Executive
Summary
Every few years, VICE conducts a large
youth census in partnership with Toluna,
surveying thousands of young Australians
to find out more about their world.
In 2018, VICE compiled the results from 3,700+
respondents into The Big Shrink: VICE’s 2018
Youth Study. This document is a snapshot of
those results.
What’s the deal with the Big Shrink?
When analysing our data we noticed a common
theme throughout the responses – a theme we’re
calling ‘The Big Shrink’. The following three key
trends we cover in this paper will demonstrate
what we mean by this. Okay let’s get into it.
1
Overview
Y Tho?
Gen Z and Millennials are big business.
Collectively, these two generations make
up over 50% of the Australian population
(ABS 2016). While the median age of an
Australian is 37 (millennial), Gen Z are an
emerging force with an estimated $44B in
purchasing power.
We know they’re important. You know they’re
important. So we set out to get to know them
a little better.
The broad intention of this study was to answer
4 big questions about young people in Australia:
• Who are they?
• What drives them?
• How are they dealing with the stresses of
the world?
• How do we connect?
2
Snapshot
Millennials VS Gen Z
Snapshot
Millennials Gen Z
Aged 22-38 Aged 16-22
Settling down Starting out
31% not Caucasian 34% not Caucasian
15% not straight 25% not straight
Cool hunters Fed by the feed
Facebook First Dominate on visually
led platforms
Social media preferences:
Youtube 83 %
79 %
78 %
Facebook
69 %
Instagram 75 %
54 %
68 %
Snapchat
31%
21 % Gen Z
Twitter
24 % Millennial
Q. Which of the following do you use regularly?
- VICE Audience Census 2018
3
Trends
Shrink #1
Hey Siri, who am I?
Youth culture is becoming increasingly homogenised
by a shrinking frame of reference.
Despite 53% of the surveyed audience saying
they want to be unique, culture is becoming
increasingly homogenised.
Young people are listening to the same music,
wearing similar fashion, watching similar content,
reading the same news sites.
44
Trends
This can be seen in music.
The chart below shows how music preferences have become
less varied since 2015.
20% Gen Z
Millennials
2015
15%
10%
5%
0%
Fig: 2015 vs. 2018 music tastes.
All have shifted towards hip-hop, rap, and pop. Billboard charts also show a similar trend, with
rappers and hip-hop artists occupying the top spots.
As well as fashion.
The chart below demonstrates how they are buying more or
less the same style of clothes.
20% Gen Z
Millennials
15%
10%
5%
0%
Fig: 2018 fashion is all about streetwear and sportswear, which are arguably - more or less - the same thing.
55
Trends
To understand why this is happening, we
need look no further than the very different
worlds Millennials and Gen Z grew up.
Millennials Gen Z
Grew-up with CD’s, Grew-up with Spotify,
DVD’s, Magazines Netflix, iPhone
Weekends at Westfield Asos, The Iconic, Amazon
Sleepovers and 3-way Snapchat and WhatsApp
phone calls Groups
Cash Afterpay
Analogue Digital
Millennials grew up with tangible products
of culture like CDs and magazines (like VICE).
They flicked through magazines for style advice
and inspiration or trawling Hype Machine for new
music, and as a result we’ve found that Millennials
are far more proactive about seeking out their
tastes and opinions.
6
Trends
Gen Z on the other hand have grown up
with personalised recommendations;
therefore they are far less interested in
seeking out the next big trend.
They’re happy for it to come to them. When we
asked them where they get their news from, Gen
Z overwhelmingly said social media (65%) as their
main source of information – a channel largely
served by algorithms.
And as algorithms get better and better at
dictating our cultural taste, we’re seeing a
shrinking frame of reference resulting in more
homogenised identity and personal taste.
We believe we’re in a moment of consensus.
7
Trends
Shrink #2
Anti-Exceptionalism
Shrinking expectations and the
embrace of the ordinary.
