Positivity is More Popular with Gen Z Than TikTok – Social Factor Alert

In October 2022, a new social media app dethroned TikTok and BeReal for #1 rank in the Apple App Store: Gas. Named for the Gen Z phrase “gassing someone up” meaning to compliment them, Gas was created by a group of just four former Facebook employees. This group included the co-founder of tbh, a positivity-focused polling app acquired by Facebook in 2017. This month Gas was acquired by community app Discord, and is planned to keep their app running, as well as develop new ideas to reach communities. 

This focus on positivity in social media has been growing, especially with Gen Z feeling the effects of growing up with social platforms their entire life. From 2009 to 2017, depression rates among teens grew more than 60%. Today, 48% of Gen Z says social media makes them feel sad or anxious, and 58% says they are seeking relief from social media. This group is seeking out spaces that are designed to create positive interactions, such as German “positive social network” SLAY, which reached #1 on the German iOS App Store in just four days and now has 250k+ registered users. 

Key Insights for Brands

• Reaching Gen Z on “brand-centric” social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter will become increasingly difficult as they seek experiences that are different from the ones that they grew up with. More than half of Gen Z spends four or more hours per day on social media, but primarily on “persona-centric” platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
• Gen Z are also using these platforms in new ways. Text-heavy posts on Instagram have been growing in popularity, and celebrities like Courtney Love have been leaning into this phenomenon, sometimes posting images that only have text.
• Social networks that focus on niche communities or fandoms are also seeing growth among Gen Z. Tumblr (40% Gen Z) now has 200K+ signups per day, and Reddit (36% Gen Z) recorded 14% YoY growth in posts for 2022.