2025 has been a peculiar year. We’ve all developed odd little habits, some we picked up from friends and family, some we just came across and decided to try on a whim. In the beginning, most of us thought they were just short-term additions to our normal behavior, quirks we’d pick up and ditch once things settled down. And yet, here we are, months in, and they’re still around.
To find out which new habits people couldn’t shake, we conducted a survey asking various people about the small, quirky behaviors they picked up. So here are the habits that came up the most.
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Half-watching multiple screens at once
2025’s big entertainment gadgets aren’t simply TVs, but TVs while scrolling on your phone and perusing a side tablet. It has become a widespread tendency to half-watch and half-scroll through various media, instead of sitting down and just focusing on one.
Whispering during video calls
Remote work became so normal in 2025 that people developed the unconscious reflex of whispering during Zooms, Google Meets, etc., even if they’re home alone. It’s a holdover from cramped apartments and homes where people shared rooms with roommates and family members. It’s a muscle memory they can’t kick.
Sitting in cars long after parking
It has become a habit to still sit in your car, phone in hand, for a good minute or two after you arrive home, get to work, or park at the shops. It’s now so second nature, people often get to work early just so they can make sure to snag five or ten minutes before going inside.
“Emergency snacks” in every bag and drawer
Price hikes and unpredictable work schedules have caused people to hoard snacks in 2025. If you don’t keep a stash of granola bars, trail mix, and protein bars in your purse, car, desk, or coat pockets, you risk being hungry.
Mindlessly scrolling in bed before sleeping
Everyone knows they shouldn’t check phones before bed, but it’s become such a universal compulsion that pretty much everyone has a hard time going to sleep without first flicking through social media or watching some video. It’s almost like channel surfing was 20 years ago.
Checking weather apps obsessively
Strange weather patterns, freak heatwaves, and unpredictable seasonal temperatures have made people obsessed with checking the weather on their smartphones. A few minutes in the morning and at night just aren’t cutting it. Checking multiple times a day before any major outing has become standard.
Drinking “functional” water
Water just isn’t water anymore. Vitamin-infused, mood-boosting, color-changing waters, fancy minerals, and even caffeinated waters have become a trend. Some people have even switched to only special waters. Now they have specific energy waters: an “activating” water for focus and productivity, another for relaxation, etc. Ordinary tap water seems almost boring in comparison.
Talking to smart devices like they’re people
Smart home technology has advanced so much that many people have started to talk to their devices and appliances in complete sentences, like they are normal people. It has become “natural” to ask a lamp to “please turn on” or thank a fridge for reminding you about that moldy milk you left behind.
Wearing headphones everywhere
Turns out people aren’t just wearing headphones to listen to music. People are keeping them in even when they’re running errands, doing chores, even when they’re just walking around their own neighborhoods. For a lot of people, it’s not even about sound, but more about having a small, private zone wherever they go.
Carrying portable chargers everywhere
With phones handling everything, paying for groceries, unlocking doors, even proving who you are, a dead battery in 2025 feels like a tiny disaster. People have started treating portable chargers as essentials, stuffing them into purses, backpacks, and glove boxes. Much like wallets or house keys once were, they have become everyday lifelines you never wanted to leave behind.
Narrating daily life for social media
Even when no camera’s rolling, people have begun thinking, and even talking, in short, snappy “clips.” The boundary between simply living and posting has grown hazy, until everyday moments feel like scenes in a vlog. Many now find themselves narrating their own thoughts out loud without meaning to, only to feel a rush of embarrassment when someone catches them mid-monologue.
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