China’s Gen Z is extremely online

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Sara M. Watson, along with junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch, discuss the true power of the social media giants, how Gen Z viewers like to consume sports, Twitter leaning into audio, news use on social platforms, how the pandemic has reshaped children's screen time, why people get "red eye" in photos, and more.

eMarketer junior forecasting analyst Zach Goldner and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Oscar Orozco discuss how US media use will change in 2021: Are fewer Americans watching TV, which digital devices are being used more, and how much time is spent with TikTok and Disney+? They then talk about how much people are willing to pay for TV streaming, virtually co-viewing digital content, and whether video games have replaced music as the most important aspect of youth culture.

This was a view shared by Lewis Hadley, head of insights and digital marketing at in-game advertising platform Bidstack: “There’s been a big increase in people watching esports, but that’s skewed toward that younger audience, so Gen Z and millennials,” he said.

In 2020, it will cross over the oldest portion of Gen Z (up to age 23) and has a majority share of millennials (ages 24 to 39). Millennials have been sought after by brands since the segment was identified as a demographic phenomenon reminiscent of the boomers.

(In our forecasts, we define “kids”—the younger end of Gen Z—as those who are 11 and younger.) Above all, they’re still children, eager to play and to be told stories. Do kids tend to have smartphones and social media accounts? No on both counts. We estimate that just 11.9% of kids 11 and younger have a smartphone.