Keep It Real or Lose Gen Z

Young users will push for more meaningful online interactions in the years to come. The platforms that prioritize simplicity and authenticity will replace the dominant ones.

Young people are becoming dissatisfied with the legacy experience, whether it is the chaotic content feed of suggested posts, the divisive nature of interactions, or the ever changing features that don't prioritize the user experience. The original purpose and power of social media platforms have been lost to the internet.

Generation Z is leading the way. In the year 2021, Gen Z social media usage fell across every major app, bar TikTok, and just 28 percent of US teens used Facebook as their primary platform. In doing so, the new generation of users will change the social media landscape.

A new wave of platforms is gaining mindshare and market share due to a desire for more authentic online interactions with the people users choose to stay close to. More than 140 million people use the messaging and voice app Discord, which has recently risen in popularity.

There will be a new breed of platforms that cater to this desire in the years to come. The photo-sharing app BeReal is an investment. Every day, the app encourages its users to be real by taking a quick picture of whatever they are doing at random moments, using the front and back camera, which allows for more candid and genuine snapshots of everyday life. Unless you post yourself, you can't view your friends' posts. With no likes, followers, ads, or filters, Bereal is already winning over Gen Z, amassing more than 2 million users and 20 million downloads worldwide.

Poparazzi is also ad-free. Its approach is to only allow users to post on each other's profiles, not their own. The majority of Poparazzi's users are under the age of 21. These platforms offer a stripped-back experience and don't encourage users to engage with a lot of irrelevant content.

Millions of people will be drawn to this new style of communication in the years to come. This shift will be responded to by all of the above mentioned companies. As they continue to lose users to the disrupters, we can expect to see these social giants expand their product features and change their image with varying success. It is not clear if the current regulatory landscape will allow market consolidation, which may encourage these startup to work even harder and smarter at constructing innovative models of monetization.

It is clear that in the coming year, social media will be redefined by its younger users and their desire for more authenticity.