On the occasion of their 5th anniversary, Yuvaa – India’s fastest growing Gen Z-driven youth media, impact and research organisation, released a first-of-its kind Gen Z insights report. Over 5 years, Yuvaa has partnered with some of India’s top brands and non-profits like YouTube India, Amazon Prime Video, Meta India, Spotify India, Tinder India, RPG Group, UNICEF India & The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on content, campaigns, campus activations, events and research, and this is their first public report.
Titled ‘Not All Gen Z’, the report provides insights based on responses from over 900 Gen Z participants, spanning over 20+ cities across T1, T2 and T3 India.
The insights are bifurcated into significant themes that concern Gen such as their relationship with parents, their association with sex, their understanding of gender issues, their preferences of consuming content, and their inclination towards brands. It also includes responses from youth belonging to all genders, along with 12+ streams of study and with varying preferences. All in all, the data reflects diversities and commonalities within Gen Z.
Gen Z represents people born between 1997 and 2012, and this generation is often not taken seriously because of the contrast between their intention to change the world and their consumption of memes, Tiktoks and Reels. But hidden behind the popular Snapchat streaks and Instagram dancing moves is a generation that defies categorization and is prepared to upend and change the future. They will also have the highest purchasing power as a subgroup in the country over the next 5 years. The Gen Z already make up for over 35% of India, and form the largest youth workforce in the world today.
This #NotAllGenZ report is an attempt to comprehend this misunderstood but distinctive group of individuals and to understand the Gen Z trends brands, organisations and parents need to pay more attention to.
Commenting on the insights of the report, Nikhil Taneja, Co-Founder of Yuvaa, said, “Five years ago, we founded Yuvaa as one of India’s first organisations of, for and by Gen Zs, with the aim of truly listening to the hopes, dreams, aspirations and struggles of India’s youth. Today, as Gen Zs shape the world culturally, socially and economically, we are proud to release our first public Gen Z Insights report, that authentically represents the voice, feelings, thoughts and opinions of young India. Gen Z young Indians aren’t the future of India, they are its present too, so it’s incredibly important that we hear them, and give them the respect they deserve – as consumers, leaders, thinkers and culture shapers.”
Over a span of five years, Yuvaa has been working closely with Gen Z across online and offline platforms with the mission of empowering the youth by ‘making important things interesting’. The release of the #NotAllGenZ report is in sync with their vision to facilitate meaningful conversations and impactful initiatives through their work in digital content and offline campus spaces.
The #NotAllGenZ report insights:
Gen Z Watchlist Code:
- 70% of Gen Z say a good trailer is good enough reason to watch a show or movie, even more so than the cast or marketing
- When it comes to recommendations, friends trump influencers – Gen Zs are 50% more likely to take their friends’ recommendation over an influencer’s
- Crime and action are a low interest genre among Gen Z women, with almost 50% expressing a lack of interest in it. Women are also 20% less likely to watch this genre, as compared to Gen Z men.
- Gen Z Women are 10% more interested in thrillers than in romcoms
- Thriller / suspense and comedy make for the top genres they love bingeing
Gen Z and Parents:
- Gen Z are 50% more likely to turn to their moms when it comes to discussing loneliness, mental health, identity and sexuality
- Two-thirds of Gen Zs are unable to talk to their parents about being lonely.
- Only 50% of Gen Z is okay to talk about love and dating with their parents, although they are twice as likely to spill the beans about their dating life to their moms than to their dads
- Only 20% of Gen Z men feel safe talking about sexuality with either of their parents. And women are less inclined to discuss their dating life with either parent.
Gen Z and Sex:
- 70% Gen Z feel the need for better Sex Education
- 74% of Gen Z said that they want to understand consent better
- 71% of men want better safety features on dating apps
- 2/3rd of Gen Z want more content around sex education
Gen Z and Gender:
- A majority of Gen Z – 74% of women and 69% of men – believe that people of other genders have it tougher than them
- 64% of women feel that their gender doesn’t limit their opportunities
- 2 out of 3 Gen Zs said they believe that we should live in a gender-equal world
- Gen Z men are twice as likely to feel lonely because of their gender than women
Gen Z and Brands:
- 63% of Gen Z shoppers prefer brands that support social causes
- 71% of Gen Z prioritise brands that are environment-friendly
- 77% of Gen Zs consider price when buying something, even if its not sustainable
- Gen Zs are split equally between feminist and non-feminist brands, but 60% women prefer them
- Gen Z are 50% more likely to buy products through a friend’s recommendation than through an influencer / celebrity recommendation
