Facebook studied anonymized data of topics important to people on Facebook and Instagram to understand user trends. They discovered multiple insights that suggest the most important topics and trends will be for 2021.
Four Trending Topic and Trend Categories
Facebook organized their insights into four broad categories.
- Education and Action
- Technology
- Lifestyle
- Leisure
Education and Action
United States
By education and action, Facebook is labeling a trend in social media where user interest in learning about the state of society and politics locally and across the United States and the world grew from awareness to actively learning and then to action.
Facebook used the Black Lives Matter movement as an example of how Facebook and Instagram users were educating and taking action.
According to Facebook:
“Shared instructions for calling elected officials underscore a renewed investment in local government, and people are advocating for policies that will benefit their cities, towns and neighborhoods.
People are shifting their time and money toward advocacy…”
Australian Trends
Facebook also highlighted an interesting trend in Australia that relates to books. Users are increasingly interested in talking about authors and books. Literature related activities included joining online book clubs to socialize with others with a shared interest in books.
Facebook’s data shows that discussions related to authors, literature and history have spiked and will continue to be trends into 2021.
“Beyond the books themselves, small bookstores are reinforcing their presence in local communities,9 offering online lectures, discussion groups and kids’ story times. Libraries have also taken an active community role, delivering books and calling to check on elderly people.10 As books become wider windows into the world, literary tradition is going from hobby to habit. “
2021 Lifestyle Trends
Lifestyle trends in the past tended to revolve around travel, food and drink, entertainment and fashion. The 2019 Topics and Trends report highlighted trends outside of the home:
“Green products and sustainability reflect a new eco-consciousness across beauty, fashion and travel. Food topics also popped outside of cuisine discussions, as people took new interest in the health and wellness benefits of some ingredients. And we’re now seeing the decentralization of traditional models in things like exercise, shopping and even screen time.”
The 2021 Topics and Trends report shows that lifestyle topics and trends for the UK, Canada and the United States revolve around the home, reflecting the reality of life in a pandemic.
Popular topics include gardening, casual culture trends inspired by the reality of the work at home environment and do it yourself (DIY) home renovations.
Gardening is Important to Consumers
Facebook’s report highlighted gardening trends:
“New to even kitchen gardening, many are consulting how-to books and online resources for their first season in the soil; searches for “how to grow an avocado,” for instance, increased by 100 times between mid-April 2019 and 2020.”
Casual Culture
Facebook pointed out a trend that it named Casual Culture. Casual culture is a reflection of the fact that many people don’t have to focus on their exteriors such as haircuts or fashion. The consumer focus has turned to comfortable clothes, self-care and what Facebook calls more authenticity in communication.
Facebook explains:
“For ages, people have worked to present polished versions of themselves, putting on an outfit and a smile to head into the office, an appointment and even the store. With in-person meetings largely on hold and the video screen providing a virtual window into peoples’ home lives, Americans are prioritizing authenticity over appearance, even if that means being vulnerable.”
Canadian Home Trends
Facebook highlighted the trend of focusing on home as literally focusing on the home. Popular topics and trends in Canada were those having to do with making over the home in order to accommodate the activities that were previously done outside of the home that are now accomplished inside the home.
Typical topics were creating space for work but also space for school and working out. Other topics included fixing up the backyard.
Facebook noted:
“In backyards and on balconies, people are installing raised beds for gardening and adding lawn furniture.27 The indoors is just as busy as workers graduate from improvising desk space to building out ergonomic home office setups and cordoning off areas for exercise. As people increasingly work and play in their own spaces, they’ll be asking more of their homes…”
Technology
Facebook highlighted the increased role of technology around the world for facilitating online commerce in places where online shopping hadn’t yet taken hold to the degree in other countries.
From India to Australia to Mexico. India and Mexico have had issues with online shopping due to internet connectivity and preferences to shopping with cash. Australia had issues related to difficulties in delivering to a population that is so spread out.
In India, eCommerce, home entertainment plus work and educational activities are increasingly moving online.
Australia is trending toward what Facebook calls a hybrid version of online shopping. This reflects a mix of online shopping with delivery and online shopping with pickup at the store.
Mexico is being transformed by Neo Banking, which is a form of cashless payments via banks that have no physical presence to bank at. These are allowing more and more Mexican consumers to take advantage of cashless payment methods.
According to Facebook:
“Customers are also seeking out safer digital-first shopping options, and many businesses are adopting cashless payments. This may lead to lasting changes in how people bank and purchase: One study predicts two-thirds of Mexicans will reduce their cash use in the future.”
2021 Online Shopping Topics and Trends
Facebook’s report showed how online shopping continues to become the standard way of purchasing goods. It also shows how consumers are focused on purchases that enhance their home life. These trends are predicted to continue through 2021.
Citation
Read the 40 Page Facebook Report:
2021 Topics and Trends Report From Facebook IQ
