All about Gen Z

We’ve recently attended many industry webinars such as Insider Intelligence, Stack Adapt Spotify, and ITV which allowed us to gain deeper and up-to-date insights into different media formats utilised by Gen Z. We’ve been researching and delving into the world of Gen Z, looking into their personalities, habits, behaviours, and media consumption. 

Digital Audio

In the first half of 2023, Gen Z listened to over 560 billion songs a 76% increase since 2022, making them the fastest-growing cohort in music and podcast listening.

43% of Gen Z listen to radio via a mobile device weekly and 63% listen to streamed music daily – Digital Audio has an average of 14.2 listening hours per week with Gen Z.

Gen Z are more likely to trust ads more if they hear them on Spotify (44%) rather than see them on social media (21%)

(Source: Spotify)

Radio

48% of Gen Z listen to traditional radio per month, with an average of 6.3 listening hours

(Source: Global)

Podcast

In the first half of 2023, Gen Z listened to more than 3 million podcast episodes, spending an average of 7.7 hours listening to podcasts monthly.

75% of Gen Z listens to podcasts weekly, listening to podcasts 1-2 times per week has an index of 141 and a reach of 84,000.

Gen Zs in the UK generated more than 250 million podcast streams on Spotify in the first half of 2023 — fuelling a 58% increase since the year prior.

Through increased podcast listenership over the last year, Gen Zs in the UK are diving deeper into categories including:

• Science + 33%
• True Crime + 35%
• Music + 44%
• Sports + 62%

Half (50%) of Gen Zs in the UK feel that podcasts provide them with more knowledge of culture than any other form of media and Over three-quarters of Gen Zs in the UK (76%) say podcasts teach them about topics they wish they’d learned about in school.

Nearly two-thirds of Zs in the UK (64%) believe podcasting is more trustworthy than other forms of media because it’s representative of more diverse voices and points of view.

(Source: Spotify)

Social Media

TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat consume much of Gen Z’s daily attention, with TikTok currently taking the lead; 18-24 spend an average of 58 minutes daily on TikTok compared to 38 minutes on Instagram and 30 minutes on Snapchat.

Gen-Z spends an average of 3 hours on social media each day, visiting social media platforms ‘more than 10 times per day’ with an index of 156.

Beyond entertainment, these platforms act as Gen Z’s main news sources. More than any previous generation, 75% of Gen Z are now delivered breaking news via social media and 60% rely on social media for researching and discovering information.

Gen Z are seen to pay more attention to social media ads than other generations, with 63% preferring video advertising to any other format.

(Source: Insider Intelligence, Hootsuite Statista)

Online

81% of Gen Z’s said they welcome highly personalized ads

64% of Gen Z have searched online for more information about a company/product they’ve seen advertised on OOH

(Source: The Drum, Explore)

OOH

84% of Gen Z pay attention to OOH advert

89% of Gen Z remember the brand displayed on an OOH advert

55% of Gen Z prefer OOH ads the most across all ad formats

+91% of Gen Z have heavy exposure to mall advertising

+94% of Gen Z have heavy exposure to rail advertising

Railway stations have a 176% index with Gen Z audiences

Gen Z is 181% more likely ​to see OOH ads on the LU​

(Source: JCDecaux, Global)

Gaming

88% of young adults (aged 16-24) play video games

73% of the Gen Z audience play console games like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo

Gen Z’s spend more time on gaming (22%) and watching YouTube videos on gaming (21%) than watching television (17%)

More than two-thirds (68%) of Gen Z own a game console, with a further 9% having consistent access to one.

More than eight out of 10 (81%) of Gen Z play games on some type of device, ranging from personal consoles to mobile phones.

Gaming Podcasts have the highest index of all categories for 16-18 year-olds with 193

The top 5 video games that resonate well with Gen Z audiences are:

• Ducky
• Play Simple
• Voodoo
• Top Nation
• Matchingham Room Games

(Source: Statista, U Switch)

VOD

80% of Gen Z use streaming services.

ITVX

There are approximately 8-9 million Gen Zs using ITVX per month, making up 13% of all active users on ITVX since Q1 2022 are aged 16-24, accounting for 30% of total streaming hours.

1.5 million Gen Zs are using ITVX as the only way they watch live and streaming content, consuming more than 55 million hours of content yearly.

All 4

Channel 4 streaming accounts for over ¼ of 16-34-year-olds monthly viewing with Gen Z audiences spending an average of 3 hours and 47 minutes on All4

(Source: ITV, Channel 4, Think Box)

Cinema

89% of Gen Z are cinemagoers, with 40% of Gen Z visiting a couple of times a year.

Gen Z are more likely to pay attention to advertisements in the cinema, with an index of 280.

(Source: Digital Cinema Media)

If you need help targeting Gen Z get in touch with us today!

[email protected]

Gen Z Trends – Channel 4

As we have multiple education clients it’s always interesting for us to keep abridge of Gen Z trends and what makes them “tick”….so it was interesting for us to see the results of Channel 4’s study into the beliefs and media consumption habits of this generation.

1,500 people aged 13-24 and over 25’s were surveyed for Channel 4 to help shape the way advertisers and marketers speak to the 8 million teens and young adults in this generation.

The principal findings of this study indicated that…

• Majority of youths believe social media is a net positive in their lives.
• Gen Z is more tolerant on social issues such as transgender rights. Only 48% of Gen Z believe there are just 2 genders compared to 68% of over 25’s.
• 25% say they have “very little tolerance for people with beliefs that they disagree with” and almost half said that “some people deserve to be cancelled
• Three out of five 13-24s see their parents as role models
• 35% identified social media as a source of stress – but are more concerned about the cost of living,  lack of affordable housing, uncertainty about the future, the pressure to be successful and feelings around appearance.
• 60% of gen Z were positive about their own future.
• 44% said they’ve learned to accept their body image as a result of social media content, and 44% have said it made things worse –
• Gen Z doesn’t see social media as a major driver of poor mental health: 57% agree the positives outweigh the negatives. 61% feel empowered to influence their future.
• 44% admitted awareness of social media images being regularly manipulated to mislead viewers. Four in 10 felt pressures to engage in unhealthy activities such as eating disorders, over-exercising or taking diet pills or steroids.
• A fifth felt empowered on social, saying they pause when they need to. One in nine have left platforms permanently.

If you would like help in targeting Gen Z’s please contact please contact our experienced team.