The trends that will make you optimistic about the future in 2025

Geopolitical conflict and global instability, climate change, rising inequality, misinformation and disinformation, increasing social division and cyber insecurity have become some of the defining trends of 2024.

In January, The World Economic Forum ranked misinformation and disinformation the most severe short-term risk factors the world is facing, with extreme weather and societal polarisation coming in second and third, respectively.

Globally, 65 per cent of people agree that 2024 was a bad year for their country, according to polling by market research company IPSOS.

A graph showing 65 per cent of people agree 2024 was a bad year for their country.

Globally, 65 per cent of people agree that 2024 was a bad year for their country, according to polling by market research company IPSOS. Source: SBS News

Despite these concerning trends, researchers say there are some positive trends that will likely continue through 2025 and beyond.

Social researcher and futurist Mark McCrindle told SBS News people have a lot of uncertainty about the future and are also experiencing “change fatigue”, having lived through so many large global changes recently, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI).

However, McCrindle said it is still possible for people to adapt and increase their confidence about the years ahead.

“There are challenges ahead, but we can respond proactively and face the future with a degree of innovation,” McCrindle said.

Emergence of AI transforming work and wellbeing

McCrindle said while workforce participation is at an all-time high, many people are reassessing the role of work in their lives and are increasingly seeking ways to improve their quality of life.

In July this year, workforce participation reached a record high of 67.1 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

“People already are feeling a bit strained, they’re looking for more work-life balance, not more work. They’re looking to manage their well-being, not just spend longer and longer in a workplace.”

A woman with dark hair and glasses looks down at a laptop.

Younger workers are incorporating artificial intelligence into their work lives. Source: Getty / Jacob Wackerhausen

McCrindle said the emergence of more AI technologies may be starting to help with this pursuit.

McCrindle Research found one in five workers in their 20s uses AI to assist with their tasks at work at least on a daily basis.

“In a period of just two years, that has emerged to become mainstream for particularly young workers, knowledge economy workers and is an example of where it can assist with productivity,” he said.

McCrindle said other applications of technology, such as online grocery ordering, preprogramming home devices, or using apps to organise schedules, have all helped people add more time to their days.

“There’s a productivity paradox that we need more productivity, and yet we don’t want to work longer and harder; we want to try to balance our lives. There is a solution that we’re already seeing through technology and innovation,” McCrindle said.

He said technology and the pandemic have driven dramatic changes to the structure of workplaces to benefit workers in recent years, such as increased flexibility and working from home arrangements.

“We’ve got a lot more freedom in our week to work from home or anywhere on some of those days, and that’s changed not just where we work but when we work. The hours have become more adaptable to suit individual family or individual needs and responsibilities.”

Global consensus grows on need for climate action

Global polling from IPSOS published in September showed broad agreement that more needs to be done to mitigate the effects of climate change, with 80 per cent agreeing the world is heading for environmental disaster without rapid climate action.

In Australia, 77 per cent of people agree the world is heading for environmental disaster without rapid climate action.

A graph showing Australians who agree we are heading for environmental disaster without rapid climate action.

In Australia, 77 per cent of people agree the world is heading for environmental disaster without rapid climate action. Source: SBS News

While the report found health and wealth inequality concerns tend to take priority, it also found worldwide investment in climate resilience and mitigation is rising as the effects of climate change are becoming clearer.

IPSOS said attitudes towards climate and the environment have been one of the strongest shifts recorded by its decade-long reporting on global trends.

“Between 2014 and 2024, the world has moved from questioning whether climate change is really happening to debating how best we meet our binding global targets for carbon emissions.”

Increasing concern about climate change has been one of the most dramatic shifts in attitudes observed by marketing insights company IPSOS. Source: Getty / Byronsdad

Germany, Great Britain and the United States have all experienced a significant shift since 2023 towards an agreement that the world is headed for environmental disaster unless we change habits quickly.

Brad Hyde, a director at IPSOS, told SBS News it’s “not just Nordic countries” who are expressing interest in tackling climate change.

“It’s all around the world, including Australia,” Hyde said.

“The real question is how quickly can we all change our daily lives and our daily habits, and are we expecting businesses and organisations to do the same if climate change is an issue?”

Increased scepticism of social media

McCrindle said his recent surveys have shown dramatic changes to social media usage and a rising scepticism towards social media and the time lost to social media apps is another positive trend.

According to McCrindle Research’s 2025 trends report, 57 per cent of gen Z wish social media had never been created, and 86 per cent have taken steps to try and reduce social media usage.

He said there is increasing awareness that social media is not what was necessarily promised and people are increasingly setting boundaries in their lives to prevent themselves from spending too much time on it.

In late November, the Australian government passed a landmark .

The law was part of a series of proposed legislations and changes aimed at addressing challenges posed by big tech, such as misinformation, AI, and anti-competitive conduct.

McCrindle said the research around social media attitudes and behaviours among young people shows a shift in public opinion.

“Now we talk about big tech in the same way people talked about big tobacco of the past: that they’re predatory, that they’re disseminating misinformation, that they are toxic, that they’re addictive in the way they’re structured and harming society.”

A woman and a young boy lit by screens at night.

The Australian government has passed landmark legislation to ban children under 16 from social media platforms. Source: Getty / ljubaphoto

“There’s a real sense of optimism that we are getting control back in our lives, so that’s a positive,” McCrindle said.

Increasing rates of higher education

Education rates are on the rise across generations, with formal and post-school education becoming increasingly common for school leavers.

According to 2021 ABS data, a higher percentage of millennials are obtaining postgraduate degrees compared to gen X (11 per cent vs 8 per cent), and more than twice as many millennials hold a bachelor’s degree compared to baby boomers (27 per cent vs 13 per cent).

A table showing education levels across generations

Source: SBS News

McCrindle said these trends in education are likely to continue growing for gen Z and gen alpha (people born after 2010).

“We know that education can lead to empowerment, employment and better health outcomes, and that’s this generation — and that’s true globally. There’s an increase in the education and retention rate of students right around the world,” he said.

“We’ve got a generation that has size, education, technology and global connection and even longer years of life, which means that they can utilise those incredible opportunities to bring about solutions too and to change things in this world.”

Evolving significance of mental health

IPSOS polling shows more people are becoming aware of health decisions and want more power over their health choices.

More people are also placing increased importance on mental wellbeing.

Hyde said people between 16 and 44 years old are particularly expressing a desire to improve their mental wellbeing.

A middle-aged man with dark hair working on a laptop.

A majority of Australian men are expressing a desire to improve their mental health. Source: Getty / FG Trade Latin

According to IPSOS, 75 per cent of Australians feel as though they need to do more to care for their mental wellbeing, with 72 per cent of men and 77 per cent of women agreeing.

In addition to this, 69 per cent of Australians believe their mental health will be better in 2025 than in 2024.

“For the first time globally, we’ve seen the importance that people place on their mental health has risen to the same level as the importance people place on their physical health,” Hyde said.

“The majority of us agree that we need to do more for our own mental wellbeing.”

Breaking

The trends that will make you optimistic about the future in 2025

Emergence of AI transforming work and wellbeing