From the latest gen Z trends making waves online to the global movements and news that are shaping this demographic cohort, here at SCREENSHOT, we cover it all. Our core mission? Allowing young people easy access to content that matters—meaning, we live and breathe gen Z content. Our team of journalists and content creators know exactly what youth audiences want to read and learn about because we ourselves are part of that exciting and ever-evolving generation. So if you’re looking to dip your toes in the rapid waters that make up gen Z interests, well done, you’ve found the perfect place to do so.
Unlike what most legacy media will have you believe, gen Zers are avid news consumers. What’s crucial to understand is that news aimed at this generation shouldn’t only be based on cold, hard facts—to us, news also includes viral memes, trending aesthetics and everything in between. From gen Z politics to current gen Z trends, we don’t discriminate in our coverage because we know that the next gen access their news from a whirlwind of different platforms, be that through various social media feeds, podcasts, or other gen Z news sites and gen Z news outlets.
This means that they also expect to be served with a wide range of formats, from long-form articles and easy-to-digest explainers all the way to socially-native videos. And they expect quality content too, no matter how short their attention span is. In fact, McKinsey reports that at least 50 per cent of gen Zers engage with news on social media on a daily basis. And we all know how much time we spend on social media…
It’s impossible to cover this generation’s news consumption without touching upon TikTok. Up to 15 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 regularly get their news from the video-sharing app, making it the platform where gen Zers consume content. What’s even more interesting is the fact that teens in the gen Z cohort (those aged 14 to 19) consume more news than their gen Z adult counterparts (those aged 20 to 25), according to Deloitte’s Digital media trends survey.
Keeping in mind that 60 per cent of TikTok users are gen Zers, it’s no surprise that TikTok news content creators like Dylan Page are spearheading the global shift in news consumption we’re currently witnessing.
Young people are concerned about a range of pressing societal issues, including climate change, unemployment, housing costs and healthcare. But it doesn’t stop there. Having little to no memory of a world without smartphones or the internet, these digital natives see news content as encompassing entertainment, sports, or social justice news (in addition to strictly political news) while also having a reach way beyond traditional news outlets.
No matter how digitally savvy gen Zers are, they also have a knack for nostalgia, which has heavily impacted the recent trends this cohort follows. From gen Z fashion trends like Y2K and low-rise jeans to point-and-shoot digital cameras and flip phones making an unexpected comeback, it’s safe to say that youth audiences aren’t afraid to pick and choose what their predecessors thought would be left in the past for good.
Their constant need for old products with a new focus on sustainability and social awareness means that the current trend cycles are incredibly fast-paced, which can make keeping up with them sometimes seem impossible. That’s why here at SCREENSHOT, we make sure to constantly bring our readers updates on all the latest trends and aesthetics so that you never feel out of the loop.
A Pew Research report showed that 70 per cent of gen Zers believe the government should do more to solve problems. This feeling was only amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. But where many publishers see this distrust of governments and other organisations as a cause for concern, we see it as a desire and hunger for approachable, engaging and informative content that speaks to them as a generation.
