Everyone's got a bad case of doomerism. Including me. Especially me.

It's basically the default setting for existing online in 2026.

But guys!!! While we've (I’ve) been collectively spiralling (you’re included now, just play along please), some genuinely wholesome, heart-warming, actually-good things have been happening. And not in a toxic positivity "just look on the bright side!" way.

In a "maybe humanity isn't completely cooked" way.

So let me tell you about Punch the monkey, IKEA's incredible brand moment, a friend who learned to make Iranian pastries, and why sometimes the internet is actually good.

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Punch the monkey and the power of collective care

If you've been online at all this week, even for a millisecond, you've seen Punch.

My sweet sweet Punch. I would die for you.

Punch is a baby Japanese macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo who was rejected by his mother and clings to an IKEA orangutan plushie for comfort. The videos are heart-breaking and healing in equal measure, watching him try to integrate with the other monkeys while dragging his stuffed friend along.

None of that is news. However, I just read that IKEA's CEO personally visited the zoo and donated 33 additional plushies. I’m crying, y’all, come on.

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The toy sold out globally within days. People are even making fan art.

Stephen Colbert of all people referenced it. Millions are following his progress with the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.

And yeah, it's just a monkey. But it's also proof that we still actually give a sh*t. That resilience and belonging resonate across every platform, every niche. That brands can show up with genuine humanity instead of exploitative marketing. And that the internet can rally around something wholesome without immediately cynicism-poisoning it.

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The friendship / diaspora content we didn’t know we needed

Ernika Rabiei once mentioned to her friend Sean Nguyen that she missed a piece of her home: shirini danmarki, Iranian pastries she hadn’t had since 2022.

Well over a year later, Nguyen decided he would teach himself to make them. This meant finding recipes in Farsi, translating them, practising until he got it right, and then surprising her.

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The video of her reaction went massively viral as a beautiful display of friendship.

"I felt like a little girl in Iran eating shirini danmarki again," she said. "I felt incredibly at home."

Comments flooded in: "Another day crying for strangers on the internet,” (same) "perfect example of being a friend who listens and cares," and "can you imagine being this woman's family, knowing someone cares enough to do this for her?"

In an era where connection feels increasingly transactional and everything is content, here's proof that genuine care still exists and paying attention will always matter. Making someone feel seen and at home is worth the effort. And sometimes, we need a little reminder of what it means to be a good friend.

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But wait, there’s more!

The UK just passed a law requiring tech companies to remove intimate images shared without consent within 48 hours. This is a MASSIVE shift in how platforms handle image-based abuse and potentially life-changing protection for survivors.

Currently making its way through the House of Lords, the amendment means survivors only need to flag offensive content once, instead of enduring the trauma of chasing their images across every platform separately.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it ending the "whack-a-mole" survivors currently face. Janaya Walker from the End Violence Against Women Coalition said it "sends a powerful message that women and girls' rights and freedoms matter and should not be threatened by image-based abuse."

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For victims, this is the difference between having to repeatedly confront your trauma on every platform versus being able to move forward with your life.

It’s protection and dignity, with tech companies finally being forced to act, rather than survivors bearing the burden of their own abuse.

Hopefully this is the beginning of digital harm being taken seriously, and the beginning of real protection for victims, not just fkn thoughts and prayers.

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Ok, what else?

Outside of digital culture, renewables will be cheaper than gas by 2028. Children born in Bangladeshi brothels are now receiving birth certificates, giving them access to education and protection from trafficking.

The eastern imperial eagle, down to ONE breeding pair in Serbia in 2017, now has 19. The capercaillie in Scotland has grown by 50%. Scientists discovered a way to store data in glass that could last basically forever. Psychedelic drugs are showing real promise for treatment-resistant depression.

These are just a few examples of humans doing actual work to make the world a little better each day.

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Look, I'm not naïve. It still very much feels like everything is on fire. In multiple ways.

This isn't a "just focus on the positive!" think piece. Toxic positivity is still toxic.

But doomerism is easy. It's the path of least resistance when you're constantly bombarded with bad news and existential dread.

It's also corrosive.

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So here's your permission to celebrate the good stuff without guilt.

Like, it’s okay to be moved by a monkey with a plushie. It’s okay to cry with strangers on the internet (no really I do it all the time).

You’re allowed to feel like progress, however incremental, is still progress.

The world will always be hard, but it's also full of people trying to make it better. This is your (and mine) reminder to pay attention to both. 

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