Beyond becoming all media and no social, there’s another reason why the major social platforms no longer fit Gen Z’s needs — they were built for a Millennial world. Starting as private spaces to connect with only your closest friends (MySpace Top 8, anyone?), social media eventually became a gateway to a vast, anonymous world beyond Millennials’ physical communities. Millennials were the first generation that had access to the vast ​“everybody” — and they inherently knew how to straddle their online and offline connections.

But for Gen Z, the social landscape is different. Growing up with Millennial social media as their norm, they’ve always been connected to the vast ​“everybody,” but watched as their real-world communities grew smaller and more fragmented. The challenge for Zs isn’t about reaching the masses; it’s about finding the meaningful, intimate connections that are no longer a given. Now, when asked how they define community, Zs’ top answer is ​“a sense of belonging: a place where I feel accepted, valued, and part of something larger than myself.” (Shared interests are still important, but ranked No. 2.) That sense of belonging is foundational to how Zs see and shape themselves, especially during formative times in their lives. Chappell Roan, for example, recently said that one of her biggest regrets in life is not using Tumblr when she was younger, a space of belonging that could have been an instant gateway to cool girl communities, from the Sky Ferreira fandom to Rookie Mag.

The driving appeal of these communities, according to our research, is that they bring together passionate, dedicated young people to discuss their corner of culture (often ad nauseam). Community bonds are forged and reinforced through multilayered in-jokes, gossip, grief, memes, languages, characters, aesthetics, and often out and proud weirdness. When asked what’s most important when it comes to digital communities, Zs ranked their top three features as: high-quality content and discussions, feeling safe and secure, and meaningful interactions with members.

Recognizing the power of small dedicated communities, music artists have recently made a point of leaning into the more intimate spaces of their most avid fans. Taylor Swift posts voice memos on Tumblr, giving her most passionate fans an in-depth glimpse into her songwriting process. Lizzo shared an emotional essay on Tumblr about how she learned to stop suppressing her emotions, urging fans to read it ​“if uneed something to end the scrolling for a sec.” And Travis Scott personally posted to Tumblr the ticket announcement for a one-night-only show celebrating the anniversary of his debut mixtape, ensuring that fans who snagged the $10 tickets to the 1,000 cap venue were highly-invested community members.

And while ​“community” has become synonymous with digital, Zs are increasingly eager to make connections IRL too. 62% of Zs say it’s very important that the online communities they participate in include the integration of digital and IRL activities. This is playing out across categories. For example, live speed dating events are flourishing amid dating app fatigue. Gen Z podcast listeners are selling out live events as they seek communal listening experiences among fellow fans. (Alex Cooper, host of Gen Z fave Call Her Daddy recently extended her live variety show tour to meet demand.) Tumblr users are bridging the gap into the physical world, too, through a secret password of sorts: If a Tumblr user sees someone in the real world who looks like they might be on Tumblr, they’ll say ​“I like your shoelaces,” to which the other person will know how to respond if they are (iykyk!). Brands — especially those that are primarily digital — can foster community by inviting Gen Zs into shared IRL experiences, or by supporting them as they forge their own IRL connections.

This mixing and layering of many tandem communities deepens the authenticity of connections and multiplies their impact, both personally and culturally. Take, for example, the intersection of pop and political girlies. When the Kamala Harris campaign dropped a ​“Harris-Walz” camo hat that looked suspiciously similar to Chappell Roan tour merch, both hats went viral. As Vogue Business put it, ​“The dual attention to both the campaign merch and Roan’s own signals the power of these stars’ dedicated fan bases.” Fueled by these intersecting communities, searches for ​“Chappell Roan merch” spiked, according to Google Trends. Politics and pop star standoms haven’t always gone hand in hand, but for Zs it feels entirely organic and leads to a stronger sense of authentic belonging. It’s the norm in Gen Z communities for discourse on shared interests like music, gaming, or animé to dip into more vulnerable territory as participants share about their mental health, family issues, or identity exploration. Over half of Zs (57%) who participate in a fandom even say it feels like a second family.

So, while marketers often think that their biggest win is to ​“go viral,” connecting with these small, niche, and passionate communities actually has the potential to make a much deeper impact, especially over time. The opportunity is especially great because Gen Zs welcome brands to connect through community — and are actually eager for brands to bring them closer to like-minded peers. Nearly two-thirds of Zs (62%) agreed with the statement: ​“Brands that align with my fandom feel like true allies.” As Zs continue to gravitate towards more curated and exclusive social circles, brands will find deeper consumer interactions by fostering close-knit connections and delivering on the promise of real community.