In the past, youth was all about coming of age and
innocence. In 2018, it’s all about being exceptional.
Last year, 78% of the briefs that VICE Australia
received asked us to profile one of the following:
“exceptional, innovator, entrepreneur, side-hustler,
creator, or young people making lasting change in
the world.” Where did this cult of exceptionalism
come from?
Far from being side hustling entrepreneurs who
are on their way to being millionaires by the time
they’re 25, we know that 75% of Gen Z and 57% of
Millennials live in the suburbs or small towns, earn
well under the average Australian full time wage,
and 3 in 4 are in some sort of debt.
88
Trends
They care more about ‘who’
they are, than ‘what’ they are.
When we asked them what success looks like,
their answers favoured ‘relationships’ over money
and ego. In fact, 62% of them believe it’s more
important to be well rounded than wealthy.
How will you know when you are successful?
42%
I’m able to do all the things in
life that are important to me
35%
18%
I have strong relationships
with my friends and family
22%
10%
I’ve made positive change in my
company, community or world
9%
11%
I make a lot of money
12%
10%
I land my dream job
9%
5%
I get personal recognition
for my accomplishments 9%
4%
None of the above
4%
Source: VICE Youth Study 2018,
Q: How will you know when you are successful? Gen Z Millennials
9
Trends
The expectations we place on young
people to be “exceptional” are
wreaking havoc on their state of mind,
with 60% saying they are anxious.
This anxiety about being ‘exceptional’ has led to
a surge of interest in ‘the ordinary’ in terms of
consumer behaviour. Brands who embrace the
ordinary are having a big moment (from THINX
smart period pants, to Comme Des Garcons
concrete-smelling perfume). Those that don’t
(eg. Victoria’s Secret, with their unachievable
body standards) are getting left behind.
And we’re seeing this preference for the ordinary
reflected on our own channels. Some of VICE’s
best performing pieces from 2018 include a
documentary on young people from Bairnsdale
competing in a burnout circuit, a suburban
woman who looks after a bunch of crocs and
everyday teens providing real-life advice to their
peers in In Bloom.
10
Trends
Shrink #3
The Story Age
Young people are literally shrinking
their world and retreating to their most
fundamental human instincts.
A massive 8 in 10 young people think the world is going
to shit, with the top three concerns being Climate
Change, World Peace and The Government.
Issues they’re most concerned about.
43%
Environment /
Climate Change 33%
32%
World Peace
34%
23%
The government
The Government
23%
0% 11% 22% 33% 44%
Source: VICE Youth Study 2018,
Q30: Which of these issues are you most concerned with? Gen Z Millennials
11
Trends
These three problems are all alike in that
they are too complex to understand and too
big for an individual contribution to make a
difference.
So what is this doing to young people in the age of
activism? Well… not as much as we might think.
Around 1 in 2 young people are not doing anything
to actively support the causes they care about.
What issues are you currently involved in?
44%
None of the above
47%
16%
Mental Health
13%
12%
Women’s Rights
5%
16%
LGBTQ rights
6%
6%
Global
GlobalWarming
warming
Gen Z
//Climate
climate Change
change
6%
12%
Millennials
Education
5%
Source: VICE Youth Study 2018,
What issues are you currently involved in?
12
Trends
Woke Paradox
They’re also not overly interested in the topics that
they find extremely important...
Saving
Saving the
the Environment
environment
Mental Health
Cost
Costof
ofLiving
living
(life, housing, education, etc)
World Overcrowding
overcrowding
Racialequality
Gender and racial Equality
Drug Policy
Refugee Crisis
Tech
Future of tech
(AI, green tech, etc)
Free and Independant Press
Indigenous Advancement
advancement
#MeToo, Misogyny
misogyny and
and Consent
consent
Out-of-touch Politicians
politicians
Equality
LGBTQ equality
Privacy / Internet Security
Immigration
Political Correctness
Religious Freedom
Important
Interesting Interesting
Q: What topics do you find the most interesting / important?
