Mainstream culture is not disappearing but becoming more fragmented, personalised and increasingly shaped by online communities, creators and memes, according to YouTube’s latest ‘Culture & Trends Report, In Search of Mainstream’.

The report, based on analysis of entertainment, media and video trends globally and surveys of active online people aged 14-44, says audiences today have access to more content, communities and creators than ever before.

Yet shared cultural moments continue to resonate, with 63 percent of 14- to 29-year-olds surveyed saying that being into the same things as other people makes them feel part of something bigger.

Increasingly, cultural momentum begins online within digital communities before reaching wider audiences.

Produced in partnership with the US-based National Research Group (NRG), which had global footprints, the report finds that cultural phenomena can move from niche digital communities to mass audiences, with visibility, shared understanding and participation emerging as key markers of what becomes mainstream.

The research identifies three signals for measuring a modern cultural breakthrough — visibility, or repeated exposure and awareness; comprehension, or shared understanding across diverse audiences; and participation, reflected in commenting, sharing, creating, remixing and purchasing.

The report says 69 percent of respondents had watched content from a community they would consider niche, while 71 percent had watched videos unpacking stories within a specific fandom or community.

Digital creators and memes are also increasingly comparable with traditional cultural touchstones in terms of perceived reach.

Respondents said YouTube creators were something lots of people seemed to be into at 77 percent, while memes scored 78 percent, compared with 79 percent for Hollywood celebrities and 83 percent for the Super Bowl.

The findings suggest that audiences’ cultural diets may now contain more niche ideas than mainstream ones, while audiences themselves increasingly help determine what becomes culturally important.

The report cites YouTube’s ‘The Backrooms’ as an example of the pathway from niche internet lore to mainstream entertainment. What began as a creepy photograph expanded through fan art, theories, stories and forums before creator Kane Parsons adapted it into a found-footage YouTube series whose first short drew more than 90 million views.

The online momentum eventually led to an A24 theatrical adaptation that opened to $118 million globally, according to the report.

Younger audiences are also redefining what cultural success means, the report says.

Among fans surveyed, 63 percent agreed they feel successful when the person or thing they support experiences success, while 60 percent said they feel proud because they believe they actively helped build that success.

YouTube also found that 65 percent agreed something feels more real or legitimate when they see it on the platform, 73 percent considered YouTube the best place to deeply explore their personal interests, and 72 percent said they remain interested in things long after discovering them because of YouTube.

The report’s findings are presented as a global picture of changing cultural behaviour, with the underlying research covering entertainment, media and video trends.