Rachel Choi is a Behavioural Analyst at Canvas8. With a degree in Archaeology and Anthropology from Oxford University, she has an interdisciplinary understanding of behavioural and cultural patterns across societies. She has a love for stories that capture the nature of human experience, through writing, media, or material culture. Outside of work, you can find her attending exhibitions, oscillating between overthinking and head-empty-just-vibes, or rewatching her favourite (usually Studio Ghibli!) films.


People are redefining status for themselves using a broad range of factors beyond solely economic ones. This new iteration of status is often based around increasingly niche and local signifiers, and status is becoming a mode of belonging and connection with like-minded people.

Insider Status

People are reflecting on what’s still worth owning in a sharing-enabled world.

Ownership Reset

In the turbulent economic environment, money is losing its value. People are reevaluating their spending across sectors. With a looming crisis of trust in financial institutions, how are people managing their budgets? And how can brands navigate the complex relationship between value and cost?

Critical Spenders

Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience. 

Personal Worlds

, relationship mantras like “If he wanted to, he would” and 

 have turned everyday acts of care into high-stakes tests of attention. 

The Catalyst

 where Lou receives bumblebee tights has become shorthand for a specific kind of longing to be understood so closely that someone remembers the small, strange detail. As younger generations navigate economic uncertainty, algorithmic feed homogenization and choice fatigue, the act of giving has shifted from pure material joys to practices of emotional care, identity signalling and mutual understanding.

This comes as traditional status symbols are breaking down. 88% of people in the US engage with niche communities, while 45% of Gen Z, millennial and Gen X Americans feel more connected to these 

Axios

 And so displays of ownership are being replaced by low-cost, high-thought rituals, reflected in viral trends like

 ‘small things gift exchange’ gatherings

, with Gen Zers gifting each other little treats like snacks and trinkets. Memes and 

 have also become the objects of everyday gifting, with DMs becoming invisible sites of exchange. 

Taylor & Francis Online

 This emotional pivot is deeply intertwined with 

 and embedded digital existence. Gen Z is embracing frugality, secondhand sourcing and 

Yet, as algorithms flatten taste and AI-generated media saturate discovery feeds, young people crave 

. This dynamic creates a tension between online self-projection and offline reality. On one hand, identity is endlessly curated online through formats like the 

, which function as visual badges of belonging. On the other hand, young people are documenting a desire to step back from screens, turning to 

 to anchor themselves. However, as cultural critic Kyle Chayka warns, this urge to 

 can backfire into performative authenticity. 

Truffle Culture

 becomes less about genuine living and more about signalling curated taste back onto the feed.

In a landscape dominated by curated personas and constant feed surveillance, even the gift guide has evolved from a practical shopping list into an aesthetic template – a conduit for creators and shoppers to signal taste, status and algorithmic alignment. 

trademarked

Culture Study

Market Appointment

 But when digital life is so endlessly staged, the most meaningful gifts transcend identity validation and signalling. Instead, they become acts of deep care – using a friend’s niche starter pack references not 

, but as a starting point for true understanding or offering an undivided IRL presence to cut through the noise. To make sense of Gen Z’s gifting behaviours and desires, Canvas8 spoke with Dayna Castillo, digital strategist, writer, cultural anthropologist of internet trends, and founder of 

 – to unpack why gifting now depends on interpreting digital signals without mistaking curated aesthetics for genuine intimacy.

How do young people connect and convey thoughtfulness today?

Communication and connection have seen the biggest shift that we’ve seen between generations, especially Gen Y, Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Digital communication was introduced to Gen Yers as a tool – something you check into and out of. The way that Gen Z and Alpha use the internet and digital spaces is so much more embedded day-to-day – constantly connected and constantly reachable. It’s like a shadow, where you’re moving through the world with other people having the ability to walk behind you at all times and be aware of where you are, what you’re doing, and what you should be doing.

Why does offline time feel more valuable now?

We’ve seen a huge return-to-analogue trend over the past year, where people are romanticising pre-tech behaviours rather than just tangible objects. There’s a deep desire to return to a time before constant surveillance and hyperconnectivity. That desire is driving people back toward community, connection and offline spaces. Making yourself less available digitally allows you to be much more specific about where you spend your time and who you spend it with. Those connections feel deeper because the time, effort and intention are so much stronger. When you connect IRL in those physical ways, time is almost a gift in that respect – being more intentional with your time, being present physically, mentally, and engaged.

Memes are inherently communication even if outsiders may think they’re silly. A single meme takes paragraphs of exposition and smashes it into a visual with a variable text or image that both people understand. Sending a friend a niche meme in their DMs is the digital equivalent of walking through a park, picking up a funny leaf or rock, and saying, “I saw this and thought of you.” It signals that they occupy space in your brain. Ultimately, good gifting translates back to good communication, relatability and feeling understood. It’s not so much about the physical item itself; taking up space in someone else’s brain is the actual value and gift.

What does it mean to be meaningfully read in a digital world?

How individuals move through digital spaces is a direct projection of who they are as a person, their personal taste and identity. If a person is receiving a gift, and the person giving it misses the mark, it creates a break in understanding because the gifter failed to correctly interpret the digital signals being put out. That leaves the recipient feeling misunderstood.

Do wishlists help remove the guesswork of giving?

