As social media use increases, so do many different forms of it. While traditionally, one would call or text someone to meet up, Gen-Z has been able to connect and meet others through these forms of social media. Social Media has made instant gratification and fast-paced communication the norm.
What’s the appeal?
Gen-Z uses social media so much because they rely more on visual stimulation. They need to see images and text when learning about others and what their interests are. This allows them to find out more information at a faster pace. When it comes to something they are interested in, this makes visual references crucial. Rather than reading and painting a picture as information accumulates over time, they can see the information directly and work from there.
Since everything is much more fast-paced than what previous generations are used to, Gen-Zers can multi-task more across platforms. This makes communicating between text, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, and Snapchat all possible with the same people. While each platform is used to communicate in different ways, they still all involve fast-paced and visual information. Whether through humor or political views, with the click of a share or direct message button they communicate with their peers.
Do they still text?
Texting still remains a widely used method to talk to one another. Keystone Academic Solutions revealed that the phone essentially becomes an extension of the Gen-Z concept of the self. By seeing each other visually and learning about interests visually, forms of social media represent parts of the other person. Since they are more drawn to these visuals, they become less drawn to more traditional methods of communication like texting.
Since social media usage has become so accessible, it has become a substitute for in-person interaction. The pandemic has only increased this. So much is happening on these platforms at all times and communication is at your fingertips at any time. This makes it more likely that Gen-Z is connecting virtually rather than in person despite the isolation. However, it does open the door to meet more people in person given the opportunity, especially since the pandemic has made meeting people a bit complicated.
