As we approach the end of 2025, one of the highlights of New York’s New Year’s Eve celebration, the “Wishing Wall” at Times Square, has once again attracted a large number of people to participate. This year’s event has collected over 180,000 wishes through on-site writings and online submissions since early December, a number similar to previous years, once again serving as a window into observing societal emotions and public sentiment.
In terms of wish content, expectations related to personal life still dominate the majority. The most common keywords include “losing weight,” “improving health,” “finding or maintaining a relationship,” “family safety,” and “economic improvement.” The organizers told The New York Post that as the year end approaches, many people set goals for the new year through the New Year’s ritual, often focusing on self-improvement and emotional aspects, reflecting people’s universal desire for stability and happiness in life.
In addition to traditional wishes, this year’s Wishing Wall also features some more contemporary content. Some people have written phrases like “No more AI,” which, while not mainstream, stand out among the numerous notes. These wishes seem more like emotional or humorous expressions, reflecting a sense of unease, doubt, and even aversion among some people as artificial intelligence rapidly permeates daily life.
English media analysis suggests that the charm of the Wishing Wall lies in its “eclecticism” – encompassing both deeply personal wishes and spontaneous responses to social phenomena and technological developments. From desires to lose weight, fall in love, to hopes for a more peaceful world and concerns about technology not spiraling out of control, these fragmented yet genuine phrases piece together a contemporary societal emotional puzzle.
According to tradition, these notes filled with blessings and expectations will be turned into colorful confetti after midnight on New Year’s Eve and showered down onto Times Square from the sky, symbolizing the delivery of personal wishes into the new year. For many New Yorkers and visitors, whether or not their wishes come true remains unknown, but the process of writing and tossing them has become an important ritual in welcoming the new year.
Looking at the over 180,000 wishes this year, regardless of how the world changes, what people care most about during the New Year moment are still hopes for health, love, and life. The occasional appearance of phrases like “eliminate AI” reflects people’s emotional projection of insecurity, loss of control, and shaken human values amidst the rapid technological changes.