What’s Behind Gen Z’s Slow Consumption Movement?
Gen Z is questioning their relationship with tech
The #deinfluencing hashtag has been viewed 676.6 million times on TikTok. But what is it? De-influencing is exactly what it sounds like: it is a new social media movement where creators try to discourage audiences from overconsumption and falling prey to often overpriced social media trends. Several reports from Influencer Marketing hub, Vogue, Today will validate the massive shift. (I recommend Today for their nice writeup). Seriously it’s blowing up on all social media platforms.
Interestingly earlier this year, Hubspot shared a research doc that suggests that 71% of Gen Z say social media is where they discover products most often and 33% of Gen Z have bought a product based on an influencer’s recommendation in the past three months.
As you can imagine, overconsumption is a significant issue tied to social media influence. Over a third of people admit to overspending to “keep up with the fun” they see their peers having on social media. Crazy!
But it’s not just Instagram and TikTok; the New Wave Youtube movement is gaining momentum. It’s a film movement aiming to democratize storytelling by looking at film-making and vlogging as a respected medium of artistic expression. This idea of slowing down and putting the art front and center is up against the brain numbing, hypnotic, click-baity video display of creator’s money, sponsors, apartments, cars, or travel destinations. The New Wave Youtube is simpler, slower, artistic and massive youtubers like Emma Chamberlain and Van Neistat unofficially have made the leap towards it. In a way this does remind me of the punk movement. A small anti trend and a micro culture growing into mainstream popularity.
Is Gen Z really seeking a slower pace?
Enter Dumb Phones. Concerns about mental health and social media’s impact have prompted some to switch to these stripped-down devices. These are the opposite of smart phones ie. no distracting apps, smart technology or data mining cookies. Social media comparison, addiction, and emotional distress are some of the reasons cited for this shift in a CNBC Documentary from a couple months ago. Notably, Nokia positions itself as the “dumbphone maker,” capitalizing on this wave. (Smart!) The popularity of Y2K fashion and vintage technology, like disposable cameras, also contributes to this trend as suggested in an article by Fast Company. I am personally fascinated by the Lightphone — they raised 11.5M in funding last year.
So what’s the shift?
Gen Z is indeed slowing down.
Several more parallel shifts influence the idea of anti consumption too — like the rising economic crisis (people just don’t want to spend on cheap dopamine), distrust in influencers growing and increased awareness around dopamine stimulation and mental wellness (People want to break free from tech addiction). These sentiments are nothing new but the overarching anti-trend is converging rapidly and there will be a tipping point where the new generation seeking conscious, slower choices will be sitting parallel to the currently mainstream overconsumption trend. Keep an eye out for it.
Fascinating? Honestly I didn’t expect Gen Z to be so Zen!
Exciting opportunities for building in this space:
- A “mid tech” phone/app or an accessory. This sits right in between dumb and smart phones. Leverage the connectivity of smart phones but have the ethical-conscious spirit of the dumb phones. This new e-reader VR glasses is an extremely weird take on this.
- A new media platform, curation brand that promotes ethical consumption. This has existed in fashion for very long but a unique opportunity in content is shaping up.
What do you think? Are we gonna slow down any time soon?
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