10 Min. Read
Broken Social Scenes
Marketers are waking up to a hard truth: social media’s once-unrivaled grip on young audiences is starting to slip. As platforms drown in endless content and shallow interactions, Gen Zs are pulling back, seeking something deeper — and throwing a wrench in marketing’s best-laid plans.
All Media, No Social
Let’s cut to the chase: brands have banked everything on social media. Digital feeds were supposed to outshine every other marketing channel — from TV commercials to outdoor ads — when it came to capturing Gen Z’s attention. But social media as we once knew it has fractured. Platforms that once promised to connect people across cultural spectrums have devolved into a cacophony of white noise: ads abound, sponcon reigns, and engagement is superficial at best — and both marketers and consumers are getting lost in the static.
Put simply, social media has lost the social and become all media— endless, overwhelming media. TikTok alone churns out 34 million new videos daily and has rapidly overtaken TV and streaming video as Gen Z’s top source of entertainment while copycat platforms and features (ahem, Instagram Reels) are turning their spaces for social into content factories. Now, three-quarters of Zs say they turn to social media for entertainment rather than social interactions, creating a crisis of connection that only true community can fix (more on that in a minute).
What should concern brands most, though, is the growing disillusionment this is creating among Gen Z. While they love having endless content at their fingertips, it’s become too much of a good thing: 56% say they often feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content they encounter on social media. Meanwhile, Zs are painfully aware of the amount of marketing they’re encountering — and of how it’s disrupting their ability to actually connect: Three-quarters of Zs agree that the presence of too many ads has ruined their experience on their favorite platforms, as ads and sponsored content drown out genuine posts from friends and communities.
Unsurprisingly, this deluge of content is failing to resonate. Despite the staggering amount of material brands push out — consider that Wimbledon posted over 1,000 pieces of content during the 14-day event in 2024 — nearly two-thirds of Zs feel brands don’t understand them as well as they did a few years ago, a sentiment marketers are feeling, too. Despite the millions of marketing dollars spent, nearly half of marketers say they struggle to create ads and campaigns that are relevant and interesting to Gen Z. Their biggest hurdles? Standing out in a saturated market, keeping up with viral trends, and adapting to rapidly changing digital behaviors. After all, 76%of marketers agree that the sheer volume of content makes marketing on social media overwhelming. And when asked to name the biggest challenge they face in marketing to Zs, one marketer put it bluntly: “Social media white noise.”
The Viral Void
Many marketers today focus their brief on “make it go viral.” In our study, a quarter of marketers even admitted that their strategy is to “jump on as many viral trends as possible.” Anecdotally, many marketers say the hardest part about reaching Zs today is getting viral trends right: “[Gen Z is] only interested in the latest trends,” one marketer told us. “If it isn’t popular they aren’t interested.” But the truth is, viral trends just don’t move the needle anymore. Once culturally significant, many Zs see viral moments as fleeting, forgettable blips that fade as fast as they emerge. In fact, 83% of Zs say they can easily spot when brands are trying too hard to go viral — which doesn’t influence their purchasing behavior, but does read as cringe. Take it from Juliana, 21, in Austin, TX: “Brands are just keeping up with trends. When I start to see a trend happen I’ve gotten to know, like, ‘Okay, the brands are going to do their thing.’”
The downfall of viral clout is also beginning to shift Gen Z’s perspective on how they present themselves online. Despite spending more time on social media, many Zs are posting far less. Why? The pressure to gain algorithmic approval has turned social media into a space where only the most watered-down, palatable versions of self get noticed, which is just too one-dimensional to create true connections. Nick, 21, in Seattle, WA, described posting on social media like a one-man “brand awareness” campaign: “You’re constantly balancing, ‘Do I stick with what’s trending? Or do I slow down a bit and take the risk that I won’t get seen?’” It’s a conundrum many brands themselves are facing. But in the race to keep up with fleeting trends, both brands and Gen Z are realizing that chasing virality often comes at the cost of authenticity — and in the end, it’s leaving everyone feeling more disconnected than ever.
Community Calling
As their favorite platforms become saturated in content and starved of social interaction, Zs face a harsh reality: the social structures handed down to them — both online and off — are failing to meet their needs. After all, culture itself has fractured: trust in traditional institutions is at an all-time low, political divisions are wider than ever, and already-precarious social structures were dealt a final blow by you-know-what in 2020. The result? A full-blown “social recession,” loneliness epidemic, and mental health crisis.
Of course, this isn’t exactly new information — we’ve long known that Zs have come of age in tumultuous times. But throughout, they’ve had social media to fill in the gaps left by traditional community and culture. Now, that illusion has shattered. Zs acknowledge that people today are technically more connected than they were 10 years ago, but they don’t feel more connected: Zs say the last decade has made people more lonely and less community-oriented. To put it another way, two-thirds of Zs now agree, “The promise of social media uniting humanity is broken.”
In the midst of this social and cultural breakdown, Zs are placing a new premium on community and belonging: 84% say being part of a community is important to them, even more so than standing out as “popular.” This is a huge culture shift — and opportunity — for marketers. As important as community is to this generation, most Zs feel that it’s harder than ever to find like-minded people to connect with — and more than a third say they’re not currently part of a community. As Mary, 22, in Glendale, CA told us, though she’s craving more genuine connection, “I feel like actively trying to (establish connections) is interpreted as really weird in the social world.” Brands that can step in to help them form the relationships that resonate in their lives will become indispensable. But first, they need to understand what community looks like for Zs today.
