Image: Shutterstock
The author of this article is Anushka Shetty, Co-founder, Plop Stories, a global interactive fiction entertainment platform that aims to ‘edutain’ millennials and Gen Z with immersive, bite-sized fiction.
Unlike their predecessors, the millennials and Gen X, the Gen Z find it hard to imagine a world without the internet and social media. While the previous generations have only gradually made their transition to new-age technologies, the Gen Z has never known the ‘ways of the analogue world’. For them, the internet is not merely a parallel source of accessing information, it is akin to a personal extension. Staying connected and entertained 24/7 via a plethora of immersive platforms on the World Wide Web has become a basic necessity for the Gen Z. It has quickly emerged as the most dominant demographic cohort that is driving every consumer trend on the digital landscape, and quite naturally so.
While directing the proliferation of digital and connected technologies, Gen Z is also responsible for re-shaping the overall tech-vista. As a digital-first audience, they are exhaustive in their demand for personalised and bespoke content. Their overarching preference-psyche and varied expectations largely account for the progression curve of the internet and related technologies. Being the foremost digitally-intensive individuals or netizens as they are called, they hold the key to the future of all things digital.
Gen Z is marked with an ever-increasing disposition for hi-engagement interactive content on the internet that it consumes for instant shots of gratification. Studies reveal that 22% of Gen Z could only sustain an hour without internet access. On a similar note, it has also been found that almost 61% of this generation has trouble spending more than eight hours without the internet. Growing up in an ultra-immersive digital world has resulted in a notably higher level of dependency for Gen Z than the older generations.
Another study illustrated that while over 60% of older generations utilised the digital pathways primarily for information, about 61% of Gen Z frequent the internet mainly for entertainment purposes. Therefore, it is no surprise that most content-creating companies and immersive platforms produce specialised content that meets the recreational requirements and indulgence needs of Gen Z audiences. The relentless pace with which digital technology has advanced also holds several subsequent implications. An overtly pronounced dependence on digital modes has vastly decreased Gen Z’s inclination for the written word. The rising popularity of social media platforms and ready-made content that are tailored for instant consumption has lowered the later generation’s penchant for reading. This even includes modern digital formats such as e-books and audio-books.
Image: Shutterstock
Understandably, virtual-entertainment platforms and interactive content-churning companies are taking this into due cognisance. Fed on a constant diet of short-burst content and entertainment options, Gen Z also features relatively lower attention spans. Watching three-hour movies is also a seemingly outmoded phenomenon for them. Thus, several emerging companies are creating a personalized form of content that expertly caters to the needs of this new-age consumer demographic. This involves designing and unleashing an interactive content-stack that is mobile-first, preferably bite-sized, and immersive.
By adeptly weaving together different multi-media elements like sound, images, video, text, etc through cutting-edge innovation and tech-platforms, numerous next-gen players are making high-quality content that perfectly fits the bill of the fussy Gen-Z audience. These interactive content-curating companies are also blending in multiple smart and new-age features like auto-simulations, decision trees and role-playing in their offerings to extend an entirely new genre of immersive content. This not only speaks to the consumer at various levels but also lends them a feeling of real-time participation. Unsurprisingly, this class of befitting and experiential high-engagement content is gaining vast precedence over other content-formats.
Virtual entertainment, interactive platforms and an immersive choice of content that has always been the forte of Gen Z is now witnessing a stark rise throughout the popular culture. Confined to their homes and tired after the day’s deeds, these new-age content vistas are the only solace for a vast number of individuals. Therefore content-creators are always on the lookout to incorporate the latest new-age elements to captivate their tech-savvy audiences. The race towards generating the most engrossing and original content is now entering its most interesting phase. After all, digital is the chosen script for the future.
Also read: Rise Of Immersive Fiction Platforms Amongst Gen Z And Millenials
0 Comments