Across all five countries surveyed by Deloitte in its latest report —the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, and Japan— Gen Z respondents cited playing video games as their favorite entertainment activity. For UK Millennials, for example, gaming is a close second to watching TV and movies at home, and Japanese Millennials rank playing video games as second to browsing the internet. Similarly, use of social media is high and skews toward younger generations.
“Every time a streaming show ends, a recommendation fails to engage, when subscription costs mount, or even when attention strays — these are moments when people may turn to social media and gaming. Yet, larger generational changes are likely underway, shifting the sands of the media and entertainment landscape,” the report says.
In contrast to SVOD services, social is full of content that is bite sized, snackable, and highly personalized. People log onto these platforms regularly and they can be entertained for a minute or an hour. In the United States, some 80% of social media users say they use social media services at least daily, and 59% use these services several times a day. Across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, and Japan, Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X consumers are consistently more likely to use these services.
Another differentiator from SVOD: social is largely free, and the library of content is massive and seemingly never-ending. Users are listening to music, reading and watching news, watching TV shows and movies, and playing games, all in one place. Their newsfeeds are personalized by algorithms that serve up exactly what they want. No chasing content, and no subscription needed.
User-generated content —which is usually short-form and easily consumable— has been bolstered by the rise and reach of video-centric, algorithmically fueled social media services. And it is often highly engaging. About half of US respondents say they watch more user-generated content than they did six months ago, and half say they always end up spending more time watching user-generated content than they had planned (a number that jumps to 70% among Gen Zs).
Rich troves of user data power algorithms that continuously refine themselves to get the most compelling and engaging content, ads, and recommended user accounts in front of the right audiences. Around four in 10 US respondents say they spend more time watching user-generated video content than they do TV shows and movies on video streaming services —a sentiment that increases to around 60% for Gen Zs and Millennials.