any social “campfire” they can find in their lives that feels real and doesn’t require public performance.

Are you seeing this trend or are you a part of it already?

If You Want to Go Deeper

My new Epoch Times essay digs into what this shift means for culture, kids, and the future of being human online.

Here are a few early reader reactions:

“I wish smartphones would go back to just being a phone.”
“Social media started as connection… now it’s a snowball crushing everything.”
“Ultra-processed media. That’s exactly what it feels like.”
“Media is NOT social. People are social.”

What are your thoughts? Comments are open to all! Join the discussion.

Discussion about this post

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