Generation Z Social Media Usage Statistics in 2022

 

A few years ago, young people started to change the way we see social media and online platforms.

Now, Generation Z is already around us, which creates the need to understand their needs and behavior regarding social media use.

Unlike baby boomers, people from the silent generation, and any other generation, Gen Z are actually the first generation of digital natives in history.

Younger users were molded by the new trends of our world - they grew up alongside social media channels and internet usage, thus creating a whole new perspective of their decisions.

In today’s blog post, we are going to show you some really useful and ground-breaking statistics regarding Gen Z users and their relationship with social media.

Keep reading to learn more about:

• Generation Z social media usage statistics in 2022;
• Analyzing the relationship that Generation Z individuals have with new social trends;
• Everything you and your brand must know regarding Gen Z and social platforms.

Gen Z Social Media Usage Key Statistics

First of all, it’s imperative to define who are Generation Z members.

People born in 1997 and forwards are considered part of the Gen Z population.

As of 2022, the Gen Z age range is between 16 and 25 years old, so we are talking about an age group that has access to the Internet and some even have already developed significant buying power.

For starters, let’s take a look at those statistics and recent data that are going to define the rest of this investigation:

• Gen Zers consider meme creation to be a creative activity in their daily life - more than half of GenZers prioritize creativity in their free time;
• More than 60% of Gen Z check Instagram and Youtube on a daily basis, according to Business Insider;
• Almost half of Gen Z feel social pressure for posting content online, unlike older generations who simply might not care about social trends;
• Almost 80% of Gen Z follow at least one influencer on social platforms, which is a trend shared by Gen Z and Millennials.

Gen Z Characteristics on Social Media

This new generation, unlike their older counterparts, it’s not naive and clueless about what is going on in the online world.

Whether we talk about Gen Z consumers or young people looking to have a good time on social media platforms, we can safely state five main characteristics that define Generation Z:

• Tech-savvy: tech-savviness is just what we would expect from individuals who know about computers and mobile devices since they were really young;
• Digital-native: other generations did not have the chance to stay connected all the time - Generation Z did;
• Less focused (short attention span): research shows that most Generation Z members have shorter attention spans than goldfishes, but we’ll get to it;
• Cautious: buying just for the sake of buying is not on Generation Z’s plans - reviews, research, and investigation are on the menu now;
• Care about social media presence: previous generations didn’t even know that Facebook or Instagram would explode the way they did - Generation Z understands the importance of social content more than ever before.

What Percent of Gen Z Uses Social Media?

More than 65% of Generation Z users claim to use social media on a daily basis.

This number is slightly higher than the last statistics generation, which shows an average use of 58%.

What’s more, according to Forbes, Gen Z shoppers already changed the way in which social commerce works in 2022.

This leads us to believe that Generation Z is looking for a personalized experience when it comes to social media and online shopping, making this generation the main target of marketers in the next decade.

Gen Z Social Media Usage By Continent

According to the World Economic Forum, Gen Zers led the statistics regarding social media users along the continents.

Obviously, Millennials follow closely and baby boomers are in the last position.

1. Latin America is the continent where social media usage by Generation Z has increased the most with an average of almost 3 and a half hours per day;
2. Likewise, Middle East and Africa population of Gen Zers are increasing their social media usage up to an average of 3 hours per day;
3. The trend is followed by North American and Asian Gen z users, with 2:03 and 2:13 hours a day respectively;
4. At last, European GenZers have the least usage of social platforms with just 1:50 hours every day.

Gen Z Social Media Usage By Gender

It is worth mentioning that two-thirds of Gen Z population say that gender statistics for people who don’t identify as men or women is a real problem on platforms nowadays.

Looking at Statista’s information, the gender distribution of major platforms also translates into Generation Z, where 56% of online users are male and 44% are female.

How Much Time Does Gen Z Spend on Social Media?

The Global Web Index ( GWI) states that most GenZers spend an average of 8 hours a day surfing the Internet.

Naturally, this time isn’t fully dedicated to browsing social platforms.

If we analyze the previously mentioned information, we could safely say that the average time spent on social media per day for GenZers is 2.5 hours.

Other hours are divided into users that play games, shop online, and text and chat with their friends.

Gen Z Attention Span on Social Media

Getting Gen Z consumers attention is a challenge for many brands and platforms nowadays.

According to Entrepreneur, the average attention span of GenZers is just 8 seconds!

This is less than Millennials, who have an average attention span of 12 seconds.

This creates the need for new brands and businesses to consider this important factor during their marketing efforts.

Trying to get the attention of an age group that has an attention span shorter than a goldfish it’s a real challenge for a company or a brand online, but it’s not impossible.

What Social Media Platforms Gen Z Spend Most of Time On?

