• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, July 7, 2021

getWizer and Joy Ventures tracked Gen Z social media usage in the U.S. in March 2021 and found that YouTube and Instagram score top usage points with the 15- to-24-year-old demographic, followed by Snapchat and TikTok. 

By gender, however, TikTok is number one for girls, while YouTube and Instagram tied for first place with boys.

The research was conducted via an online panel of 1,013 Gen Z participants, varying by age, gender, region, and ethnicity.

The study was commissioned by Joy Ventures, a venture capital firm supporting startups that develope consumer products for wellbeing. The research was intended to explore how new products might improve Gen Z’s happiness and minimize their loneliness as they spend hours a day on social media. 

Snapchat is the platform Gen Zers check when they wake up in the morning, and TikTok is the app they fall asleep with.

Gen Z social media habits also vary by age, with TikTok as the lead platform for 15- to-17-year-olds, Instagram for 18- to-20-year-olds. Facebook reigns supreme with 21- to-24-year-olds.

Twenty percent of respondents spend five hours or more a day on TikTok, and 18% spend a similar amount of time on YouTube.

Twenty-one percent of Gen Zers set a time limit for their social media usage. Twenty-six percent of boys set a limit, compared to 17% of girls.

“We had an assumption that social media creates a stronger feeling of loneliness and emphasizes the need for social interaction, while we actually found that among Gen Z it's the opposite in a way, and it helps them deal with loneliness (contrary to the FOMO feeling we anticipated),” said Shani Broner, senior vice president, global research, getWizer. “We were hoping to find ways to help young Gen Z teens use technology to help with loneliness as this is one of the key problems at a younger age, especially post-COVID.”

When Gen Z wants to connect and interact with others, they turn to Instagram. YouTube is the top platform for looking up information or passing the time, if the demo is bored, sad, or alone.