As the most diverse generation in American history and the first true cadre of digital natives, Gen Z is growing in its influence. Like every generation before it, Gen Z is beginning to reshape our culture and media.
In order to help brands that rely on younger audiences or those that want to take a closer look at how to communicate to Gen Z, YouGov has launched Teen Profiles - a profiling tool which collects consented data direct from 13- to 17-year-olds.
Let's look at a few of the insights available from the database and how brands might engage with the Gen Z marketplace.
What America’s future wants from their own futures
After a year of disruptions and uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to understand Gen Z’s attitudes and aspirations. Many high schoolers around the nation were forced out of classrooms as education shifted online for safety and health reasons. This may explain why the top ambition in the next five years among pre-adults in Generation Z is to graduate high school (72%).
Coming in at second is learning to drive (48%), followed closely by graduating college (41%), learning new skills (41%) and traveling. Notably, roughly two in five pre-adult Gen Z respondents seek a sense of independence and say they want to move out of their parents’ house in the next five years (37%).
Looking ahead to Gen Z’s looming impact on the economy as they enter the workforce, YouGov’s Gen Z survey finds key differences in the career hopes of teenage boys and girls, as well as what they want from their jobs:
Ways to reach and engage with Gen Z
Gen Z tends to spend a lot of time in front of screens and on social media—more than a quarter of teenagers say they use social media more than five hours a day—making digital marketing and advertising the best way to get brand content in front of this young crowd.
Virtually all Gen Z respondents say they rely on a streaming service or platform for their TV content (94%) though more than three-quarters of this audience say they watch TV live (78%).
Diving deeper into the platforms they use to stream TV, Netflix (73%) reigns among teenagers and especially among girls (80% vs. 67% of boys). YouTube (68%) is a close second for TV streaming and again, teenage girls over index in their use of the popular video platform (74% vs. 63% of boys).
While YouTube’s market share for TV watching is strong among Gen Z teenagers, no other video platform commands the attention of Gen Z when it comes to user-generated content (UGC). We asked America’s youth about the platforms they use to watch videos created by other people and YouTube dominates 92% of the UGC marketplace among teenagers with little divergence between girls (93%) or boys (90%).
Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat are also critical players in this space, with teenage girls over indexing in their use of the platforms when compared with boys. Tapping into UGC can be a great way to attract the attention of Gen Z especially if brands are able to partner and work with creators who resonate with this younger audience.
When it comes to advertising, it’s no surprise that social media is one of the best channels to reach Gen Z (39% say this channel is most likely to grab their attention). There are some notable distinctions here, though, especially with half of teenage girls (51%) saying this is the best platform to catch their attention compared with just 28% of boys.
Marketing to teenage boys may be nearly as effective on video game channels as trying to reach them via social media (24% vs. 28%). In a separate analysis, we look at video gaming behaviors and advertising on gaming as a channel.
Find out more about Gen Z and how YouGov Teen Profiles can help brands resonate with this audience
Methodology: The data is based on an overall sample size sample size of 2,187 US teens aged 13 – 17. All interviews were conducted online in June 2021 and panellists were recruited via YouGov Chat. Data is weighted by age and gender.