It’s not a secret to anyone that video content is taking the online industry by storm.

Millennials prefer to spend their time on Facebook, while YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, are the preferred platforms by GenZ.

Nonetheless, when it comes to the overall number of GenZ social media users in the United States, research shows the following information:

• Snapchat has well over 42 million GenZ users;
• TikTok has 37.3 million GenZ users in the US only;
• Finally, Instagram follows TikTok closely with 33.3 million.

What Is The Most Popular Social Media Platform for Gen Z?

In order to understand the goals and intentions of Generation Z, we need to compare the most popular social platforms side-by-side with the ones preferred by Millennials.

As we can see, TikTok is not even in Millennials’ top 5.

This pattern has been identified by sources such as Forbes, and it proves that Gen Z users are heavily driven towards short video multimedia content.

Gen Z Social Media Usage Effect on Mental Health

Generation Z faces chronic stress, anxiety, and a wide variety of mental health issues.

We would like to say the opposite, but it is clear that social media platforms have something to do with it.

• Fear of missing out and negative feedback in social platforms creates stress on Gen Z;
• The incessant need of checking on social platforms creates patterns of anxiety in young users;
• Almost 50% of Gen Z users have stated that social media does indeed have negative effects on their mental health, primarily causing depression.

Gen Z and Brands

Brands and companies that want to increase brand loyalty among GenZ should not only focus on product quality, but also on interactions.

The following 4 crucial statistics show us the way in how GenZ interacts with brands on social media:

• 43% of Generation Z users prefer following brands on Instagram. Even though it has been proven that they spend more time on YouTube, watching YouTube ads on brands has a negative effect on their perception of said company;
• 68% of GenZ users look at online reviews before purchasing a service or good, according to GenHQ;
• Over 35% of online purchases made by Generation Z users take place on a mobile device and not on desktop computers;
• According to Variety, Generation Z users love paying for online streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+. They also find more value in digital products than other generations.

Gen Z Influencers

Influencers have found their holy grail thanks to Gen Z.

In fact, more than 75% of Generation Z states that they follow at least one influencer on their social media profiles.

Hence, many brands and companies have obtained remarkable results by employing the best influencer marketing strategies for Gen Z.

What Are the Most Popular Influencers Gen Z Watch?

Naturally, companies who look at Gen Z statistics understand the power of influencers over Gen Z.

Firstly, we must mention that the popularity of some influencers lies behind their ability to entertain young adults.

In addition, aggressive and commercial influencers that just focus on selling products or services don’t receive as much engagement as others do.

In the top 5 most followed and popular influencers according to GenZ, we have:

1. Charli D’Amelio;
2. Khaby Lame;
3. Addison Rae;
4. JoJo Siwa;
5. James Charles.

Gen Z Social Media Usage: Content

So, at this point, we already know a lot about GenZ, don’t we? Now, it’s time to take a look at the content they like.

What Is The Most Popular Form of Content for Gen Z?

It is clear that Gen Z enjoys visual content more than anything.

That’s why YouTube and TikTok are more successful among young users than among mature audiences.

Short visual content seems to be the secret recipe that brands use to gravitate around Gen Z on social platforms.

What Type Of Content Gen Z Watch?

Do you remember when Instagram could only be used for posting photos on the feed? Now, we have quick IG stories that are short and disappear within 24 hours.

This is not a coincidence, and neither are easily-viral short TikToks.

Generation Z loves watching and publishing straight-to-the-point multimedia content on platforms.

On top of that, those videos that require interaction between the creator and the watcher have better results when it comes to getting GenZ’s attention.

Gen Z on Social Media in 2022 and Beyond

Things are changing faster than someone could predict.

40% of all online consumers are already GenZ, so brands need to focus their effort now more than ever before.

30% of the global workforce will be GenZers by 2030, and workplace statistics show us that GenZ values work-life balance more than previous generations.

Diversity is also a topic of conversation that must be taken into account and considered by companies across the social channels.

That being said, the world is being driven to a more “woke” situation, and social media platforms are not the exception.

If you want to get more useful statistics about a wide variety of topics, you can always count on GrowFollowing.

Gen Z Statistics FAQ

Does Gen Z Use Social Media More Than Millennials?

Yes, they do.

It is evident that most users on social platforms are now GenZ, which motivates brands and channels to change their approach regarding the content they create.

What Social Media Do Gen Z Use The Most?

Surprisingly, YouTube is the leading platform among GenZ.

Nonetheless, as we have already stated, short video post content is the absolute king when it comes to GenZ interests and retention.

About the author

Karen

Karen is a senior technical writer and copywriter here at GrowFollowing. Her area of expertize are social media apps and new media.

Oliver

Oliver is GrowFollowing founder and covers topics ranging from fintech to Internet.