Weekly social roundup

See you in 2026!

Hello!

A quick update that this will be the last Talk Social To Me for the year! There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes over here, and I want to make sure that everything is the best it can be for you all! And that means taking a breather for the rest of the year, so we can come back swinging in 2026!

But before I wish you all a happy holiday, let’s get into the final TSTM for the year (and I hope for all of our sakes that social media doesn’t go off the rails for the next few weeks, but we’ll see!). 

Time to get ready for the New Year

Social media trend report for 2026 👀

Oh, what’s that? Emplifi released its social media trend report for 2026? Yeah, that. 

And it’s THICK!

Emplifi recorded responses from over 500 marketers from various agencies, brands, and businesses, and some of the findings are incredibly interesting. 

Read the full report here, but the top six takeaways are:

1. Treat influencers as long-term partners

2. Harness AI for productivity, not for your creativity!

3. Scale UGC (82% of marketers say user-generated content (UGC) is critical to social media; however, only 31% actually use it.)

4. Short-form videos are still king, so use them more with data-backed strategies

5. Make sure to partner and collaborate better with the marketing, commerce, and care teams

6. It’s time to invest in workflows that will help reduce burnout

Need help figuring out how to do all those things? Join our Facebook Group, The Social Hub, to engage with other social media managers and marketers to ask questions, vent, and more with others in your own field.

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Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top Meta news from the week

• “Content Protection” is a new feature Meta is rolling out, where Meta will scan the content across Facebook to make sure no one else is using your content (how many times can I say content?).
  

• Facebook Group users are allowed to choose a username within the group.
  

• Facebook remains the most popular social media app in the USA (alongside YouTube).
  

• Yikes! Looks like Meta’s “Vibes” feed (the AI-based video feed) is not doing so well. Shock!
  

• The “new” label on Instagram is rolling out to more users. You’ll soon be able to go to a creator’s profile and see a small “new” label on any recent posts you haven’t seen before.
  

• Instagram is copying TikTok again! Instagram is testing limiting the number of hashtags per post.
  

• Yes, you will be able to rearrange the posts on your feed … one day.

• Businesses and brands! This is for you: Instagram is testing a new way for you to connect with your clients by letting you create a QR code that directs them straight to your DMs.
  

• An “expiring soon” label will be coming to an Instagram Story near you.
  

• The #1 thing I want in Edits might soon be a thing: Mosseri said templates might be added to Edits in the future.
  

• Instagram has updated its Reels camera to make capturing video that much easier, nicer, and overall better. Plus, a 20-minute recording is now available in-stream!

  Throwback! WhatsApp is adding one of its OG features back into the app – the About message. It’s an easy way for you to give updates on what you’re doing, why you might be slow AF to respond to someone, etc. Basically, it’s an away message, but for texts.

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top TikTok news from the week

• Finally! TikTok is giving users control over how much AI-generated content shows up on their feed.
  

• TikTok is really trying hard to prove it’s doing everything it can to limit screen time for users. Its newest rollout is an affirmation journal, an in-app soothing sound generator (??), and more. Really leaning into that “health and wellness” to get users to stop doomscrolling.
  

• What’s happening with the TikTok ban? Well, it seems like no one really knows. Even the lawmakers behind the ban. Cool, cool.
  

• You can now lock 2x playback speed by swiping down on a TikTok video.

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top other social media news from the week

• DMs are coming back to YouTube.
  

• X has officially rolled out its new, improved, and way more encrypted DMs!
  

• X will now be adding a user’s location, account creation date, username changes, and more to profiles.
  

• “Topic Chats,” a new feature inside Snapchat, where users can join a public discussion on different topics each day.
  

• Watch out, CapCut and Edits! Canva is coming for you with its latest short-form video edits.

Read of the week

Scrolling before bed isn’t bad for you (shocking!)

Is scrolling through TikTok before bed actually … not that bad?

It seems that scientists can’t agree whether scrolling your phone before bed is actually bad for your sleep, or okay. 

For a long time, it seemed like the overall consensus was that using your phone before bed = BAD, but according to a new study by Sleep Health … scrolling could actually be fine? And that blue light we’ve all been so worked up about? Probably not that bad.

Shocking, I know.

According to the research, those who scrolled regularly (at least 5 nights a week) slept normally and “had the best sleep timing and daytime alertness.”

So why is it that some people are on their phone for hours and can’t sleep when they use it before bed? It could actually be because of WHAT you’re scrolling (i.e., work emails, bad news, etc) and not WHEN you’re scrolling. 

As someone who scrolls cat videos each night on TikTok and then sleeps like a baby afterwards, dare I say, I might agree with this study. 

Listen of the week

Vine walked so TikTok could run

The Verge’s latest episode of Version History breaks down the history of one of the best apps the internet ever put out: Vine (RIP): the highs, the lows, the in-fighting at Twitter, and so much more.

Plus, how if it weren’t for Vine, we wouldn’t have TikTok as we know it today.

And that’s all, folks!

You’re all the best, and I feel so lucky that you chose to open my email and read all the updates you need to know.

I hope you have a great rest of the year! I’ll see you in 2026. ❤️

Mackenzie