- Get to Know: Gen Z
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- TNM - Get to Know: Gen Z
TNM - Get to Know: Gen Z
Conservative Boys
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Hello everyone and welcome to our newsletter on all things Gen Z.
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We pride ourselves at Get to Know on not falling into the trap of thinking āall Gen Z are the sameā. There are certainly some major themes that tie the next generation together more closely than older demographics - we suggest āequityā (things should be fair) and a ābetter planetā (from climate change to incomes) are two well worth remembering. Beyond that, differences in how generations approach the world around them are as important as the similarities.
In 2023, we spoke about the female/male split around ideas of what āprogressive politicsā looks like. The issue was back in the headlines last week when the Financial Timesā brilliant data journalist John Burns-Murdoch produced this slide:
TLDR - young women tend to be more āprogressiveā, young men tend to be more āconservativeā or traditional, and the gap is growing. What we love about this debate is that there is a tremendous amount of nuance within the overall trend, and it is well worth following John on X (Twitter) and particularly the conversations sparked by his reporting. That he handles it all so calmly is a joy to behold.
At Get to Know (and TNM), we are not big fans of zero-sum arguments, that one personās gain must be another personās loss. It is a media disease that we are here to mitigate. John positively posts Stanford visiting fellow Alice Evans on why, overall, we can be very positive about higher levels of gender equality.
And we agree.
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Bookworms
The latest trendy place for Gen Zs to spend their time? Public libraries. Young people are using the institutions more than older generations, and for more than just book borrowing. As well as reading and community, pretty libraries have become a coveted backdrop for content creation - like Henry Earls, a student who uses New Yorkās Public Library for his TikToks. As with many Gen Z trends, itās all about the aesthetic.
Trendsetting for 2024
YPulse has published a roundup of the trends Gen Z will drive this year. Here are a few we found interesting:
Gen Z will truly champion the hybrid work model, over āall officeā or āall remoteā
Sporting trends and interest will be driven by their intersection with pop culture (e.g. interest in NFL due to Taylor Swiftās relationship with Travis Kelce)
AI use will shift to specific, genuinely helpful practicalities rather than endless blue sky ideas
Snacking and convenience will drive food trends, building on no-prep meal concepts like āgirl dinnerā
Check out the full thing here.
Weāve got issues
Opinium has released a new report on Gen Z and politics in the US. The whole thing is worth a scroll, but we were particularly drawn to the way Gen Z cares about specific issues compared with their predecessors who tend to be more partisan. Overall, Gen Z believes the top three issues facing the country are inflation and the economy (29%), economic inequality (22%), and abortion/womenās rights (17%). Gen Z is also much more likely to perceive
racism (15%) and LGBTQ+ rights (14%) as top issues facing the country.
Battle of the brands
The latest Ad Age-Harris Poll Gen Z tracker is here to tell us the brands that are winning with Gen Z right now. Brands are ranked by change in brand equity - i.e. those that are gaining more affiliation with the demographic. Hereās a shot of the top 20:
Talking Point
Last week I saw 'All of Us Strangers' and I've been thinking about it ever since. Not just because Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott give incredible performances (and also look incredible), but because it gave me a lot of perspective on my relationship with my parents.
To quickly get you up to speed (and no spoilers!) Andrew's character visits his childhood home where his parents appear alive even though they died 30 years ago. Because of this, he gets to have a lot of conversations with them that he never had the chance to when they were alive.
This struck a chord with me massively. I've lived in a different country to my parents for the last 5 years, and so often our calls or catch ups can feel a bit rhythmic. Basically, we never really get that deep on a 15 minute FaceTime.
It's so easy to let the weekends and days go by without visiting or calling. But this movie made me realise I need to prioritise them more, whether that's carving out half an hour twice a week to call them, or just hopping on a cheap flight home for the weekend.
Straight after the movie I booked a flight home for next weekend and I honestly can't wait, they better be ready to get deep!!
Clodagh Griffin, Correspondent, The News Movement, London
And finallyā¦
30
The length, in minutes, of videos TikTok are trialling on their platform in a bid to compete with YouTube. They are also experimenting with horizontal video, because if thereās one thing platforms are going to do, itās stealing each otherās successes.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
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How can we help?
In my many travels and conversations, Iām 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, weād 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 ā 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.
1. Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj - tensions continue
2. MSNBCās Joy Reid - be careful with the mic when talking about Joe Biden
3. Mark Zuckerberg - has a tough time in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee
4. How angry - is Donald Trump with Nikki Haley?
5. Mental welfare and gambling - is important to understand
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