culture

Wisdom Signalling: Why High-Fidelity Culture and Obsession are the New Power

When I feel well, all I want to do is enjoy life, which often ends up online. When I feel good, I want to share about that good-feeling and reinforce my sensation of aliveness with the dopamine hits of other people witnessing it and affirming it alongside me. When I feel bad, my natural instinct is to put the phone away. For the most part, I happen... See more

As superfandom balloons in 2026, there’s opportunity for these moments to help build up the year’s big moments of cultural spectacle.

Scenes are extended universes. They are localized hotspots of activity that aggregate loose networks of people. Scenes can be a subculture, a network of artists and creatives in a city, but they can also describe interconnected religious youth groups, university student life, an industry with a surplus of networking events, or your extremely... See more

Though nobody’s asking to go and chase Pokémon around the city in 2026, there are lessons to be learned about the value of big, flashy moments for cultivating communal experiences. “Fashion can learn from 2016’s embrace of spectacle as a uniting force,” Cummins says.

As uncertain times persist, technology accelerates and parasocial relationships deepen, superfandom will continue to soar in 2026.

“Merch is having a moment, and it’s bigger, broader and more culturally potent than ever,”