Gen Z Social Media Usage: Top Activities
Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z consumers are currently one of the most targeted demographics of businesses. Recent Generation Z social media usage statistics show just how integral social networks are to their daily routine, suggesting there’s no better and more effective place to reach them than on their favorite platforms.
Here’s a look at Gen Z’s social media usage—specifically, the top platforms and activities employed by this internet-savvy generation, as well as daily time spent.
Gen Z social media usage: top activities
According to eMarketer, Gen Z’s top activity on social media is watching videos. Close to three-quarters (72.4%) of Gen Z users list it as something they do on social networks.
These Generation Z social media usage statistics also show that Instagram Stories ranks among their favorite types of video—56.7% say they watch Stories. Rounding out the top social media activities of Gen Z users is liking and commenting on content, with 54.2% of them doing so.
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Communicating with others and watching influencer posts are also among Gen Z’s favorite activities—53.3% and 48.6% do so, respectively.
Here are the other activities that make up Gen Z’s social media usage:
- Watching livestream videos: 42.8%
- Viewing feed/timeline posts: 41.3%
- Gaming: 41.1%
- Searching for information using keywords: 40.9%
- Shopping/product discovery: 36.6%
- Reading/watching news articles/videos: 35.8%
- Engaging in online communities (e.g., subreddits, Facebook Groups): 28.9%
Gen Z social media usage: top five platforms
Recent data shows that Snapchat tops the list ranking Gen Z’s favorite social media platforms. It is used by more than half of Gen Z consumers in the United States. It is followed by TikTok and Instagram. This is what the top five breakdown looks like:
- Snapchat: 51.1%
- TikTok: 44.7%
- Instagram: 33.7%
- X (formerly Twitter): 32.6%
- Reddit: 28.2%
Gen Z social media usage: daily time spent
In terms of time spent, more than one-third of Gen Z-ers are on social media for more than four hours a day. Another 18% spend four hours daily on social media, which means that over half (53%) of Gen Z individuals allocate four hours or more each day to social media usage.
- >4 hours: 35%
- 4 hours: 18%
- 3 hours: 18%
- 2 hours: 17%
- 1 hour: 6%
- <1 hour: 3%
Acting on these Generation Z social media usage statistics
For brands hoping to engage with Gen Z, these numbers are proof that leveraging social media channels is the optimal approach, with a particular focus on video content and Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.