What will actually shape society by 2026—and which signals are already visible right now?

In this episode, generational futurist Ryan Vet explores how 2026 will arrive faster than we expect, why the pace of change is no longer linear but compounding, and why 2026 won’t be remembered as a year of answers but as a year of signals.

Rather than offering hype-driven futurist predictions, Ryan breaks down the deeper forces already reshaping society beneath the surface. Drawing on generational patterns, cultural history, and current data, he explains why artificial intelligence, trust erosion, education shifts, and widening cultural divides are not isolated trends but interconnected expressions of a larger recalibration already underway.

This conversation looks at what’s quietly changing now—and what that means for leaders, parents, educators, and institutions heading into 2026.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

AI in 2026
Why we’ve already crossed the AI tipping point, how adoption has accelerated faster than any prior technology, and why the most significant risk isn’t job loss—but how AI changes thinking, learning, reasoning, and problem-solving long before the effects are obvious.

Cognitive offloading and dependency
How everyday tools like GPS, voice assistants, and AI tutors slowly reduce cognitive effort, why each tradeoff feels harmless in isolation, and why friction is where learning actually happens. Ryan explains when assistance quietly becomes erosion—and why this matters more than automation.

Technology management, not technology debate
Why 2026 marks a shift from arguing whether technology is good or bad to learning how to manage dependency intentionally.

Education in 2026
Why credentials are losing influence, proof is replacing prestige, and learning models are fragmenting across public, private, hybrid, and alternative paths—and why demonstrated capability increasingly matters more than titles or degrees.

The contradiction shaping the next generation
Why parents and schools are restricting screens while AI adoption accelerates into classrooms, toys, learning platforms, and daily workflows—and the tension this creates for early development.

Trust, credibility, and leadership
How trust is eroding across generations, why credibility is becoming provisional, and why people increasingly place trust in individuals rather than institutions.

Cultural polarization beyond politics
Why polarization now extends far beyond political affiliation into workplaces, brands, leadership expectations, and everyday life.

The arrival of Gen Beta
What it means for a generation to grow up from day one in a world where AI is an assumed layer of reality—and how early formation is changing in ways we’re only beginning to understand.

This episode ultimately asks the harder questions:

What happens when assistance quietly becomes erosion?
When does convenience weaken capability?
How do you lead, teach, and parent intentionally in a world moving faster than refl

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Ryan Vet is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist, and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold.

If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter:
👉 https://collide.ryanvet.com

What Gen Z’s relationship with Christmas reveals isn’t really about holiday greetings—it’s about the future of faith, belief, and institutional trust.

In this episode, generational futurist Ryan Vet explores a growing contradiction shaping Gen Z: belief in a higher power is rising, while participation in organized religion is collapsing. Drawing on data from Pew Research, the General Social Survey, Barna, Gallup, and Springtide Institute, Ryan explains why Gen Z is not becoming less spiritual—but far more selective about where and how belief shows up.

Is it okay to say Merry Christmas this year? Using Christmas as a cultural signal, Ryan unpacks why debates over saying “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays” are mostly noise, and what they reveal about a deeper generational shift. Beneath the surface is a widening divide between spirituality and religion, authenticity and performance, belief and institutions.

This episode explores:

• Why Gen Z belief in a higher power is increasing while church attendance declines
• How institutional skepticism—shaped by Gen X—resurfaced and intensified in Gen Z
• Why Gen Z is deeply allergic to hypocrisy and performative faith
• The surprising rise in Bible sales, increased commitment among churchgoing Gen Z, and a gender shift in attendance
• How spirituality is being reframed as mental health, grounding, and self-connection rather than doctrine

Through a futurist lens, Ryan explains why Gen Z is not indifferent to faith—but polarized. Some are doubling down with conviction and consistency, while others are opting out entirely, often because organized religion feels inauthentic or misaligned with lived values.

The defining question of this moment isn’t how we greet customers in December.
It’s whether belief systems—religious, institutional, or cultural—can hold together under scrutiny.

If you’re interested in:

• Gen Z and religion
• Spirituality vs organized religion
• Generational change and cultural polarization
• Faith, authenticity, and institutional trust
• What Christmas reveals about belief and belonging

…this conversation will challenge how you see both the data and the deeper signal underneath it.

🎧 Listen now and vote in this week’s Your Perspective poll.

Send us a text

Ryan Vet is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist, and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold.

If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter:
👉 https://collide.ryanvet.com

We’re building technology faster than we’re asking questions, and this time, the danger may be silent.

In this episode, generational futurist and leadership speaker Ryan Vet explores how society has historically responded to new technology—from television and video games to smartphones and social media—and why artificial intelligence is fundamentally different. Using real-world examples, generational research, and cultural patterns, Ryan breaks down why previous technologies gave us time to react, debate, overcorrect, and recalibrate—and why AI will not.

Ryan examines how social media became the ultimate babysitter, how visibility disappeared as screens moved from living rooms to pockets, and why isolation—not content—is the real threat facing kids and teens today. He connects rising adolescent anxiety, depression, and mental health challenges to algorithmic systems that shape identity in private, individualized ways no generation has ever experienced before.

Most importantly, this episode asks the harder question leaders, parents, and policymakers can’t afford to ignore:
What scene will we walk into a year from now and barely recognize if we keep reacting instead of leading?

If you care about:

• Artificial intelligence and society
• Social media’s impact on kids and mental health
• Generational behavior and cultural shifts
• Leadership in the age of rapid technological change
• Parenting, technology, and the future of human connection

…this conversation is for you.

🎧 Listen now, head over to https://collide.ryanvet.com to vote in this week’s Your Perspective poll and see how others are thinking about AI, kids, and the future.

Send us a text

Ryan Vet is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist, and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold.

If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter:
👉 https://collide.ryanvet.com