Week of May 23rd
We’re sharing the biggest trends in Gen Z’s world this week. Want these trends sent directly to your inbox? Sign up for The Screenshot, our weekly Gen Z insights newsletter.
⬆ TikTok looks to gaming
Gaming is the new horizon that TikTok is looking to take over. Having reshaped much of the music industry to the point labels are substituting promotion for TikTok video (more on that further down!), TikTok wants to take its behemoth influence and place it firmly in the gaming sector. It will be rolled out in South East Asia first then globally thereafter. More on that here.
⬆ Gen Z’s fave congresswoman engaged
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, also known as AOC, shared some special news on her social media about being engaged – we’re so happy for her! The congresswoman is a skilful social media communicator and advocates for the causes that enliven Gen Z the most, including pushing for the Green New Deal to tackle climate change, we can’t help but call her our fave.
⬆ Monkeypox explainer goes viral
With alarming news about the monkeypox spreading across the headlines, we’re looking for reassurance that we’re not back to early 2020. Covid trauma is real! This short TikTok video comforts us about it in a short and sweet song, check it out here.
⬇ Music artists held a TikTok-point
In recent months, many music artists have been saying in TikTok videos that their labels are making them create clips for the social media platform to promote their music. This is problematic to the point that popstar Halsey claimed that her label would not release her new album until she had a viral TikTok moment. Others, though, have found it empowering. Alt-pop star Marina announced over the weekend that she’ll no longer be signed to a label, it’s about the independent life baby! The announcement comes not long after a 10-year old single ‘Bubblegum Bitch’ went Platinum due after being used on the platform.
⬇ This popstar’s accent is like WTF?!
Gen Z icon Harry Styles released his brand new album, Harrry’s Home, this past week. For the release, the British-born star did an interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, and his accent sounded far from his usual voice. We couldn’t tell if it’d be Americanised, Australianised or just plain jumbled up. It made for a funny social moment for sure!
⬇ Gen Z Influencer Sad Story
Jay Versace is a Gen Z social icon, his face famous across our generation for hilarious meme content. The influencer is raising money to pay for his mother’s funeral costs. This shocked many people on the internet as for an influencer with his name recognition he should not need to fundraise for costs like this – a tweet saying just this received 153k likes. It demonstrates the racial pay gap that permeates social media still that an influencer of his stature gets such little recognition – we need to do better.
JUV Consulting is a Gen Z collective that works with companies to create purpose-driven and authentic marketing campaigns that engage young audiences. Contact us at info@juvconsulting.com if you would like to learn how to reach Gen Z, or sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Screenshot, to get Gen Z insights straight to your inbox.
Jawwad Mustafa is the Director of The Screenshot Newsletter. He’s always got a drink in hand - either peppermint tea, peach iced tea or a vanilla latte. If you see him with anything else, you’ll really need to vote for him as The Imposter. You can find his creativity on Instagram at @JawwadTheCreator.