Brief summary: A chronological compilation of 25 social, technological, and economic trends emerging in the US and the world in 2025. From marriage, religion, and news consumption to AI, children's health, and global issues, the article explains the big-picture trends and their significance through data, graphs, and striking quotes. It provides a comprehensive view of the complexity of social change.
1. Marriage Has Become a 'Luxury Good'
Marriage in America is becoming increasingly rare and delayed. Among women born in 1940, 80% were married by age 25, whereas only about 20% of those born in 1990 were married at the same age. This shift has transformed marriage and divorce patterns across society, with marriage rates dropping most dramatically among lower-income and less-educated groups. Those who do marry now tend to be concentrated among the highly educated and high-income, and their divorce rates are also lower.
"Divorce rates for first marriages that began in the 2010s are projected to reach their lowest point since World War II."
In reality, marriage is becoming an indicator of an 'affluent life'.
2. The Youth Religious Revival Is Greatly Exaggerated
There has been much news about Gen Z returning to religion, but the reality says otherwise. Social survey results published by data analyst Ryan Burge show that Gen Z has the lowest rate of attending religious services at least once a week, and the proportion responding 'never attend' has reached a record high of 38%.
"When baby boomers were in their 20s, only 15% didn't attend religious services, but now 38% of Gen Z say the same."
3. Half of Americans No Longer Get News from the News
Half of Americans now get their news not from traditional outlets (newspapers, online media, etc.) but through social media and influencers. This is a reality that news industry professionals and political commentators alike must not forget. The influence of 'news' is declining, and algorithms and personalized information are now driving public perception.
4. The 'Unsocial Era' Is the 'Age of Meaninglessness'
Young people are socializing and partying less and spending more time alone, most of which goes to solitary entertainment like TV watching, gaming, and social media. This isn't inherently bad, but even they themselves say these activities feel 'the least meaningful.'
"The sense of meaning derived from solitary entertainment is far lower than that from caring for children or spending time with friends -- that's the actual response from people in their 20s."
5. Young People Are Stepping Away from Alcohol
Among the younger generation, the belief that 'even moderate drinking is harmful to health' has surged. As a result, alcohol consumption has dropped to a record low, and simultaneously, this generation tends to be more neurotic, less social, and more introverted.
"Alcohol makes me less neurotic, friendlier, and more extroverted. Perhaps that's why today's young people seem more neurotic, less friendly, and less extroverted than before."
6. Sexual Activity Has Also Declined
Among men aged 22-34, the proportion reporting no sexual activity in the past year has nearly doubled since the mid-2010s. This change hints at a personally and socially significant inflection point.
7. 1872: The Year That Changed the Landscape of Political Freedom
The introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 was a turning point for political freedom. Previously, voting was a public and collective performance, but with the introduction of the secret ballot and individual voting booths, individuals could freely choose according to 'their own convictions.'
"Voting could now be interpreted purely according to individual beliefs and values, free from external pressure."
8. Trump Completely Reshaped the Political Landscape of White Voters
The voting patterns of white voters have been historically reversed. In the past, wealthy whites supported the Republicans and poor whites supported the Democrats, but now the opposite is true: the poorest whites tend to support Republicans, while wealthier whites lean Democratic.
"The reversal of white voter preferences in the Trump era is the most dramatic shift in modern history."
9. Southern States 'Dominate' Housing Supply
Southern US states (South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, etc.) have housing supply rates (new construction per 1,000 residents) far exceeding other regions. Meanwhile, California, New York, Massachusetts, and others lag in new construction.
10. Why Is Housing Supply Weak in English-Speaking Countries?
Over the past decade, the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking countries have had the weakest new housing supply in the OECD. The exact cause is still unclear, but one theory is that long-standing historical and legal traditions have resulted in resistance to construction projects.
11. Walkable Cities Extend Lifespans
A 2025 study tracking 2 million people found that people who moved to denser, 'walkable' environments walked an additional 1,100 steps per day (1,400 in New York City). As a result, moving to a walkable city yields approximately 3 additional months of life expectancy after 10 years.
"Moving to a walkable city increases moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by one hour per week."
