Among the many questions marcomms pros have re: Gen Z’s habits, Day One Agency and USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations set out to answer, "where does Gen Z get their news?"
The new report, titled “Ask Gen Z: A Deep Dive into Gen Z’s Scrolls,” uncovers Gen Z’s media consumption habits, shining a light on the key practices that directly inform the transformation of today’s media landscape. According to the report, “Gen Z’s relationship with their scrolls and information consumption has fundamentally changed when comparing their habits to their parents and previous generations.”
According to Day One Agency and USC Annenberg, their approach focused on “the nuances of why Gen Z was interacting with certain media content, and not others, not just how they’re spending their time online, but why, and who’s influencing them. The mobile ethnographic study tasked a representative sample of eligible USC students born between 1997-2004 to log daily video updates of themselves about the information they consumed."
Read four top takeaways below, and explore the full report here.
1. The “Pleasure and Panic” of the Feed: Gen Zers are seeking a more mindful and intentional relationship with their screens. They look to social media for entertainment and escape, many also expressed concerns about the amount of time they spend in front of their screens, and sought to reevaluate their relationship with their go-to apps.
2. There’s a New Prime Time — It’s All the Time: Our students’ always-on information consumption habits have created a new reality: traditional media models that have revolved around “when” are less relevant than ever. Where, is far more important.
3. What Constitutes “News?” That’s Tricky: The definition of “News” is changing. Our Students not only expect to be informed by what they consume, they also want value, utility, and entertainment.
4. The Recommendation Generation: The way that our students consume information today has also fundamentally revolutionized how they discover, learn and buy. Our screens are Gen Z’s storefronts, and the product discovery journey starts on social.
