Niche vs mainstream: the end of watching the same thing

There was a time when everyone watched roughly the same things: same shows, same songs, same summer blockbusters. Today everyone lives in their own version of the internet, and two people the same age can share almost no references. It's neither a bug nor a passing fad: it's the great fragmentation of culture.

Why the mainstream is crumbling

Personalised recommendation has replaced the TV schedule. Instead of offering the same thing to everyone, platforms serve each person whatever fits them best. It's comfortable, but it removes the common meeting point: there's no longer a place where 'everyone' gathers at the same time around the same thing.

The result: truly universal phenomena are becoming rare, and often shorter-lived. A trend can feel enormous inside your bubble and stay completely unknown in the next one over. The famous 'everyone is talking about it' has become an optical illusion - everyone... in your feed.

The revenge of the niches

Meanwhile, niches have never been more alive. Whatever the passion - an obscure music genre, a forgotten craft, a cryptic strategy game - somewhere there's a community taking it seriously, with its specialists, its debates and its local stars. The niche offers what the mainstream can't: depth, and the pleasure of being among people who get it.

What we gain, what we lose

We gain better-fed passions and tighter communities. We lose a bit of common ground: those shared references that let you chat with absolutely anyone. The workaround? Be bilingual. Go deep on your niche, but keep a curious eye on what's happening elsewhere - if only to understand what the other bubbles are talking about.

The monoculture had its flaws; fragmentation has its own. But one thing is certain: it has never been easier to find your people. You just have to step out and say hello to everyone else once in a while.