How Is the Youth Affected by Constantly Being Online?

1. 020 3195 5250 hello@thisisselfhood.com How Is the Youth Affected by Constantly Being Online?

2. 020 3195 5250 hello@thisisselfhood.com For brands marketing to the young, it’s essential to understand their habits and their priorities in life. This can be difficult from the perspective of an over-30 professional who might be out of touch with the teenage generation. However, youth insights can help us better grasp the adolescent experience, which is significantly impacted by the internet today.  Teens spend more time online than ever. Whilst this has invited varying opinions from older generations, it’s worth looking at the data to determine how this habit impacts the youth. The Pew Research centre has researched how being online almost constantly affects interpersonal relationships and emotional wellbeing. We’ll look at these youth insights today. The Drawbacks and Advantages of Social Media It’s easy to put a negative spin on the experience of teenagers on social media. To generations that didn’t grow up with the internet at their fingertips,

3. 020 3195 5250 hello@thisisselfhood.com teenagers constant presence online can seem isolating, disconnecting and unhealthy. There are both advantages and disadvantages to teenagers’ emotional wellbeing, depending on how each individual interacts with the medium. The Advantages 81% of teens feel more connected to their friends through social media. In addition, 69% find that social media allows them to interact with a more diverse group of people, and 68% feel that they have a support system for rough times through their online friendships. We can see how this exposure to diverse groups online affects Gen Z's consumer behaviours. 76% of Gen Z believe diversity and inclusion are essential for brands to address. Many would like to see more variety in advertising.

4. 020 3195 5250 hello@thisisselfhood.com Being online also gives teenagers the chance to show their creative side and engage with their interests. In addition, they feel more in touch with their friend’s feelings, suggesting that teenagers’ online habits today can foster a more empathetic and conscientious youth. In short, Gen Z doesn’t feel disconnected by being online at all, but that doesn’t mean that there is no flip side.  The Downside Nearly half of teenagers online find that they are overwhelmed by the drama on social media. However, 43% also feel the need to post content to look good and hunt for likes and comments. For a 6% minority of teens, being online almost constantly and spending time on social media made them feel worse about their own life. This can be attributed to the fact that their peers post only the best moments, creating a false impression of perfectionism. Compared to others, online can develop a sense of inadequacy.

5. 020 3195 5250 hello@thisisselfhood.com This may be one contributing factor to why Deloitte found that 46% of Gen Z compared to 41% of millennials felt stressed or anxious all or most of the time.   What Does This Mean for Brands? Brands should aim to understand the immediate personal impact online relationships and spaces have on the lives of the youth today. To them, experiences online are often as significant as those offline, and therefore the groups they interact with and the issues they speak out against matter. Youth marketing needs to take this into account and create positive experiences for teenagers online whilst learning to fully share their sense of diversity and inclusion. This is Selfhood draws on Youth Insights to help brands navigate an internet that Gen Z has come to master at a young age. Get in touch today to learn more about how your customers interact with your brand online.

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