Gen Z grew up with technologies, digital platforms, and a variety of online products. Gen Z expects to communicate with their peers constantly, and they do so by using a variety of online messaging and social networking platforms. In recent years, web apps have made their way into popular culture. It has evolved into a new way of communicating with others online.
Here are three popular web apps among members of Gen Z:
Reddit has increased enormously in popularity since its debut in 2005, with over 430 million active monthly users since 2019. Created by two 22-year-old graduates and has 26% of Gen Z subscribers aged 18 to 29.
Reddit has about 138,000 communities and subforums with 542 million monthly visitors. Users can subscribe to each community and post to it as they see fit. Reddit is a fantastic place to keep up with the latest news and connect with individuals who share similar backgrounds, viewpoints, and hobbies. It has user-generated content on varieties of topics.
Reasons why Gen Z likes Reddit:
1. The strength of a community-driven platform: Reddit is a platform that facilitates discovery and promotes new trends. Gen Zers come there to get information, discover, learn, and be inspired by the community. According to Redditblog.com, Gen Zers are interested in various topics, such as r/MakeupAddiction, r/Minecraft, r/WorldPolitics; there are over a hundred thousand topics to select. In a recent study by Reddit, 87% of Gen Z respondents believe there is a community for everyone on Reddit.
2. User-generated content and views: Most Gen Zers are favorably disposed to having content about authentic or real-life things. The user-generated nature of the Reddit communities promotes trust, especially regarding the review of products and brands. In the same study by Reddit, 51% of Gen Z respondents expressed that the user-driven content creation of Reddit attracted them to the app.
Discord
Discord is a digital communications app launched in 2015 to connect gamers through text, audio, and video messaging. With 140 million monthly active users, Discord's popularity increased amongst Gen Z as consumer media habits changed due to the pandemic. Gaming is still the primary connector on Discord; however other communities have sprung up, such as coding, beauty, music, fashion, and cars, while cooking and beauty are amongst the most popular non-gaming categories.
Reasons why Gen Z likes Discord:
1. Share Screen Functionality: The ability to share your screen with friends in your voice channel is one attraction for Gen Zers. You can collaborate on projects, run team meetings, and even host a game night with friends.
2. Contemporary interface: Discord lets you toggle between channels, use mentions and hashtags, and upload game screenshots, GIFs, emoticons, and media types directly into your chats.
The interface is flexible and allows easy connectivity with other applications like Spotify and Twitch, so your friends can easily see what you are doing. You can also link your Discord to your Xbox account so that people can hear what's playing on your Xbox series.
Twitch
The Twitch app is a platform where many people can broadcast, watch, and discuss games. They have about 15 million daily active users utilize Twitch, and it is considered the world's largest game-streaming platform. Twitch is broadly about esports, music broadcasts, and IRL streams. The platform enjoys about 895 million views monthly with 2.2 million broadcasters. Twitch's primary audience is the Gen Zers; they represent 21% of users aged 13 to 17, and over half are aged 18 to 34.
Two Reasons why Gen Z likes Twitch:
1. Live Streaming Feature: This functionality sets Twitch apart, and it is fascinating for Gen Z. It makes the experience more authentic; the IRL streams make one feel that they are there in real-time. Streamers can also interact with their viewers in real-time instead of replying to comments later.
2. Income Generation: Streamers can earn money and build their fan base on the Twitch platform through live streaming their gameplay. According to Oberlo, streamers generate revenue through subscriptions and viewer donations (Twitch Bits'). Other ways to make money include ads revenue, brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, merchandise, and game sales.
Generation Z is the most influential audience on the internet. They are in their early years and still have a huge demand and hunger for entertainment. Gen Z is “crazy” about a handful of online platforms. Therefore, brands should take up the challenge to become more creative by coming up with more fascinating ideas to attract their attention.
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