- Gen Z has different leisure and spending habits from the rest of the population.
- A report from Morning Consult also breaks down differences in Gen Z men's and women's preferences.
The growing political divide between Gen Z men and women is no secret, but it turns out they also have big differences as consumers.
A Morning Consult report released Wednesday highlighted the gender divergence among young people when it comes to leisure activities and spending habits.
In social media, for example, Gen Z women lean towards photo- and video-based platforms like Pinterest and TikTok, while Gen Z men prefer text-based sites like Reddit and X, formerly known as Twitter.
While Reddit "has always been a very male space," X has "taken on a very masculine brand, look, and feel" since Musk bought the platform in October 2022, Ellyn Briggs, a brand analyst at Morning Consult, said.
TikTok, meanwhile, has "so many formats that perform extremely well for women audiences," such as get-ready-with-me or day-in-the-life videos, she added.
The report also highlighted differences in motivations and attitudes that affect consumer spending.
"It's not super surprising that the things like being among the first to try technology or feeling competitive are more masculine-identifying traits," said Briggs.
However, Gen Z women's answers showed they were "more likely to identify with communal ideals like close friendship, gift-giving and putting others' needs before their own" and were "compelled by community," the report said.
That seems to fit with recent trends like dressing up to attend "Barbie" movie showings or Taylor Swift concerts, or the resurgence of book clubs, for example.
"Women are looking for community as an option for how to spend their time and set up their lives," Briggs said. "So I think that any company, organization, brand that can deliver a communal experience feeling to women audiences is certainly something they'd want to engage in."