Understanding Gen Z and How They Consume Information

Whether looking for their next breakfast recipe or the latest celebrity gossip, Gen Z is turning to their smartphones for answers. Social media has become a major news source for this generation, outpacing network and cable TV and far ahead of newspapers. But how exactly do they get their news?

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Regarding the news, Gen Z prefers content relevant to their lives. The generation that grew up in the digital media age has a short attention span and is less likely to be brand loyal as previously defined, making them quick to switch platforms that don’t provide what they want. It’s important to understand Gen Z news and how they consume information. This generation has a unique relationship with influencers and social media celebrities and is constantly looking for stories and content they can relate to. The secret is to produce accessible information that emphasizes the significance of a problem and demonstrates the efforts made by a particular person or group to address it.

In addition to consuming political and civic news, Gen Z is interested in celebrity gossip, rumors, and popular culture trends. These stories perform very well on platforms where users often look for lighthearted and zeitgeisty content.

Social Media

When asked whether social media affects their shopping, music preferences, or TV and movie viewing, Gen Zers are more likely to respond yes than Millennials. They also are more likely to cite social media as the most important influencer of their political views. Social media is a news source for many Gen Zers, who often trust the information they find there more than traditional outlets or journalists. However, this can be dangerous as fake news spreads rampant on social platforms. Moreover, Gen Zers are accustomed to consuming content through digital communities that lack oversight and police themselves through makeshift authorities like “drama channels.” Consequently, these audiences may be particularly susceptible to misleading information.

Despite this challenge, it is unsurprising that Gen Zers prefer to get their news on social media. They use these platforms as a tool to stay connected with friends and their favorite creators and keep up on current events. It is so important for brands to reach them on these platforms. For example, social media has been a popular platform for news for Gen Zers. One of the top ways for brands to gain visibility with Gen Z on this platform is through branded videos that showcase their products. Another way is through local content, which Gen Zers believe reaches them more directly than other platforms. This generation feels that Instagram is a place to buy things, while Facebook feels like a community.

Video

Gen Z is mobile-first and leverages visual- and video-focused social media platforms to follow content creators and news organizations.  These digital-first platforms allow Gen Z to access various content in one place, from a quick dance trend to the latest celebrity gossip. They can use these apps to check their daily schedule, double-tap on their friends’ latest social posts, get a breakfast recipe, or even read the news. This approach makes it a challenge for traditional news brands to grab the attention of this generation. But for those who manage to do so, it offers the chance to develop a trusted relationship and deliver relevant and engaging content. For example, one company tapping into Gen Z’s interest in pop culture is the satirical site Shit You Should Care About. It specializes in aggregating headlines and commentary from mainstream sources, then adding its spin to the content and delivering it to its 77,000 subscribers in a daily dispatch that starts with “lil shits” and is written in first person. This approach works: It’s the top source for news among Gen Z and Millennials who pay to follow information.

Online News Aggregators

Gen Z teens rely on a wide variety of online news formats. For example, they are twice as likely as older Millennials and Baby Boomers to rely on news aggregators, websites and apps that collect articles from multiple sources. These platforms offer a mix of traditional news sources and new, more dynamic content like video and audio. These more unique digital formats are especially attractive to Gen Z, which has a short attention span and prefers to consume news in brief bursts rather than long, sustained reading sessions. Among the many ways that Gen Z gets their news, social media and online news aggregators are the most popular. Gen Z is more likely to use these platforms than other types of news media, including television and radio. The most common topics that Gen Z follows are celebrity and music news, followed by information about movies and TV. They also follow news about traffic, weather, crime and public safety at similar rates. A smaller number of Gen Z and Millennials also follow news about foreign or international affairs, home decoration or improvement and information on voting and children or parenting.

The platforms Gen Z rely on for news differ slightly by topic, but most of these young Americans get their political information from local TV and online.