Tech, Trends, and Social Media: Our Predictions for 2026

One thing we can be sure of each new year is that the internet will bring a new wave of trends, memes, and viral moments that kids will latch onto. In 2025, we got brain rot, 6-7, and Labubus. The possibilities for 2026 are endless, but we thought we’d take our best shot at predicting what’s to come. We also threw in some things that are on our digital safety wish list. Let’s jump in! 

2026 Predictions for Popular Tech and Trends 

More people will turn to technology to help limit their technology use 

Screen time has skyrocketed for everyone in the last decade, adults and kids alike. People are becoming more educated about how addictive our devices can be, and ironically, are looking to alternative technology to help. Some are even switching their smartphones for “dumb” phones or flip phones. Perhaps 2026 is the year we find a healthy middle ground between digital distraction and old-school analog. 

AI will continue to saturate every part of childhood — starting with AI toys for toddlers  

It doesn’t take any special prediction skills to know AI will be following us into 2026. Right now, we already know teens are using ChatGPT for homework and apps like PolyBuzz for companionship. But this year, there’s been an uptick in AI-powered dolls and robots targeting the youngest generation. Now, toddlers can interact with a teddy bear that talks back — just like your Alexa would. 

These toy companies claim they offer educational and enrichment opportunities, but they also pose risks. This was the case of the Kumma Bear, which was found having sexual conversations with kids. 

Photo dumps will stay, but get sillier with “personality pics”

Photo dumps are a common way for people to post a lot of pictures on Instagram using the carousel feature. Instagram is generally the place for highly curated, edited, and aesthetically pleasing photos and videos. But now it’s becoming trendy for people to post more “real-life” photos, sometimes called personality pics. In an age where so much content feels fake and AI-generated, the pieces that seem most authentic feel more refreshing. 

Mainstream TV will catch up with Gen Z and Gen Alpha

If you ask the average young person how they entertain themselves, they’ll probably say YouTube or a TV show streamed on Netflix. But this past year, tons of teens tuned into Dancing with the Stars, a traditionally broadcast TV show. Wondering why? The show went to great lengths this past season to appeal to Gen Z by including social media influencers as the stars and putting gobs of behind-the-scenes content on TikTok. The result? Record-breaking views and votes than they had ever seen in the history of the show. 

If other networks take a page out of their book, we might see a return to the classic weekly broadcast shows we loved in the early 2000s. 

There will be a new go-to emoji for laugh reactions 

The evolution of the most-used laugh emoji has looked something like this: First 😂, then 🤣 and 💀 (as in, “I’m dead”). Now, kids have started using the most random emojis to indicate something is humorous, like 🤠, purely for a chaotic effect. Who knows which emoji will be the chosen one in 2026?

What Bark is Hoping For in 2026 

Predictions aside, here’s what we want to see happen in 2026 that’ll change families’ digital safety experience for the better. 

Snapchat and other platforms will allow parents to monitor 

As of right now, apps like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok have their API closed, which means apps like Bark can’t provide much-needed content monitoring and alerts to parents. If these companies finally give apps like Bark the permissions we need (fingers crossed it’s 2026!), it’ll be a massive win for families everywhere. 

Popular apps will finally implement parental controls that actually protect kids 

Many platforms have rolled out more parental controls, like Instagram’s supervised teen accounts or Discord’s family center. While some of these changes have certainly been in the right direction, they often still come up short. One specific thing we’d love to see more of? Passcodes to prevent kids from changing the controls parents set. Simple, effective, and yet rarely included. 

More parents will choose a kid-friendly device for their child’s first phone

When it’s time for a child’s first phone, parents often hand them a regular smartphone. This also means handing them access to essentially the whole world, and this comes with unavoidable risks. We hope that 2026 is the year when kid-friendly devices become the norm for a kid’s first experience with a smartphone, not smartphones with unfettered access to the internet. 

Make Digital Safety Your New Year’s Resolution With Bark 

Want to go into the new year with peace of mind about your child’s online world? Bark has a suite of parental control products that offer exactly that. Whether it’s the Bark Phone, the Bark Watch, the Bark app, or the Bark Home, we can help you manage your child’s internet access and device usage. Check out our products to see which one would be the best fit for your family.