The Future of Advertising from a Gen Z Perspective

My professor in college was disgusted with how the younger generation uses cell phones. He mocked us for spending hours looking at puppies and liking each other’s photos – and really, he had a point.

He explained ‘back then’ (which is not actually that long ago), in order to find information, you went to the library and searched for what you needed. Now, we have all information at our fingertips. Instead of arming ourselves with facts, we waste our time isolating ourselves by being ‘social’ on social media, or seeking temporary validation through likes. It’s like we forget knowledge is power, or, we just don’t care.

You’re thinking one of two things – “Ok boomer” or, “Woah Ariana, this is deep.” Either is fine. I encourage you to read on, and give you fair warning this post may be a bit longer than usual. Simply because, it isn’t usual.

Gen Z

If you’re a Gen Z like me, (Born between 1996 and 2015) this means you’re the first generation to grow up with social media during middle school. (As if middle school isn’t tough enough as is.) When I listened to music on YouTube, there weren’t any ads. In fact, they didn’t start advertising on YouTube until 2009. Think about your Facebook experience – there were two options: like or comment. ‘Suggested videos’ didn’t exist, and for the most part, we controlled what we liked, saw, and read.

Fast forward to 2020 – things are way different. Think about how many ads you see on Facebook in a day. Tik Tok was a hit song by Ke$ha. Now, it’s the most downloaded app on the Apple store. We’re not in middle school anymore, and we’re more divided as ever on platforms that were meant to connect us.

The Problems

What’s Real?

Believe it or not, there was a time where the media would get into a ton of trouble for reporting incorrect information on a news story. A journalists’ career lied in the balance if they published anything false. What a time to be alive, huh? Since the media makes money on the number of viewers, we’re served click bait news stories. Facebook has so much content they’ve implemented ‘fact checkers’ because they can’t keep up with what’s real or not.

Addiction

Could you live without your phone for 5 days? Ok – you could. But seriously, would you? Or would you think, “Well I could, but why would I do that?” We are very much addicted to our phones. I recently watched a Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma – which I encourage everyone to watch. They explained how engineers program the algorithms of social media platforms to get you to engage. Business models are geared towards growing users, so they make more money off of advertising. It’s hard to beat a system designed to out smart us.

A ‘Digital Pacifier’

We truly use our phones as if they are a pacifier. I think Louis CK can explain this one best. Combine the documentary mentioned above with the Louis CK video below, and you’ll see life a bit differently.

Embrace your loneliness – put the phone down.

The Solutions

Limit Screen Time

Ask yourself how much time you think you’re spending on your phone each day – and be honest. Once you have your guess, go into your settings and find out the real answer – I bet it’s a lot longer than you thought. Limit yourself and be practical about how much time you should be spending on your phone.

Control Your Phone

Don’t let it control you. Turn off your notifications and choose when you want to go onto the platform. You should dictate your own actions – not your phone. You don’t have to pick it up every time it goes off.

Regulations

Our focus needs to be to make the world a better place. We need to treat each other right above anything else. There are regulations on what types of advertising is shown to kids on TV – why isn’t this implemented online? Why are you able to lie in political ads with no repercussions? Why are we served Google search suggestions based on our activity or location, rather than the truth? We need to take a step back and ask ourselves these types of questions as technology, and advertising, evolves.

The Future of Advertising

Advertisers are overwhelmed with the amount of data received. We’re kids on Christmas with a room full of presents. We can tell how long you’ve interacted with a post, we can predict what type of post is best to serve you with, and we even know when it’s best to serve it to you. It’s a recipe for success.

The digital space is still too new. The internet hasn’t been around long enough for us to know how to tackle it, and I believe over time, we will see a need for rules and regulations to be implemented. Take the potential ban on TikTok for example.

Specialize in an industry and don’t be shy about niche marketing. You can’t have data about everyone in every industry and be seen as impressive. “A jack of all trades is a master of none. ” If you can show a client you know all about their industry and how to market their product – you win. They want a partner, not an agency.

Your success lies with your intentions. If you’re all about making money, you won’t be successful. Advertising is more than just making a sale. It’s about growing a brand, gaining customer loyalty, and spreading positivity. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility“, it’s not about making a sale – it’s about making a difference.