Our newsletterVendor reportGWI, 2026
Gen Z is 20% more likely than consumers overall to use social to avoid missing out
Buyer behaviour
| Reason | % of Gen Z | % of all consumers | Gen Z vs. all consumers (% of difference) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keeping in touch with friends/family | 47% | 49% | -4% |
| Filling spare time | 42% | 38% | 11% |
| Finding content | 32% | 29% | 10% |
| Seeing what's trending/what's being talked about | 31% | 28% | 11% |
| Avoiding missing out on things | 24% | 20% | 20% |
| Following celebrities or influencers | 24% | 20% | 20% |
| Sharing/discussing opinions with others | 22% | 22% | 0% |
Main reasons for using social platforms, Gen Z vs. all consumers
Main reasons for using social platforms, Gen Z vs. all consumers- Reader Note:
- Figure compares the share of global Gen Z and all consumers who say each item is a main reason for using social platforms. For 'Avoiding missing out on things', 24% of Gen Z and 20% of all consumers selected it, shown in the chart as a +20% difference. The source does not state the exact fieldwork dates or the exact age range used for Gen Z in this figure.
- Evidence:
- Self-reported behaviour
- Vendor interest:
- Moderate — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
- Sample:
- Mixed GWI online survey samples: GWI Core surveys over 1 million people annually aged 16-64 or 16+ across 54 markets; GWI USA surveys 80,000 Americans annually aged 16+; GWI Kids surveys 20,000 children aged 8-15 in 18 markets; plus a bespoke survey of 550 US advertising and marketing professionals in August-September 2025 and GWI Zeitgeist monthly surveys in 11 markets.
Reader Note:
Evidence:
Vendor interest:
Sample:Good for
A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.
Not for
- Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
- This is an aggregated or average number that covers very different cases. Real results in a particular segment may differ.
- This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
- The source never says how this number was measured.
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