Generation Z, social media users born between 1997 and 2012, has seemingly become the target market for social media content. Even timeless brands have launched tactics designed to appeal to “Gen Z” like Tiffany & Co’s “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany” campaign. 

Conversely, millennials, social media users born between 1981 and 1996, have adapted to many phases of the internet- proving to be habitual users on many platforms. In fact, 72% of millennials say that social media is an essential part of their lives (Sprout Social).

Social media trends have highlighted the differences, and even sparked some rivalry, between these two groups in their platform preferences.

As early adopters of the internet, millennials were some of the first users on Facebook and Twitter but, even with the emergence of other platforms, their loyalty to these pages continues today. 87% of millennials use Facebook and 52% use Twitter, compared to 36% and 29% of Gen-Zers, respectively (The Manifest, 2019).

47% of millennials use social media to learn about trends while 43% use social media to get news (Sprout Social). Coupling these stats with their longstanding devotion to Twitter and Facebook showcases the longer attention span of millennials- making them poised to read more text-based content or ads.

On the other hand, as “digital natives” who grew up with social media, members of Gen Z have demonstrated shorter attention spans based on their platform preferences. 81% say Instagram and YouTube are their preferred forms of social media and 25% of TikTok users are within the Gen Z age range (Sprout Social). 

The affinity for video content is apparent in Gen Z’s social media users and they would be most likely to interact with short, snappy, and eye-catching videos. Additionally, Gen Z users pride themselves on their niche sense of humor, so keep a pulse on trending social media memes and try to work them into your brand’s content.

Put the Gen Z vs Millenial “rivalry” aside and create content that can appeal to any user!

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Sources:

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/guides/social-media-use-by-generation/

https://later.com/blog/gen-z-vs-millennial/#ARTICLE_SECTION_1

https://themanifest.com/social-media/how-different-generations-use-social-media

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