Lottie Hill is a senior behavioural analyst at Canvas8 with a background in psychology and an eye for spotting trends in numbers. Specialising in data and analytics, she’s spent the last four years digging into cultural insights for clients like Meta, Google, and Adidas. Outside of work, you’ll find Lottie travelling as much as her bank balance will allow or working on her latest lino printing project.

In the face of economic crises, climate anxieties, and global wars, people are seeking solace through connection. They want to be sure someone will hold their hand in the face of hardship. As a result, they have higher expectations of care and understanding from interactions with brands, social systems, and people. Many no longer see emotional intelligence as a pleasant add-on – it has become a default expectation.

If Pantone's colour of the year for 2024 is anything to go by – Peach Fuzz, a hue that 'echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection' – it's that community and understanding are increasingly valued as a bedrock of resilience in building a more empathetic and interconnected society. As the loneliness pandemic spreads across the globe, people are prioritising companionship. What's more, they aren't afraid to turn to technology to fill the void, engaging with AI chatbots for emotional gratification as much as practical services. AI promises the rise of artificial empathy and an overhaul of care structures, including elderly care and parenting – and people are ready to embrace it to mitigate the ongoing crisis.

As social media has simultaneously boosted emotional honesty and knocked self-esteem, mental health issues are on the rise and support systems need reinforcement. More than 70% of Americans feel failed by the healthcare system, and in the UK, the NHS waitlist rose to a record 7.75 million in late 2023. With countries like the UK and France raising retirement ages, the demand for long-term care has increased, prompting people to seek alternative solutions – from telemedicine to community-based care programs – to address the pressing care crisis. The very notion of care is in flux. In this context, people are turning to brands and public figures for a helping hand, from BetterHelp and Gymshark offering free care to those that need it to Megan thee Stallion and Olivia Rodrigo using their platforms to democratise access to care for marginalised communities.

Everyday Empathy

When author Kyle Chayka explored 2010s minimalism in Longing for Less, a very different world existed. Today, a polycrisis-ridden and digitally saturated society finds people yearning for more. Whether you chalk it up to post-pandemic release or a general sense of impending doom, people are now looking for a new maximalism of feelings, dimensions, and possibilities to reinvigorate them and make their lives feel full.

While people are craving memorable, visceral, and immersive experiences, there's no longer a singular definition of what this might look like. Some are embracing maximalist hedonism through clubbing, extreme tourism, and different kinds of sensory overload, while others are tapping into more gentle, inward-looking, and contemplative experiences like listening bars and communal spas. It signals the emergence of the' Introvert Economy' of cosy, home-adjacent spaces and activities or seeking soothing and quasi-spiritual encounters through hobbies like birdwatching and forest bathing.

The desire for deeply captivating and emotionally engaging experiences extends beyond the physical world – social media, VR, AR, and even image-based interactions must now resonate to the same degree, creating truly memorable moments and environments.

In this consumer and cultural universe driven by exploration and immersion, the boundary between experiences and material goods continues to blur. We're less likely to see them as a dichotomy, as people are increasingly interested in experiential qualities of things and consuming commodified 'thing-like experiences'. This discovery-oriented mindset is opening up new avenues for fulfilment, gratification, and transformation.

Experience Hunters

Boomers (born 1947-1966)

United States

Citizenship

Mental health

Relationships and dating

Social networking

With loneliness on the rise in the US, Boomers are finding new friendships in local, community-driven gatherings. Embracing digital platforms to share their experiences and connect, they're redefining what it means to age, combating isolation and returning to urban areas for community ties.