18-35 VICE Readers, VICE Insights Survey Important
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13
Trends
Instead of mobilising, the most popular
coping mechanisms when feeling anxious
are to drink, smoke and take drugs (35%),
distract myself (20%), or stay in bed and
hide (15%).
So if they’re not interested in the topics they care most about,
what are they interested and engaging with?
Entertainment - particularly Film and TV.
Most read and watched topics.
54%
Film, TV & Entertainment
43%
53%
Comedy / Humor
39%
51%
Music
35%
48%
Memes / Internet culture
21%
22%
International news
25%
22%
National news
36%
29%
Food & Dining
30%
Sex & Relationships 28%
18%
Health and Wellness 25%
33%
25%
Travel
29%
Q34: Which of the following topics
do you read and watch most often? Gen Z Millennials
VICE Youth Census 2018, 18-35
14
Trends
Living in such confusing and sensationalist
environment, surrounded by complex problems
that are too hard to solve, VICE has noticed
that young people are gravitating more and
more towards chronological, empathy-driven
narratives that help them to feel rooted and
make sense of the world.
The cause of this is Narrative Bias.
For proof of this, look no further than the growth of the
stories format, like Instagram Stories (from polished one-
offs in the feed, to serialised narratives that take people
on a journey) and podcasts (1 in 4 Australians now listen
regularly). Compare this to the types of stories making
international news.
There’s also the renaissance of ‘Story Nights’ like The
Moth in Sydney and Melbourne, 30% YoY growth of
Netflix, and most notably – the return of the Superhero
movie franchise.
15
Trends
2019 will have the most blockbuster
Hollywood superhero films ever released
almost double the six that were released
in 2018.
This trend mimics the growth of comic books in
the confusing landscape immediately following the
second world war – easy, portable stories about good
triumphing over evil, that helped people feel positive
and patriotic in a time of confusion and anxiety.
VICE knows that nearly 1 in 2 young people are on
social media more than last year, and we use this to
our advantage when building long form content and
serialised narratives. In 2018, we have launched several
tentpole video initiatives, including Violent Times,
Australiana and Tin Foil Hats, totalling in excess of 13
million global views, that play to this structure.
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Summary
Take aways
So how do you engage with young people when
they are less likely to seek out new things,
consolidating their world and focussing on
friends and family above all else?
The short answer – be part of the solution.
Here’s some suggestions for how:
Help them feel
Avoid perpetuating
unique without
norms & stereotypes
being an outsider
Be pro-ordinary Help them spend
& celebrate everyday time with friends &
success family
Normalise self-doubt;
embrace failure Help them make
& anxiety a difference
Less polish; Tell stories that
It’s okay to be lo-fi make sense of the
world
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Methodology
VICE Census VICE Insights VICE Immersions
(QUANT) (QUANT) (QUAL)
What: Annual global survey, What: Native survey tool What: Ethnographic
16-35 yo sample providing real time dashboard research projects
(Gen Pop & VICE)
insights - 18+ Why: Meet your consumer,
Stats: 1,790 responses, 50/50
VICE Readers & Gen Pop Stats: 1,933 VICE Readers their heroes & experience their
Who: Toluna - Global Who: Runs on VICE o&o world first hand
consumer WHO: 10 participants from
Insights & Survey Company different demographics
We love to do research and share our findings
on youth culture.
If this sounds like something you’d like,
drop us a line and say hello.
AU Sales - ausales@vice.com
Melanie Mahony
Hannah Murphy Senior Strategist, VICE
Senior Strategist, VICE melanie.mahony@vice.com
hannah.murphy@vice.com
Alice Kimberley
Stephanie Winkler Group Strategy Director,
Digital Strategist, VICE VIRTUE Worldwide
stephanie.winkler@vice.com alice.kimberley@vice.com
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