Creative agency OK COOL has released its sixth annual trend report, “The Societal Ozempification of Personality,” surveying more than 2,900 respondents and finding that a majority believe algorithmic optimization has gone too far, with large shares reporting a desire to reclaim effort, individuality, and offline experience.
The survey found that 72.6% of respondents said “optimisationmaxxing” is negatively affecting their life, and 79.3% agreed with the statement “to be cringe is to be free.” Nearly 69% of respondents said they see less individuality in the world today.
Fieldwork ran from June to August 2026. Respondents skewed Millennial (53.8%) and Gen Z (34.7%), with Gen X at 10.2%, Gen Alpha at 0.8%, and Boomers at 0.4%. Geographically, 36.9% came from the U.S. and Canada, 27.4% from the UK, 18.8% from Continental Europe, and smaller shares from Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The Algorithm as ‘Situationship’
Asked to characterize their relationship with content algorithms, 52.3% of respondents chose the word “situationship,” while 26.5% described it as “toxic.” Only 20.7% said their algorithm “knows their love language.”
On taste, close to half of respondents said that while their taste still originates on the algorithm, they do the work of shaping it themselves; just 18% said they have fully ceded that process to algorithmic recommendation.
Community and Individuality
The share of respondents who said they are commenting more on others’ content rose to 35.4%, up from 29% in OK COOL’s prior-year survey. More than half, 52.2%, said they belong to an exclusive online community.
On where people place themselves relative to digital life, 40.5% said they could not tell the difference between their online and offline existence. Another 39.4% described themselves as “(un)happily online,” while 20.2% said they are actively pursuing offline goals.
AI Sentiment Splits
Respondents were divided on artificial intelligence: 28.4% described themselves as skeptical and 27% as angry, versus 9.1% excited and 11.7% “chill.” Another 16.3% selected “other” and 7.5% said they were confused.
Platform Preferences
On short-form video, 46.1% of respondents said Instagram Reels “reign supreme,” compared with 30.3% who favored TikTok.
The report is organized around six sections: “Maybe Doing It for the Bit Was the Meaning of Life All Along,” “Taste Is a Castle Inside Your Mind,” “What Even Is a Platform These Days?,” “The Creators Must Have a Great Etsy Witch,” “Brands Are in Their ‘Put Your Back Into It’ Era,” and “Just Show You Care as Much as You Want Them To.” OK COOL defines its central concept, “high-effort humanity,” as what it calls the societal yearning to use friction, process, and discomfort as tools for self-discovery, connection, and expertise.
The agency’s co-founders, Jolyon Varley, OK COOL’s Global Head of Brand, and Liz Stone, its Global Chief Creative Officer, wrote in the report that it is produced annually with no client involvement or editorial guardrails. The report follows OK COOL’s 2025 edition, “Let Them Eat Lore,” which focused on communal consumption and the rise of perspective as a form of currency.
The report also includes recommendations directed at brands, including guidance to lean into distinct positions rather than universally inoffensive messaging, to invest in content and products that function as durable “artefacts” rather than disposable virality, and to treat community-building as a long-term investment rather than a one-off campaign tactic.
OK COOL describes itself as a creative agency built around the idea that social media is where culture is made and where brand positioning gets built, working with clients including Meta, Nike, Lululemon, Spotify and Verizon. The firm has offices in London, New York, Sydney, and Los Angeles and joined the Residence network, a global collective of creative companies, in early 2026.
Image source: OK COOL The full report can be found here
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Creative agency OK COOL has released its sixth annual trend report, “The Societal Ozempification of Personality,” surveying more than 2,900 respondents and finding that a majority believe algorithmic optimization has gone too far, with large shares reporting a desire to reclaim effort, individuality, and offline experience.
The survey found that 72.6% of respondents said “optimisationmaxxing” is negatively affecting their life, and 79.3% agreed with the statement “to be cringe is to be free.” Nearly 69% of respondents said they see less individuality in the world today.
Fieldwork ran from June to August 2026. Respondents skewed Millennial (53.8%) and Gen Z (34.7%), with Gen X at 10.2%, Gen Alpha at 0.8%, and Boomers at 0.4%. Geographically, 36.9% came from the U.S. and Canada, 27.4% from the UK, 18.8% from Continental Europe, and smaller shares from Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The Algorithm as ‘Situationship’
Asked to characterize their relationship with content algorithms, 52.3% of respondents chose the word “situationship,” while 26.5% described it as “toxic.” Only 20.7% said their algorithm “knows their love language.”
On taste, close to half of respondents said that while their taste still originates on the algorithm, they do the work of shaping it themselves; just 18% said they have fully ceded that process to algorithmic recommendation.
Community and Individuality
The share of respondents who said they are commenting more on others’ content rose to 35.4%, up from 29% in OK COOL’s prior-year survey. More than half, 52.2%, said they belong to an exclusive online community.
On where people place themselves relative to digital life, 40.5% said they could not tell the difference between their online and offline existence. Another 39.4% described themselves as “(un)happily online,” while 20.2% said they are actively pursuing offline goals.
AI Sentiment Splits
Respondents were divided on artificial intelligence: 28.4% described themselves as skeptical and 27% as angry, versus 9.1% excited and 11.7% “chill.” Another 16.3% selected “other” and 7.5% said they were confused.
Platform Preferences
On short-form video, 46.1% of respondents said Instagram Reels “reign supreme,” compared with 30.3% who favored TikTok.
The report is organized around six sections: “Maybe Doing It for the Bit Was the Meaning of Life All Along,” “Taste Is a Castle Inside Your Mind,” “What Even Is a Platform These Days?,” “The Creators Must Have a Great Etsy Witch,” “Brands Are in Their ‘Put Your Back Into It’ Era,” and “Just Show You Care as Much as You Want Them To.” OK COOL defines its central concept, “high-effort humanity,” as what it calls the societal yearning to use friction, process, and discomfort as tools for self-discovery, connection, and expertise.
The agency’s co-founders, Jolyon Varley, OK COOL’s Global Head of Brand, and Liz Stone, its Global Chief Creative Officer, wrote in the report that it is produced annually with no client involvement or editorial guardrails. The report follows OK COOL’s 2025 edition, “Let Them Eat Lore,” which focused on communal consumption and the rise of perspective as a form of currency.
The report also includes recommendations directed at brands, including guidance to lean into distinct positions rather than universally inoffensive messaging, to invest in content and products that function as durable “artefacts” rather than disposable virality, and to treat community-building as a long-term investment rather than a one-off campaign tactic.
OK COOL describes itself as a creative agency built around the idea that social media is where culture is made and where brand positioning gets built, working with clients including Meta, Nike, Lululemon, Spotify and Verizon. The firm has offices in London, New York, Sydney, and Los Angeles and joined the Residence network, a global collective of creative companies, in early 2026.
Image source: OK COOL
The full report can be found here
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