The Pandemic and Gen Z’s Social Media Saturation Point
Social media as an extension of our lives
Over the years as I have researched Gen Z (born 1995-2009), they have often explained to me that social media is an online extension of their offline world. They seamlessly integrate online and offline when relating with friends, engaging with brands, and learning or working. Social media has allowed Gen Z to connect with their friends on a continuous level. It has allowed friends to go from saying goodbye face-to-face to continuing their conversation via text or social media. But what happens when there is no face-to-face element? The pandemic with extended lockdowns has disrupted this seamless flow of offline / online interactions.
Not much left to say
“Instagram was especially hard for me to look at because everyone overseas was living life as normally. It was like I was addicted to seeing it because at least I could vicariously live through it but it was torture at the same time.” Jaslyn, b.1999
The lockdown restrictions have pushed many of us to engaging virtually where previously we would have face to face. The rise of Zoom and Microsoft Team meetings, Facetime family calls and the like are how we have remained connected in this disjointed season.
However, a theme emerging in our research of our Gen Zs is that our digitally immersed generation are reaching saturation point with social media. Some are even deleting their social media accounts as they are finding there is nothing much left to share. The longer the lockdowns have continued, the harder it has been to find something to say. Melbourne, Australia has now seen the world’s longest running lockdown globally with over 240 days since the pandemic began. Similarly, Sydney has just started to emerge from the longest running consecutive lockdown of 106 days. With life reduced to a repetitive, restricted environment, there isn’t much left to say to a friend who’s asking ‘what’s new?’.
“I found it harder and harder to stay in touch with my good friends. We are all really good mates but every time you check back in with someone they’re the same as the last week you left them. Answering ‘how are you doing?’ in return is also super painful because you’re not doing fine but everyone is just trying to hang on and it sucks that the only thing anyone can talk about right now is how awful they feel.” Emily, b.1998
“I had deleted Snapchat and TikTok. I found with Snapchat I didn’t have anything to say to my friends anymore – usually you would send a photo of something funny you would see on the street or snap yourself saying how hungover or tired/ over work you are but there is none of that now.” Keziah, b.2000
Screen Fatigue
Screen exhaustion can also be to blame for friends falling out of touch. As universities and workplaces shifted to an online format, screen time reached 8+ hours a day. With so much time being forced to use a screen for work and study, it is no surprise that people have found it harder to engage online at night and in-between video calls for work and classes.
“Basically everyone in my uni class had issues with the online format. Not only was it mentally challenging but people started reporting headaches, backaches and eye fatigue. Our course had to be entirely online so four out of the five days a week we were working on Zoom for up to 10 hours a day and it took a toll quite quickly.” Alison, b.1999
For those who are in isolation with too much time on their hands, the over-use of social media has in some cases led to screen-exhaustion has steered a number of millennials/ Gen Z’s toward deleting their social media apps.
“I think I got too carried away with it all. It wasn’t until I saw one of my screen-time reports that I even realised it. One day it said that I had spent 7 hours on TikTok alone. I deleted it the next day before I fell into the pattern again. The temptation to re-download it is strong though because I was using it as a distraction and a way to just kill time.” Mya, b. 2003
Social media fuels comparison. This has been exemplified in the pandemic with those living under restrictions and those with more freedoms. In some cases it has fed FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) with those in their locked-down bedrooms scrolling TikTok and Instagram feeds of others living a more normal life. This can add to the toll on the mental, social and emotional wellbeing of our young people, with some also seeing this as a reason to delete or deactivate their social media accounts in this season.
“I deleted my Instagram earlier this year. I just couldn’t do it anymore. When you’re at home all the time the instinct is to always reach for the phone. Instagram was especially hard for me to look at because everyone overseas was living life as normally. It was like I was addicted to seeing it because at least I could vicariously live through it but it was torture at the same time.” Jaslyn, b.1999
Initially in the pandemic social media was seen as the saving-grace to being disconnected from our networks, although with other aspects of life transferring online, and the extended duration of restrictions, many haven’t had the energy to maintain socialising through a screen.
However, it will be interesting to see what happens as restrictions begin to ease and lockdowns lift. Social media overall continues to be the dominate form of communication for Gen Zs around the world. As of April 2021, Tik Tok has held a higher streaming hourly rate than YouTube in the US and UK (1). These records are being broken in countries which are operating in a day-to-day structure, living with the virus.
(1) BBC News, TikTok overtakes YouTube for average watch time in US and UK, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58464745, published September 6 2021.
Claire Madden is a keynote speaker, social researcher and consultant, specialising in Generation Z. Claire has a passion for researching, understanding and interpreting social trends affecting today’s society and equipping business leaders, teams and educators to thrive in these changing times. To enquire about Claire speaking or assisting your team, please get in touch.