Every day, Generation Z (those born after 1997) browse memes, photos, social networks, chats with their friends, videos, influencers, articles from a multitude of sources on the Internet. But how do they relate to this digital content to discriminate what is important, useful or true?
Generation Z extracts information through dialogue and exploration PHOTO SHUTTERSTOCK
For the past two years, researchers at Jigsaw, a Google subsidiary focused on online politics and polarization, have been studying how Gen Z consumes and metabolizes what they see online.
“Within a week of actual research, I dropped the term information literacy,” says Yasmin Green, CEO of Jigsaw. Gen Z “isn’t on a linear journey (question – web search-information/content – credibility check – answer -n.ed) to assess the veracity of anything. Instead, they are engaged in what researchers call “informational sensibility,” a “socially informed” practice that relies on the “folk heuristic of credibility,” an approach based on dialogue, experiences, and exploration. In other words, Gen Zers know the difference between solid news and AI-generated memes. They just don’t care.
The digital mindset of Generation Z is very different from that of previous generations, who struggle to verify information and cite sources. Gen Z doesn’t value that and isn’t consumed by it, possibly only reading the headline before they start scrolling through the comments to see what others think.
They don’t want to deal with things that might force them to think too much or that might upset them emotionally. Jigsaw found that to the extent that they have a purpose, it is to find out what they need to know to stay cool and informed in the social groups that matter to them.
How Generation Z differs from other generations
“The old guard say something like, ‘Yes, but you have to ultimately care about the truth.’, Green explains. “Generation Z is like: «You can tell me your truth and what you think is important». Thus, as far as they are concerned, the relevance of a statement is not so much given by any standard of authority as by the social signals received from those of the same age.
Jigsaw’s research didn’t necessarily do statistically significant surveys of Gen Z’s digital habits, but conducted in-depth interviews with teenagers and young adults between the ages of 13 and 24 from a cross-section of the population.
Surprising conclusions
The answers took them by surprise. Basically, young people say that for them there is no difference between using the Internet to search for news or for social interaction. Gen Z relate to their digital experience in what researchers call “timepass” mode, where their primary concern is not to be bored.
On the other hand, if they want to find out the answer to a question or learn something new, they can also turn to a search engine, but mainly acquire new information through social media feeds, selected by algorithms to it reflects their interests and the sources they trust. In short, they create their own filters to process an avalanche of digitized information. That way, only the things important to them are presented to them.
Then, they don’t tend to spend time reading long articles. Neither do they trust those accompanied by ads, paywalls or pop-ups asking for donations or subscriptions. “If you’re doing clickbait, then you have zero confidence in your content”, one subject told the researchers. “But news sources – even CNN and The New York Times – do clickbait. I immediately put those articles aside”.
On the other hand, they are not interested in authoritative sources, always preferring the personal experience of influencers, because that is what makes them authentic and, moreover, they speak the language of Generation Z.
“Gen Z will have a favorite influencer or a number of influencers that they trust and then be incredibly loyal to everything that influencer says”explains Beth Goldberg, director of research at Jigsaw.
The importance of group metabolism
None of this is to say that Gen Z is any less intelligent or hardworking than other generations. They are equally good at studying something in depth. It’s just that, as a rule, they are not willing to do it.
“They use these critical skills in a very small proportion of the time they spend online”, says Goldberg. If they’re preparing for a dispute they anticipate, or when they have to make important life decisions about schools or investments, they’re willing to do this bushwork of fact-finding. “But most of the time they spend their time in timepass mode. Not only do they not prioritize truthfulness, but it’s actually not important to them at all.”
If things that look like facts manage to slip into Gen Z feeds—advice on a healthy diet, or what Trump would do as president, or who’s to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—they’re likely to pass muster. to the comments. In part, this is because they are very confident that the digital mass will quickly debunk any fake news.
“They get reliable information from closed group chats or from followers with private feeds so that they are able to act as part of a group and can send specific social signals“.
In conclusion, for Gen Z, checking what others are saying by reading comments is not a superficial attitude. It’s a matter of social life or death, writes Business Insider.
