Violent first-person shooter video games make billions of dollars each year. While we don’t expect that to change, Gen Zs are increasingly flocking to ​“empathy games,” which embark on the hero’s journey of conquering emotional challenges like loneliness and depression. Take, for instance, the Kickstarter-funded indie game Night in the Woods, in which the game’s protagonist is a college dropout who returns to her hometown and struggles to reconnect with family and friends. In Celeste, the protagonist has a panic attack mid-game and players must control her breathing. 

Electronic Arts, publisher of major titles including Madden and Battlefield, is taking note: it will soon release Sea of Solitude, which centers on a young woman navigating a partly submerged city and fighting to overcome loneliness. ​“As we grow up we learn to hide our emotions. Having a good cry is often the best way to release that pressure in a safe environment. That moment when an empathy game reaches its bittersweet climax is the perfect time to blubber like a baby,” wrote one player on the gaming blog, Plus Mana. For some game developers the big idea is that these games will teach players positive life skills, like confidence and empathy, which they can use in their real lives.

Great entertainment traditionally leaves you on the edge of your seat, but burnt out Zs tell us they crave content that allows them to just zone out. This has given rise to a new type of video, dubbed ​“contentless content,” which has no plot or narrative, centering instead on hypnotic repetitive visuals. Brands including Google and McDonald’s France jumped on the trend; the latter created a mesmerizing animated video of Egg McMuffins being made: bacon wiggles down stairs, buns roll into toasters and egg yolks float through the air. 

Meanwhile, Gen Zs tell us that audio feels like a welcome dose of chill amid the visual overstimulation they face each day. Thirty percent of Gen Zs said they’ve watched an A.S.M.R. video in the past six months, that’s the auditory genre that creates a brain-tingling sensation in response to certain sounds (whispering, eating crunchy foods). The genre has become a YouTube phenomenon, launching a number of video trends, from shaving bars of soap to teen boys role-playing as a romantic partner tucking you into bed. A search for ​“blanket A.S.M.R.” on YouTube returns over 2.7 million results, ranging from videos of fingers on soft fabric to someone making the bed. Expect to see more audio and visual content that eschews drama and cliffhangers for content that grounds, soothes and relaxes.

For Gen Z males especially, music is serving as a channel for exploring feelings of loneliness, sadness and anger. Hip-hop artists including Post Malone, Lil Uzi Vert and Juice WRLD architected ​“emo rap,” a subgenre which puts mental health and trauma front and center with no shame. Their stories of personal struggle are raw and real: Juice WRLD recently passed away at 21 years old after battling an addiction to prescription pills. Meanwhile, rock fans are turning towards emotional tunes, like ​“Dead Boys” by 22-year-old singer Sam Fender, which is about the suicide of his close friend (it’s been streamed more than 3.5 million times on Spotify). 

Music isn’t the only genre helping young men embrace all their feels. The ​“hope punk” literary movement — which frames difficult stories through a lens of love, kindness, and everyday magic — has young adult novelists trading superhero tropes for high-flying feelings. The popular title, Deposing Nathan, for example, is the love story of two bisexual teen boys. Awww.