Snapchat has released new research that offers new insights into Australia’s Gen Z community, challenging a number of common assumptions previously held about the generation.
Over 2,000 young Aussies were a part of the robust study conducted by Crowd DNA for Snapchat, with the findings shedding light on changing attitudes to wellbeing, work, identity, communication and the pursuit of personal passions.
The new research commissioned by the platform has identified a number of key trends taking shape amongst members of Australia’s Gen Z community – those born between 1997 and 2012.
1. Doing The Work: Seeking solutions for holistic health
Australian Gen Z are pioneering a new outlook on holistic self-work, with ‘health’ sitting at the intersection of mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
Despite their intent to pursue holistic health and the volume of literature online, over 7 in 10 (71%) say they have plenty of ideas and information about how to manage their health, but struggle to put them into action.
With 65% saying they’ve wanted to access professional mental health services in the last few years, and almost half (47%) saying they’ve struggled to gain access to such services, Gen Z are looking elsewhere for help.
According to the Snapchat research, 6 in 10 (64%) are finding support and education on social media, while 59% are engaging in spirituality, and wellness practices such as meditation, yoga and mindfulness to manage their mental and physical health.
2. Beyond Binaries: Moving towards fluid self-identification
Gen Z are fast breaking out of binary boxes, with identity viewed as something that’s ever-evolving. More than half (56%) of Australian Gen Z have said they don’t like binary definitions based on sex, gender, ability or culture, and prefer to just be defined as themselves, while 57% say that they consider themselves an intersectional person encompassing many identities.
The Snapchat study has also shown that Gen Z are seeking deeper forms of representation and are asking the world around them to rise to the challenge of representing them fully.
Over 7 in 10 (72%) believe that Australia has problematic attitudes to issues like racial, ability, gender and sexual equality and 2 in 5 (42%) say they don’t feel represented in the content they see around them.
3. Work, Reworked: Achieving their goals in ‘their way’
The Snapchat study has highlighted that Australia’s Gen Z are abandoning the 9-5 ‘hustle’ culture that their generational predecessors, Millennials, adopted – with 7 in 10 (71%) saying they don’t want to work in a 9-5 capacity if they can help it.
The culture of busy-ness and burnout has been replaced with one of balance and boundaries, with 76% saying they prioritise their work-life balance over working hard to ‘succeed’ in the workplace and 7 in 10 (70%) saying they’d rather be paid less and be happy than be paid more and be unhappy.
That’s not to say that Gen Z are shunning work however. The vast majority (87%) have said they’re actively seeking new ways to earn money outside of a traditional job, with side gigs and passive incomes (e.g. selling handmade goods, investing in the stock market and cryptocurrency, or becoming a blogger or influencer).
What’s more, 8 in 10 (79%) want to work on a freelance or self-employed basis one day and 61% have taken online courses outside of traditional learning institutions like universities, to diversify their skillset.
4. The Trend Trap: Entering an era of cultural burnout
The Snapchat report found that Gen Z are in the midst of an identity crisis, with 3 in 4 (76%) saying they can’t actually pinpoint what defines their generation with trends coming and going so fast.
“Trends are speeding up so fast and the quest for newness is so intense, there’s no chance to create anything new. What will we look back on and say ‘that was the style, identity, defining ‘thing’ for our generation?’” – Female, 25, Sydney.
What’s more, the insatiable quest for ‘newness’ is leading to an era of cultural burnout for young Aussies, with 73% feeling an intense pressure to keep up with the latest topics, trends and content to make sure they’re not seen as out of touch. 2 in 3 (66%) report feeling overwhelmed and fatigued by the sheer volume of ‘new’ stuff that they see online.
5. Unfiltered Authenticity: Putting privacy and intentionality front-and-centre
Having grown up under the spotlight, Gen Z’s desire for intimacy, privacy and authenticity is changing the way they communicate, both on and offline.
Many are moving away from sharing their entire lives online, with 3 in 4 (73%) posting less ‘public’ content on social media than they used to, and 4 in 5 (80%) saying they prefer to share content via DMs or private messaging with friends and family compared to posting to large groups on social media.
Two thirds (67%) of Australian Gen Z have said that they still use emojis, but the way they use them has evolved – with irony and abstractness embraced to add satire to conversations – while 44% have admitted they now prefer to send voice notes and videos to text messages.
Interestingly, young Aussies have also said goodbye to ghosting, adopting radical honesty when it comes to dating instead. The vast majority (84%) said they prefer to be upfront about their intentions when messaging potential partners online.
6. Passionate Pursuits: Using social media to inspire real-world action
While Gen Z have been coined as the ‘chronically online’ generation, the study has shown that young Austalians are putting greater importance on switching off and pursuing their real life passions.
Over 8 in 10 (82%) said they’re focusing on their hobbies, pursuits and activities more now than they were pre-Covid, and 3 in 4 (74%) said that ‘focussing on real life’ was what they cared about the most.
Social media still has a role to play in the lives of young Aussies however, with 79% now preferring to use it as a tool to find new skills, experiences and hobbies, rather than a place to post content.
Julia Berk, marketing insights, Snap Inc., said: “Australia’s Gen Z community truly are the future, so we need to work harder to understand the nuances of this generation, what’s important to them, and what they expect from the world around them.
“This study offers real-world insight directly from the mouths of young people, and highlights how they’re tackling this age of uncertainty head-on by finding new ways to overcome the challenges we face on a regular basis. If anything’s for certain, Gen Z are going to do things differently as they carve their paths in this world.”