12. AI Accounts for All Employment Growth in Tech
According to Mary Meeker's AI report, across the entire IT industry, employment growth in recent years has come solely from AI jobs, while the rest of IT employment has stagnated or declined. In other words, without AI, tech sector jobs simply haven't grown.
13. US Infrastructure Investment Concentrated on AI
Major tech companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have invested $100-200 billion in AI-based infrastructure (chips, data centers, etc.) in the past 6 months. This scale is evaluated as the largest infrastructure project in history, comparable to the 1960s computer era and the 1880s railroad era.
"AI capital investment as a share has surpassed the dot-com bubble and is approaching the railroad golden age."
14. AI Driving the Stock Market
The top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 (mostly AI-focused big tech) have dominated net income growth over the past 6 years. It is now more meaningful to look at 'S&P 10 vs S&P 490.'
15. Everyone Uses AI
Currently, two-thirds of Americans interact with AI several times a week. Among those under 30, it rises to 75%. The speed of AI adoption is faster than the telephone (which took decades to spread), approaching the universalization of TV.
16. Self-Driving Cars, Quietly Succeeding
The expectation from 2015 that 'self-driving cars will be commonplace by 2020' didn't pan out, but as of 2025, autonomous taxis in California are logging over 4 million miles per month. Notably, self-driving cars are far safer than human drivers, and if widely adopted, could save millions of lives worldwide.
17. The Strongest Case That AI Won't Destroy White-Collar Jobs: Jevons' Paradox
There are fears that AI will take human jobs, but looking at history, Excel, spreadsheets, and efficiency gains have actually caused related jobs to multiply dramatically. In other words, AI adoption leading to more ideas and 'production' means the era of 'knowledge workers' is likely to expand rather than shrink.
"Because of AI, more people may become 'knowledge workers' or 'influencers.'"
18. Historically, Automation Creates Job 'Value Shifts' Rather Than Eliminating Jobs
A 1956 US Congressional report predicted that automation would reduce simple labor and increase more complex, skilled jobs and management positions -- and this turned out to be remarkably accurate.
"Automation eliminates some production jobs but has a greater effect of creating new jobs requiring higher skills."
19. As AI Gets Smarter, Are We Getting 'Dumber'?
The author confesses, "I'm fundamentally optimistic, but the recent decline in reading comprehension, understanding, and problem-solving among teens and adults is concerning." With AI making it easy to cheat on homework and assignments, and screens and social media stealing focus, the analysis suggests we may have passed 'peak human brain power' and are on a downward trend.
20. 'Reindustrialization' Policy: The Opposite Outcome in Practice
The Trump administration expected manufacturing to revive through tariffs and protectionism, but in reality, US manufacturing production and employment are both in recession and decline. In other words, Trump-style industrial policy has weakened the non-AI manufacturing base.
21. An Economy Rife with Grift
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) reports that investment fraud has surged in recent years. This can be seen as the dark side of the digital economy.
22. The Top 10% Account for Half of All Spending
About 50% of total US consumer spending comes from the top 10% wealthiest households. It's also notable that this shift concentrated around the mid-1990s, when the middle class was still doing well.
23. Declining Vaccine Confidence, Threatening Children's Health
After COVID-19, vaccine skepticism has surged, and vaccination rates for essential vaccines like measles and polio have dropped sharply since 2021. As a result, measles in the US is experiencing its worst outbreak in the 21st century, and the risk of infectious diseases spreading nationwide is growing.
"When confidence in vaccines declines, children inevitably get sicker."
24. Global Children's Health: Obesity Instead of Starvation
In 1953 India, the mortality rate before age 5 exceeded 25%, but it has now dramatically decreased to 3%. The leading causes of child death have shifted from infection and malnutrition to obesity. As of 2025, for the first time in human history, the number of obese children worldwide exceeds the number of underweight children.
"Progress is closer to replacing old problems with new (slightly better) ones."
25. The World Is Awful. The World Is Much Better. And It Can Be Much More!
To summarize, the core of the author's philosophy is as follows:
"The world is simultaneously bad, much better than before, and can become even better still."
Closing
This article shows how the world around us is changing in complex and dynamic ways across society, technology, economy, health, and numerous other dimensions in 2025. The world is still full of problems, but it beautifully summarizes that remarkable progress and new challenges are emerging alongside them.