Meta study shows why video content has become the preferred format among Gen Z in India

Modern Generation Z is often perceived as a generation that spends a lot of time on their phones and avoids face-to-face interaction. However, new research indicates that this view needs refinement. Generation Z does not refuse to communicate; rather, they selectively choose the method of interaction: this can be a personal conversation, a chat, direct messages (DM), or ignoring a call followed by messaging. The format of communication is transforming, but communication itself continues.

According to the Global Small Talk Survey by Preple, which involved 1400 adults from the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia, 58% of Gen Z members engage in short personal conversations daily. This figure is almost double the 31% among Baby Boomers. Among Millennials, this percentage is 53%, and among Generation X, it is 37%.

Gen Z's online activity is also high: 47% of them participate in casual online conversations daily, compared to 42% among Millennials, 22% among Gen X, and 18% among Boomers. Furthermore, 65% of Gen Z members report having started having more short conversations compared to five years ago, which refutes the notion that 'Generation Z doesn't communicate.'

However, there is an interesting nuance: Generation Z communicates, but does not feel the need to participate in every conversation. Over the past year, 87% of Gen Z members tried to avoid at least one live conversation they were forced into. Moreover, 93% used some method to evade small talk. 41% used the excuse of checking their phone, while 37% preferred sending messages or using DMs instead of making a call.

Differences are also evident regarding phone calls. Only 6% of Gen Z members state that they try not to answer calls, whereas this figure is 7% among Baby Boomers. Nevertheless, 27% of Gen Z members usually let calls go to voicemail, after which they connect via message. This behavior is observed in only 7% of Baby Boomers.

Even the topics of conversation are changing. For Baby Boomers, the weather remains the most common topic for starting small talk, according to 56% of Boomers. In contrast, this figure has dropped to 28% among Gen Z. Instead, young people more often discuss weekend plans, restaurants, and social connections.

Thus, it is clear that Generation Z is not socially closed; they simply prefer their own approach to communication. It is not necessary for them for every interaction to happen in person or over the phone; messages, DMs, and short informal chats are also part of maintaining connections. The question arises: has Generation Z stopped small talk, or have they just changed its methods?

In the lives of Generation Z, speed is present almost everywhere: from checking phones immediately upon waking up and constantly viewing notifications to meeting work deadlines, social media activity, and the pressure to constantly achieve something. However, against this fast pace, a new trend is emerging—Slow Living, which implies a more measured lifestyle, a rejection of the desire to get everything immediately, and the enjoyment of small moments in everyday life.

A Short Break from Fast Life

Generation Z has benefited from technology, but with it has come constant connectivity. Even after finishing work, people continue to check emails, messages, and remain active on social media. Often, the attempt to relax via phone turns into aimless scrolling through feeds.

In such conditions, Slow Living acts as a kind of mental pause. Simple activities, such as drinking morning coffee without a phone, cooking food independently, taking an evening walk, or simply listening to music, cease to be mere routine and become a conscious lifestyle choice for members of Generation Z.

Presence Over Productivity

The popularity of Slow Living can also be linked to the culture of productivity, which creates unconscious pressure on everyone to constantly remain productive. One needs to study something new, build a career, engage in side income, pay attention to fitness, and simultaneously maintain a social life.

Slow Living offers a different approach to this mindset. There is no need to fill every free minute with some activity; sometimes it is perfectly fine just to sit without a specific reason.

Joy in Small Things

A significant part of Slow Living lies in the ability to appreciate the small details of daily life. Activities such as cooking at home, reading books, gardening, keeping a diary, baking, or simply watching the rain from the window are not major achievements. Nevertheless, it is in these moments that Generation Z may find the solace that is difficult to achieve in the race for constant online presence and the pursuit of progress.

Is Slow Living Really Slow?

Interestingly, the Slow Living trend itself has been transformed into an aesthetic image thanks to social media. Platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have a great deal of content idealizing slow living: cozy homes, morning rituals, homemade food, candles, and nature walks.

Thus, Slow Living, which romanticizes Generation Z, is not always entirely slow or perfect. In real life, deadlines and responsibilities persist. Perhaps Slow Living does not mean a complete halt to life, but rather the ability to sometimes regulate its speed according to one's own needs. After all, when the whole world constantly urges 'hurry up,' a small pause can itself be perceived as a luxury.