CURSIVE IS TAKING OVER SOCIAL MEDIA
Cursive text has been trending on social media for the past few months. We've seen a surge of creators and brands using cursive in their material and heres why...
12/4/20251 min read
If you’ve been on TikTok or Instagram lately, you’ve probably noticed the use of cursive text everywhere, on captions, overlays, thumbnails, etc. However, it’s not just an aesthetic choice, there’s a real behavioural shift behind it and I’m going to break it down for you…
First and foremost, cursive feels emotional, rather than corporate. In marketing and professional matters, you would use a variation of a bold sans-serif fonts. But cursive isn’t necessarily professional, its personal.
People tend to gravitate toward anything that feels human, soft and handwritten. So, cursive instantly feels intimate and nostalgic to the viewer. That emotional cue increases watch time because viewers feel a visual connection before they even process the message of the video.
Secondly, cursive embraces digital nostalgia. We’re in a moment where creators want content that feels analogue. Cursive automatically taps into that response. Therefore, it looks like a moment and not an ad.
Additionally, the use of cursive creates a micro pause, which ends up boosting performance. Incidentally, cursive actually takes a fraction of a second longer to read. So people pause just long enough for the algorithm to pick up increased retention. Even though it seems minuscule, for creators, that tiny delay matters.
Lastly, cursive helps softens content. Everything online has become clean, bold and high contrast. Cursive breaks that pattern because it feels warm and human. Coincidentally, it’s exactly why it works so well in lifestyle, UGC, wellness and aesthetic content.
So if you’re a creator or an aspiring creator, here’s how you can use it in your content:
Use cursive for the emotional lines, and use clean fonts for anything instructional or actionable. This way you can give your content personality without sacrificing clarity.