The short answer to the question above is yes, however in a recent study into social media usage throughout the pandemic suggests a new change over the past 12 months.
The study by ScienceDirect called ‘COVID-19 information overload and generation Z’s social media discontinuance intention during the pandemic lockdown’ identified the following statistics from their results:
• Whilst social media usage increased, 64% had to take a ‘social media detox’ for the first time
• Oversharing of COVID-19 information on social media led to many switching off
• 74% of Gen Z feel social media is distracting, affecting education, socialising and personal development
• FOMO (fear of missing out) made GEN Z want to return to social media rather than delete all together
• Social media was used positively to keep in touch with friends and family throughout the pandemic, helping Gen Z feel connected when separated.
“Although social media plays an important role in information dissemination today, information overload has been confirmed as one trigger of the negative consequences of social media usage.” (ScienceDirect, 2021)
From this study, it is interesting to see how Gen Z feels about social media and what we can learn.
For us at Vouch, the key learnings from this is to share engaging, heart-warming content with audiences, leaving them with a positive experience and small distraction from the current situations. In return, this will be appreciated by the audience, thus keeping them loyal and engaged with brands.
Source: The Faumuan Online
