'Dumb phones' and a return to tobacco pipes: The New York Times' predictions for 2026

Zohran Mamdani has been officially sworn in as mayor of New York City in a private ceremony held at midnight New York time. Mamdani's appointment comes with a lot of firsts: he is the first South Asian, millennial and Muslim mayor. His ceremony will also be the first to include the Koran. The New York Times notes he’s expected to use several unique Korans, including one that belonged to his grandfather and another that belonged to Arturo Schomburg, a Black writer and historian. Once the pomp and ceremony is over, Mamdani will face many challenges as mayor. Jacobin, a New York-based socialist magazine, says that he will have to raise taxes to fund promised programmes like universal childcare and transport. For this, he’ll need the support of Governor Kathy Hochul, who has previously said she will oppose said tax increases.

Here in France, President Emmanuel Macron has delivered his New Year’s speech and laid out his plans for the new year. Among those plans: French lawmakers have put forward a draft bill to follow in Australia's footsteps and ban social media access for teenagers. The Guardian notes that the bill cites the risks of excessive screen use by teenagers – including being exposed to inappropriate content, sleep issues and online bullying. The proposed legislation would ban social media for under-15s and ban mobile phones in high schools, affecting teens between 15 to 18 years old. Le Monde reports that the legislation will be debated this month, but only after it passes the legal review from the Council of State, France's highest administrative authority.

Finally, the new year also brings in new trends, something a lot of the press is talking about. The New York Times looks at life predictions in 2026. It predicts we will return to "dumb phones" in 2026 – with these old phones becoming a new status symbol. When it comes to dating, 2026 will no longer be about playing it cool – instead, embracing the risks of romance and declaring your love for that special person!  The paper also predicts that we'll see a return to tobacco pipes in an apparent rebellion against the "clumsy, charmless" vapes – but also in a desperate desire for "Dickensian glamour". Another trend we're expected to see this year: the "exfluencer" – the slow decline of influencers, who seek more traditional careers. The Independent, meanwhile, looks at 2025 trends that will become embarrassing in 2026. These include: confessing to using Chat GPT for something you could have Googled yourself; giant water bottles that weigh the size of an infant; and (hopefully!) Labubus!

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