From the rise of the "metaverse" to the dominance of short-form video, here is a look back at the defining moments of 2021. The Streaming Wars Enter a New Phase

2021 popularized the "Main Character" trend, where users romanticized their daily lives through cinematic snippets.

The media world was turned upside down by the explosion of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Suddenly, "popular media" included digital art, tweets, and video clips that could be owned via the blockchain.

After a year of silence, 2021 marked the tentative return of live entertainment.