Issue #11: Gen Z Ins and Outs
What the kids are into, and not into, right now.
Good morning! I’ve been seeing several profiles of Gen Alpha and Gen Z recently, whether it be Casey Lewis’ recent piece in The Cut about where tweens are shopping, or Emily Sundberg of Feed Me’s conversation with a group of Gen Z Yale students last week. While I generally find generational discourse to be somewhat annoying and conflict-inducing, as someone who’s the upper cusp of Gen Z (I was born in 1999 and consider myself a Zillennial), I do enjoy reading these generational profile pieces to learn about what the cool Gen Z kids are into.
For instance, while I’m technically in the same generation as my 17 year-old sister, we’re on completely different wavelengths. She’s on TikTok, has like a billion makeup products, and taught me how to use bronzer, like, two months ago. The generational age range of Gen Z, like many previous generations before us, covers such a wide group that current media portrayals and ‘defining features’ of Gen Z likely only actually define a small, small subset. The span between the oldest members and the youngest members is so significant that it’s often difficult for me to resonate with typical characteristics outlined in Gen Z profile pieces. But don’t get me wrong, I still love those articles, if only to get an understanding of what is cool right now. (I can already feel myself self-identifying as an ‘Gen Zold’ or something akin to an Elder Millennial.)
While the differences between individuals within a young generation like Gen Z currently feel quite significant, I think that they may become less and less significant as we age. However, I was interested to see how my social circle, most of whom occupy ‘Zillennial’ status along with me, might align with typical understandings of Gen Z brand affiliations, media consumption habits, and life goals – and how we might differ.
So this week, I put up a survey on my Instagram Story to learn more about what the older Gen Z kids are into. Note: this was on my Close Friends story, so it was a pretty narrow sample size. I would describe the age range of the respondents as anywhere between 23 and 27.
I asked a variety of questions, including:
What are your favorite brands right now?
What brands do you dislike?
How do you like to shop?
What are your favorite news and media platforms?
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, what are your favorites?
Are you on dating apps? If not currently, do you see yourself joining a dating app in the future?
Do you have a dream job? If so, what is it?
And I came away with some interesting insights:
Favorite brands right now include: Apple, Baggu, Capital One, Catbird, CeraVe, Duolingo, Erewhon, Free People, Fresh (Skincare), Gil Rodriguez, Halfdays, Khaite, Kosas, Madewell, Merit, Poppi, Reformation (Monica Lewinsky is their newest model, amazing!!), Saie, SKIMS, Shinola, Spotify, Tevas, The Row, Wawa.
Least favorite and disliked brands right now include: Abercrombie, Amazon, Stanley Cup, Starbucks, rhode. (Note: a few respondents shared that the public obsession and media prevalence of brands like Stanley, Starbucks, and rhode has actually fueled their dislike of them. Which makes sense. Stanley Cups were a mimetic trend, in that we all wanted what the cool people had. But when Stanley Cup ownership expands to everyone, the desire for the product (and its associated coolness) declines. I literally heard a girl in a group of tweens walking by me today say, ‘By the way, Stanleys are going out of trend.’ I KID YOU NOT. And we all know that the tweens in Brooklyn know what’s up.)
Respondents buy things all over the place: online, in-person/in-store, and from Facebook Marketplace. (Note: a lot of people said that they enjoy the in-person shopping experience and despise returns. We’re already seeing a resurgence of the in-person shopping experience, so this makes sense.)
People like to consume media from The Atlantic, The Cut, The Economist, Financial Times, Morning Brew, New York Times, Refinery29, Twitter, newsletters (Substack and non-Substack forms), Vulture, and podcasts like The Daily. (Note: a few respondents shared that they actively try to stay off social media for news.)
Gen Z-favorite podcasts include: Armchair Expert, Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain, Call Her Daddy, Ezra Klein Show, Good Children, How Long Gone, Huberman Lab, Las Culturistas, Radiolab, Rosecast, Seek Treatment with Cat and Pat, Sentimental Garbage, The Daily, The Town with Matthew Belloni, This American Life, Too Far, You’re Wrong About.
Some are on dating apps, and mostly Hinge, albeit reluctantly. (Note: Hinge just launched a Hinge Phonebook, a ‘phone-shaped book filled with ideas to unplug from your phone’ to celebrate the Global Day of Unplugging on March 1st. It’s part of their social impact program to encourage more IRL interactions and battle loneliness among Gen Z. Idk how impactful the phonebook is, but it’s a cool idea in theory!)
This is the vibe among respondents. Some do not have a dream job. Those with dream jobs want to own coffee shops, become interior designers or writers, or start their own consultancies or companies.
Did any of these surprise you, or did this just affirm everything you already knew? Is there anything that you expected to see and didn’t?
Thanks to all my friends who I bullied into sharing their insights with me this week :) And if you enjoy this type of Gen Z research content, please reply and let me know! I’m considering doing a more in-depth interview series with Gen Z focus groups in the coming months, so if that would be something you’re into, I would love to know.
BTW, I loved what BODY did in the wake of the rhode phone case: they created their very own custom phone case with a flask on the back, intended to hold their product – a low proof vodka. So smart.
Have a great rest of your week. xx