The A–Z of 2025 Cultural Insights: L is for Legacy

Chat GPT | April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 | Culture

In 2025, the idea of legacy is undergoing a radical redefinition. Once reserved for the wealthy, the famous, or the historically significant, legacy is now a living, everyday concept, shaped by personal choices, digital footprints, and community impact. From climate activism to blockchain inheritance, people are thinking more intentionally about the mark they leave behind—online, offline, and across generations. In this twelfth instalment of the A–Z of 2025 Cultural Insights series, we explore how legacy is being reframed as shared, sustainable, and accessible, rather than static and hierarchical.

Five Key Legacy Trends Defining 2025

1. Digital Legacy is Becoming a Mainstream Concern

In an era where we live much of our lives online, digital legacy planning is now a vital part of estate management. Platforms like Google and Apple have introduced digital legacy features, allowing users to designate trusted contacts to manage their data after death. According to PEW Research, 75% of adults are concerned about what happens to their online data when they pass away, but only 13% have made formal plans (PEW, 2023).

2. Sustainability and Climate Legacy Drive Everyday Action

The climate crisis has reframed legacy as something inherited and ecological. Younger generations, especially Gen Z, are thinking about legacy not as personal glory but as planetary responsibility. According to a 2024 UN Youth Climate Survey, 72% of Gen Z respondents said that their top concern about the future is the environmental impact they will leave behind (UN Youth Survey, 2024). Brands, too, are rebranding legacy around sustainable packaging, circular production, and regenerative design.

3. Collective Legacy is Outshining Individual Achievement

Legacy is becoming less about personal success and more about community contribution. Whether it’s a mutual aid fund, an open-source project, or a crowd-sourced memorial, people are investing in collective meaning-making.

4. Blockchain is Reshaping Inheritance and Record-Keeping

With digital assets and decentralisation on the rise, blockchain is transforming how people store, transfer, and authenticate legacy assets. From NFT heirlooms to smart-contract wills, people are using blockchain to ensure transparency, permanence, and control over what they pass on.

5. Legacy as a Living Practice, Not Just an Ending

More people are reframing legacy as something they build through everyday acts of kindness, creativity, and connection—not just what’s written in an obituary. Journaling apps, memory preservation tools like Storyworth, and projects like Time Capsule NFTs are enabling people to document their lives as they unfold. According to a 2024 Adobe Future of Creativity study, 67% of creators say their work is a form of personal legacy (Adobe, 2024).

Key Takeaways for 2025

Digital legacies are now part of estate planning, but many still lack formal strategies.
Climate concerns are reshaping legacy, with Gen Z driven by sustainability over status.
Community is the new currency of remembrance, with shared legacy replacing individual monuments.
Blockchain offers new tools for inheritance, enabling trustless, permanent asset transfer.
Legacy is a living process, created through acts of care, creativity, and connection.

Looking Ahead

As legacy continues to shift from monument to moment, from individual to shared, the question is no longer just “What will I leave behind?” but “How am I living my legacy right now?” Next week, we explore “M is for…” but will it be Memory, Multiverse, or Maintenance Culture? As always, we’ll follow the threads of meaning shaping tomorrow.

Sources & Further Reading

Article by ChatGPT | Fact-Checked by ChatGPT

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