Gen Zers from Around the Globe Point to Future Entertainment Trends

Recently, Cassandra & Adweek sponsored a spotlight event, “Entertaining the world: The future of entertainment and media through the eyes of Gen Z.” Bringing together insights from research conducted in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the US, it shows that Gen Z is truly a global generation when it comes to music, video, and gaming.

Familiar content soothed the stress of the pandemic

Most generations enjoy harkening back to movies and TV shows from their childhood. Gen Z not only finds comfort in nostalgic entertainment but they have also found solace in escapist and familiar content where they already know the ending. Sixty-one percent of Gen Zers surveyed preferred entertainment that is mindless and fun versus 39% who preferred entertainment that is educational and productive.

Worldwide, many Gen Zers report they revisited content from their early childhoods during the pandemic. Listening to baby songs (Peppa Pig, anyone?), watching kids’ programming, and playing video games on outdated systems, like the Nintendo Wii, were cited across all markets.

Reverting to familiar, soothing forms of entertainment that was fun and mindless proved vital to this generation throughout the pandemic. Some respondents talked about watching Barbie videos─not only was the content familiar but also the colours and messaging were visually relaxing and appealing. 

New shows also got this generation though during the pandemic; anything that allowed them to escape from the current, sombre news stories. Breaking Bad, Westworld, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Glee, The Queen’s Gambit, and Narcos were mentioned everywhere as popular shows binged during the pandemic.

The search for connection and representation

The media is the connective tissue in how people relate to each other. Young people are searching for community and connections, and media has played a critical role in fostering connections. Collaborative playlists and watch parties have been critical in bring young people throughout the globe together during the pandemic. 

Pressure to find new content

Gen Zers feel a lot of pressure when it comes to discovering, finding, and sharing new content. While this is not necessarily a new phenomenon among younger audiences, what is different is this generation talks about how exhausting the whole process can be. There are now countless sources in the discovery funnel like TikTok, Spotify, Instagram, and Twitter. The options are infinite, and that can sometime make discovery feel less fun and more of a burden.

Gen Zers love things familiar and mainstream but feel a sense of guilt enjoying mainstream artists. There’s a tension between discovering something fresh and new versus something familiar and comforting.

How will these findings influence and/or alter how your company already targets the Gen Z audience?