Hello everyone and welcome to our newsletter on all things Gen Z.

Much of our conversation is still dominated by events in the Middle East, and once again we want to mark the horrific nature of the attacks on Israel by Hamas and the suffering in Gaza. Later in this newsletter we discuss fighting misinformation on social platforms, where many millions of people, particularly young people, are receiving their information.

But, the world does still turn, so this week we will also return to some of our more usual content.

We have all seen the research that, on average, people pick up their phone every six minutes. We must admit, six minutes seems a bit of a wait for the two of us. And as phone-enthusiasts, we loved this piece in The Boston Globe (£) about the experience of a 23-year-old who gave up their precious piece of metal and plastic.

We also know that even more irritating than not being able to use your phone every 20 seconds is opening a link in a brilliant newsletter (like this one) only to be told you cannot read it without a subscription.

So, we’ve dug around to find other useful stuff on how we are all using our phones. And the relationship is much more sophisticated than some of the more screamy headlines about “bad for the brain” and “phone addiction” may suggest.

Understanding here is vital for your work force and general relationships with the next generation of consumers. This deep dive into many aspects of "phone life" really helped - and had one big takeaway: the value of voice notes really matters as we develop new ways of communicating beyond text which can be easily misconstrued.

In 2022, WhatsApp revealed its users sent an average of 7 billion voice messages every day and that number is growing. Our voice can carry much more nuance, communicating feelings as well as information.

And that’s important to remember as we all think about making the environments we operate in more positive than in the past.

BTW - if you really fear being away from your phone you may be suffering nomophobia.

Here's how to deal with that.

Adding nuance to the college decline…

In a previous issue of Get to Know, we reported that college attendance in the US is declining. But is such a trend more indicative of the white male experience? Gen Z women (87%) are more likely than Gen Z men (80%) to view a college education as “very” or “fairly important” according to a new survey. Women are also enrolled in college at higher rates than men, and complete their studies more often.

… and the sobriety debate

We talk a lot about Gen Z drinking less than their predecessors, but new research proves what we’ve assumed for a while: drug usage is up in its place. An 18-month study from The National Institute for Health Research followed under-25s over a seven year period and found cannabis, nos (nitrous oxide) and cocaine consumption is on the up, while alcohol, tobacco, and more recently MDMA (ecstasy), is on the decline.

Content moderation has never been more important…

Many young people are sharing their experiences of living during the Israel-Hamas conflict on TikTok, but there are also thousands of videos spreading misinformation. TikTok has already removed over 500,000 videos and shut down 8,000 livestreams from the affected region since the Hamas attack and promised to improve software to detect and remove violent content. TikTik is also hiring more Arabic and Hebrew speakers for content moderation.

…and side hustles aren’t

Against a backdrop of slow wage growth, the gig economy is increasing in popularity. Yet despite taking on more side hustles, Gen Z and millennials are spending less than other generations - indicating that the extra work isn’t always doing enough to help them make ends meet.

And finally…

48%

…of Gen Zers say they will do at least some of their holiday shopping on social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram - much higher than the one-third of all shoppers who said the same.

How can we help?

In my many travels and conversations, I’m increasingly talking to CEOs, executives and civil society leaders wanting to better understand the next generation of consumers and the next generation of employees. Gen Z is putting pressure on us all to transform in fascinating ways, and many of us are asking questions about how to cater for younger workers and future proof our organisations.

If this sounds like you, we’d be keen to have a chat and see if TNM can help. From our own content production to work we have done, for example, with The Oliver Wyman Forum, we have a raft of insights and data which can support you. We work closely with a number of global organisations – helping with high-impact story-telling, digital media, internal communications, through to employee benefits, HR and working structures.

Email me direct and all of us at TNM look forward to speaking further.

Kamal Ahmed
Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder
The News Movement

Our Top 5 News List

The top stories young people cared about this week, from our audience team and newsroom debates.

Have a peaceful weekend everyone, and see you next Saturday.