Interest in "Deep Thinking Hobbies" and "Real Emotional Experiences" Rises Against the Backdrop of the AI Era: GMO Shuminavi Announces "Rapidly Rising Hobby Categories Ranking for 2026" in Time for "Hobby Day" on April 3

GMO Shuminavi Inc. (*1) of the GMO Internet Group (President and CEO: Yusuke Ito; hereinafter referred to as GMO Shuminavi) will announce the "Trending Hobby Categories Rapid Rise Ranking" based on viewing data from January to February 2026 on "Shuminavi byGMO," a platform for finding hobbies and learning "experiences" and "classes," comparing it with the same period last year (January to February 2025), in conjunction with "Hobby Day" on April 3.

As a result of the survey, the genre with the largest growth in views was "Liberal Arts" (+32.8% year-on-year), followed by "Theater/Entertainment" (+29.7% year-on-year). GMO Shuminavi observes that as generative AI permeates every aspect of daily life, there is a rapidly growing interest in "thinking deeply with one's own head" and "gaining emotional inspiration from actual stages and people's expressions."

(*1) GMO Shuminavi is a consolidated company of GMO Media, Inc.

[Survey Summary] Comparing the viewing data from January to February 2026 with the same period last year, 15 out of the 18 categories listed on "Shuminavi byGMO" recorded positive year-on-year growth, revealing that interest in hobbies and lessons is expanding across a wide range of categories.

Among them, the highest growth rate was seen in "Liberal Arts" (+32.8%), with a noticeably increased demand for genres that require "thinking deeply with one's own head," such as philosophy, history, and art. This was followed by "Theater/Entertainment" (+29.7%), a result that shows growing attention to hobbies seeking "raw emotions" and "real human-to-human expression" that AI cannot replace.

Survey Outline Target of Survey: Viewing data on "Shuminavi byGMO" Survey Period: January - February 2026 / January - February 2025 Aggregation Method: Comparison based on the total number of views by combining the PVs of sub-genres belonging to major categories. Sub-genres (14 genres) that saw a rapid increase in views due to temporary promotions, etc., were excluded from the survey. Major Categories: 18 categories including Instruments/Music (Voice Training), English/Languages, Handmade/Crafts, Dance, Culture/Traditions, Gardening/Flowers/DIY, Martial Arts/Combat Sports, Cooking/Gourmet (Baking/Bread Making), Beauty/Health, Painting/Drawing/Ceramics, Yoga/Fitness (Pilates), Sports/Outdoors, IT/Web/Internet, Fortune-telling/Psychology/Therapy, Photography/Video, Pets, Liberal Arts, and Theater/Entertainment. Sub-genres: Approximately 290 finely divided genres within each category (Example: English/English Conversation, French, German, etc. within the "English/Languages" category)

[Survey Results]