Part
01
of three
Part
01
LA Social Media Consumption
While there is no publicly available information to fully answer your question, we've used the available data to pull together key findings: Generation Z, which is now 6 to 24 years old, is moving away from social media platforms which leave a "paper trail" of their lives and towards platforms, like Snapchat, which are more ephemeral. In fact, only 16% use Facebook to follow brands. Significantly more use Instagram to find new brands and YouTube to research them, but then share their experience with family and friends only on Snapchat. Consequently, it is more difficult to track their other online hangout and shopping preferences than those of prior generations. Below you'll find an outline of our research methodology to better understand why the information you've requested is publicly unavailable, as well as a deep dive into our findings.
METHODOLOGY
An initial search found that there was a dearth of studies on Generation Z and social media, particularly that operate at the city level. As noted in "The State of Gen Z" report, despite "the generation’s youthfulness and reliance on technology, relatively little has been uncovered about how they think, shop, work, feel, influence, and spend as the first true digital natives." We are, therefore, forced to make inferences from the limited information available.
The only possible exception to the lack of local data was the announcement of the so-called FOMO study ("Fear Of Missing Out") published by Beautycon Media, which surveyed Gen Zers who attended Beautycon in both Los Angeles and New York. However, since not all of those surveyed are necessarily from those cities (i.e., they may have traveled to the convention) and the survey was narrowly focused for the beauty industry, we will use that source advisedly along with national sources, supplementing them with insights taken from local media sources.
SOCIAL MEDIA PREFERENCES
Compared to Millennials, Gen Zers are more realistic, independent, and--most critically to their social media use--private, preferring "timebound content sharing" over leaving a permanent "paper trail" on social media: 72% have Snapchat on their phone, compared to 66% for Instagram. Some social media stars have also taken advantage of "ephemeral content," showing things like behind-the-scenes footage for only a limited time, encouraging regular tuning in.
Gen Zers are almost literally addicted to YouTube, with 95% watching videos on the platform and 50% saying that they can't live without it. According to Google, 73% "feel a close relationship with at least one YouTuber," and 40% will go so far as to say that they "relate more to those YouTubers than their own [real life] friends."
Facebook is the most popular app for finding group events, though only 39% of Gen Zers use it for that purpose. Interestingly, Gen Z women are far more likely (47%) to use Facebook to check group events than men (33%). However, only 16% of Gen Zers use Facebook to follow brands, with 41% preferring Instagram.
As much as Gen Zers use social media, however, at least one study indicates that they're less interested in engaging with brands there. Instead, 65% prefer to use email to engage with brands. Having "grown up in a data-driven world with automation solutions, they like the personalization that email offers."
Gen Zers prefer mobile over tablets or laptops, with 80% of their social media time being spent on their phones. They use social media primarily to find entertainment and otherwise "fill up spare time." They are also more likely to switch channels frequently. For example, 45% will use Instagram to find new products, but then go to YouTube to research the product and share their experience on Snapchat after the purchase.
Interestingly, the vast majority (82%) view their physical and online identities as "one and the same." As FOMO points out, 57% see themselves "through a camera at least once per day," and most "feel social media heightens the diversity of aesthetic expression."
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
According to the FOMO survey, 92% of Gen Zers in Los Angeles and New York follow at least one social media influencer. Over half follow music influencers, followed at about 40% who follow beauty, food, and fashion influencers. Sports and tech influencers were at the bottom with about a third of Gen Zers. (However, as explained above, this survey took place at a beauty convention, and so these ratios may not hold true for the general population.) Nearly three-quarters (73%) say that they are more influenced by social media personas than "traditional" celebrities (27%), and 46% follow more than 10 influencers at a time.
GEN Z IN LOS ANGELES
In some respects, Generation Z is unusually politically conservative for their age, not to mention entrepreneurial. (Note that this conservatism does not extend into all social issues; most Gen Zers are supportive of LGBTQ rights and less than half (48%) of those below the age of 20 identified as "completely heterosexual.") However, those in the LA area appear to lean more politically left, according to the LA Times: "They strongly identify with the social movements of our time: Nearly half support Black Lives Matter and a majority back environmental activism and the fight for LGBTQ equality. Their top issues are income and housing ..." This may stem from the general political leanings of the city, but also from the fact that half of those age 18-24 in California are immigrants or the children of immigrants.
While we cannot find statistical data to fully back this up, we would hypothesize that the major difference between Gen Z's social media habits and those in the rest of the country would reflect their particular political stances. In fact, the LA Times specifically mentions that Californian Gen Zers will "boycott products for political reasons," so any attempt to market a brand to Gen Zers specifically in LA through social media should be sensitive to this.
LOCAL ONLINE HANGOUTS
The fact that Gen Z is far less active and likely to follow brands on Facebook and is virtually absent from Twitter makes it difficult to track their preferences on other sites. For example, Feedspot indicates that the top sites for LA's local social scene are LA Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, Eater LA, Curbed LA, and We Like LA. (OverheardLA, specifically mentioned in the report criteria, does not appear in the top 50.) However, it bases these on their number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers, meaning that it is likely that these preferences reflect those of Millennials and Gen Xers rather than Gen Z. That's not to say that Gen Z doesn't use these sites when looking for local stores, festivals, etc.--just that we cannot prove it from the existing public data.
Other web-tracking sites provide even less insight. For example, Alexa provides website popularity only at the state level and does not provide any demographic breakdown. Unsurprisingly, the greater portion of the most popular sites in California belongs to the many tech giants headquartered there.
Finally, we thoroughly checked local media sources like the LA Times to see if any had insights into Gen Zs online hangouts. These also proved to fall short on any quantitative analysis. We are forced to agree with "The State of Gen Z" that the necessary study of the newer generation's social habits and online hangouts simply has not been conducted yet.
CONCLUSION
At the national level, Generation Z's social media habits have been fairly well documented, particularly in how they differ from previous generations. However, the existing data lacks insights into their other online hangouts and habits at even the national level, and at least one study indicates that the necessary research simply hasn't been conducted. While we have tried to make some inferences from the existing public data, the fact that Gen Z is so reticent to leave a permanent record of their likes and dislikes on social media means that the existing means to track relative popularity--e.g., Facebook and Twitter followers--reflects more of the preferences of Millennials and Gen Xers.