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By India McCarty
It looks like the streaming wars aren’t over just yet — a new survey finds that Gen Z are increasingly turning to social media content creators over traditional TV and movies.
“Think about the war for people’s attention and time that exists today, between traditional media and social media,” China Widener, vice chair of Deloitte LLP and U.S. technology, media and telecom leader, told The Hollywood Reporter.
She added, “With Gen Z, they spend 54 percent more time — think of it as about 50 minutes a day, on average — more on their social platforms, and they spend about 43 minutes a day less in traditional TV and media. So when you just think about it in the context of where they’re spending their time, are they using both service types? Yes. But they are spending more time in the social media platforms than they are on the traditional platforms.”
Deloitte recently published their “Digital Media Trends” report, which found that “56% of Gen Zs and 43% of millennials surveyed report that social media content is more relevant to them than traditional content like TV shows and movies.”
The survey also found that younger consumers feel closer to social media content creators, trusting them and feeling a personal connection to them.
“It is the creator-driven engagement that is the draw, and ultimately, what we found and talk a bit about in the report, is this notion that they feel a stronger personal connection — 52 percent of Gen Z, 45 percent of millennials in the survey — said they just feel a stronger connection to social media creators,” Widener explained. “What the younger audience is telling us, the Gen Z’s and the millennials are telling us is that the ads and product reviews they get on social media, they’re more influential on their purchasing decisions. They simply believe them more.”
Streaming Services
Another factor that’s turning Gen Z off of streaming services? The subscription prices.
Related: Consumers Fed Up with Streaming Service Price Hikes
“There’s a level of frustration,” Widener said. “Prices are rising, this questioning of the value, and this turning to the free, ad supported services, if that frustration isn’t mitigated in some way relative to the increased costs, then the reality is, there’s going to continue to be this challenge, and it’s going to force a different business model conversation in the future, if ultimately, the services and the companies that own them can’t figure out how to thread this particular needle as it relates to these rising pricing pressures.”
“The data is clear: Entertainment providers should embrace innovation and agility to help them thrive,” Doug Van Dyke, vice chair, Deloitte LLP and U.S. telecom, media and entertainment sector leader, stated.
He explained, “This means understanding the nuances of younger audiences, leveraging technology to personalize content and advertising, and exploring new avenues for distribution and monetization. The status quo is likely no longer an option.”
Read Next: How Gen Alpha Is Changing the Entertainment Industry
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