How Gen Z is changing how we consume content

November 16, 2018

Written by NewsWhip
Gen Z

This year, Gen Z has emerged as a generation that will define itself. We take a look at what catches and holds their attention ahead of 2019. 

In our new Gen Z guide, we explored what excites and compels this generation to share on social media.

At ages 3 to 23, Gen Z will comprise 32 percent of the global population in 2019, edging ahead of Millennials. This generation is already distinctly different from Millennials; what they engage with is often a representation of themselves, their values, and their expectations.

Interestingly, content about Millennials still outpaces Gen Z, but Gen Z is starting to pick up a larger piece of mindshare.
Gen Z Millennials social media
The social engagements for articles about Gen Z have increased, as has the number of articles over the past couple of years.

In 2016, we tracked 2.1k articles about Gen Z, 4.8k articles in 2017, and now 6.6k in 2018 up to mid-November.  The increase has mirrored similar declines for the likes of Gen X and Baby Boomers in article count and social engagements.

When we looked at the top content around these generations, many of the top stories pitted the generations against one another or made comparisons. Baby boomers were depicted as out-of-touch and socially tone-deaf, while Millennials were portrayed as being ignorant and vapid.

Along with these, however, there were plenty of interesting studies on each generation, for a variety of topics. Quizzes and inside jokes meant for that generation also featured.

Gen Z articles
We compared Millennials and Gen Z even further, with the top ten articles referencing the two generations. While some of the top articles about Millennials were about their impact on certain industries, Gen Z’s top articles have to do with much wider cultural shifts.

So how can content creators catch the attention of this audience? 
In our guide, we identified four content characteristics that inspires Gen Z to react and share.

Read the report to discover:

  • The top articles about Gen Z and other generations
  • The content trends that captivate Gen Z audiences
  • Successful tactics for packaging Gen Z content
  • How top Gen Z publishers are creating winning content

Check out the full guide here. 

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