When you just buy directly off a link, it takes out the personal guesswork, but it can feel completely impersonal, taking away the surprise of seeing how someone else interprets your personality. Amazon wishlists, saves, Pinterest boards and direct DMs are like a digital registry – it’s part of taste curation.

Do curated digital signals guide or mislead people?

A curated digital registry or wishlist often reflects who someone aspires to be in the future, rather than who they are in the present. So, this all goes back to curating a digital persona and identity, and this can influence what people want. I think it’s almost a barometer of how well you know this person, whether it’s online or in physical spaces – whether you can interpret who that person actually is when the screen buffer is removed, or if you’re just buying into their aspirational curation.

How does effort and awareness of consumerism change what a gift is worth?

We’re all participating in capitalism; you can’t escape consumerism completely, so it comes down to what level you’re willing to participate in. In that context, gifting can act as a microrebellion – especially through secondhand and resale culture. Gifting always comes back to feeling understood, and value is now fragmented. In an economy where money is tight, price point matters far less than the effort shown to prove you understand someone. Sourcing a secondhand item, making something by hand, or remembering an obscure reference proves you spent mental energy and time. High effort signals deep understanding and shows that you went out of your way to find something despite your financial status.

Are experiences becoming the new keepsakes?

I absolutely think so. Rather than a physical item, you’re giving a memory and a positive emotional impact, which are incredibly valuable. But there’s also a secondary layer: experiences become content. Going out to a nice dinner or an event with a friend creates a positive memory, but you also snap the picture and put it on Instagram. It becomes social currency that proves you were in the world, sharing intentional time with someone. Almost any experience outside your home can be captured as content, making shared time feel both deeply personal and socially valuable.

Prioritise effort currency over price tags

Price point and effort are two separate things. Monetary value doesn’t necessarily determine whether a gift is good or not. In an economy where money is tight, gifting always comes back to intent, relatability and feeling understood. It’s about how much space you took up in someone else’s brain. 

 have exploded in the last few years, and there’s almost a point of pride in 

 as the gifter to shop secondhand and source the right item, rather than just going to Amazon and purchasing something off a wishlist. As a receiver, the question becomes less about whether you want the brand new shiny thing in the package, and more about whether the gift itself – and the effort behind it – matches the giver’s means while still proving they paid attention.

Gifting will always happen, but brands need to recognise who they’re selling to and ask, how do we make this achievable? Wishlists, saves, registries and moodboards help with curating personas. Everyone wants to experience luxury and own the ‘it’ item, but when brands offer 

 – like a perfume offering full bottles, travel sizes and decants – it makes the product accessible to people across different socioeconomic backgrounds. As a bridge to desire, brands also need to think about ease, effort and intimacy – how easily can someone communicate what they actually want without removing the personal interpretation that makes gifting meaningful? That could be something like registries and wishlists directly on the platform. A person could curate 20 items at different price points directly on-site, making aspiration easier to read while keeping the shopping experience centralised for the gifter.

 designed for individuals having conversations with their peers, inserting themselves can feel completely out of line. It triggers people’s 

 – no one wants to leave a comment on a TikTok video and have a brand creep in with, “I saw you say something!” It feels like a brand standing at your window saying, “Your blinds are open a crack, can I come in?” Think of the 

: if a brand knocks on someone’s bedroom door trying to sell them something, they’re going to slam the door in your face. But brands can instead 

. Create a genuinely welcoming environment, hang up some lights, turn on the music and invite people in. Post the meme, banter with your house guests and build fandom through opt-in participation – just don’t navigate into spaces where you’re not welcome and act surprised when the door gets slammed.

Between 2024 and 2025, searches for ‘cute stamps’ and ‘handwritten letters’ increased 

 of Gen Zers say their biggest turn-off in a brand is when it tries too hard to copy youth culture

of Britons buy gifts outside of special occasions – with Gen Z leading the charge on ‘just because’ gifting

Constant feed surveillance and algorithmically flattened taste are driving Gen Z to prioritise intentional, unique gifting rituals over status symbols

The value of gifting has shifted from price tags to ‘effort currency’, where visible curation, niche references and deep presence prove someone is genuinely understood

To connect authentically, brands must facilitate spaces for accessible expression without intruding on private, peer-to-peer digital conversations

Dayna Castillo is a digital strategist, writer and cultural anthropologist of internet trends. She’s the founder of 

, the cult-favorite Substack decoding meme-driven marketing, brand absurdity and internet trends for an audience of industry pros who live online. Known for her irreverent voice and razor-sharp cultural fluency, Dayna has led viral campaigns, shaped brand tone and built fandom-driven communities across social. Her decade of experience includes clients like Tumblr, Calm, Universal Pictures, YouTube and TikTok. Offline, she’s Gen Z-adjacent with punk roots. Online, she’s a self-proclaimed brainrot enthusiast with a Webby People’s Voice Award in comedy.

Gen Z (born 1997-2010)

United Kingdom

United States

Home and Relationships

Shopping

Lifestyle

Social networking

TV, film, and social media video

Toys and hobbies

As algorithmic feeds flatten taste and economic uncertainty persists, Gen Z is redefining the value of gifting through low-cost, high-thought rituals. Canvas8 spoke with digital strategist Dayna Castillo to unpack how young people are approaching gifts through true intimacy, effort and IRL presence.

Analysis

Rachel Choi

Dayna Castillo

Related Macro Behaviours

Insider Status

Ownership Reset

Critical Spenders

Personal Worlds