🌼 Flowers, Flip Phones, and Tough Davos Takes
Discord acquires Gas, the flip phone takeover, workplace confusion and Miley's big new hit are the topics that matter to us on Gen Z this week at dcdx.
Hiya! We’re trying something new here by sharing the topics that matter to us most this week at dcdx with Gen Z and sharing our thoughts + insights in typical dcdx fashion. There’s a quick poll at the end to share your thoughts on the new format as well, bc we always appreciate your POV :)
1. Discord acquires Gas, the app for high-schoolers to gas each other up (Discord).
About the 3 months back, we wrote about Gas App, the hot (at the time) app for high schoolers to share and receive anonymous polls complimenting one another. We talk more about the premise of the app, what it showed us about Gen Z, and more in that piece here, but their recent acquisition may show us an important look into the future of consumer social.
What we know about Gas users is that they are just as eager to leave the app as they were to join. Evidence from TikTok and search trends show us that the momentum for the app is just no longer there, despite the app’s momentous virality in October and November.
Surely, Discord did their diligence and understands the app’s fleeting nature. So, what did they have to gain from the acquisition?
Our hypothesis? Discord is struggling. Gen Z’ers on Discord had a 32% drop in their mobile screen time on the app year over year (screen time report), and search trends for Discord are on a significant downward trajectory.
While Discord’s core communities stay strong, struggles to expand to broader young audiences may be behind the app’s recent big move.
2. Flip phones and vintage technology heat up with Gen Z (CNN)
A big source of conversation from this week was articles discussing the rise of the flip phone with Gen Z, furthering the trend of vintage technology use among Gen Z. Sorry, it is vintage. Propelled by Camila Cabello’s tweet, the trend has gained serious headway on TikTok and among young female audiences. An 18-year-old interviewed by CNN said, “I think people are going to go out more and more with flip phones just because it’s so fun and nostalgic and honestly a vibe”. Another said “I love the photos on the flip phones because they are grainy and blurry,” Palazzolo said. “And I think that captures the vibe of going out in college perfectly.”
While the vibes may be top tier and the photos instant classics, the legitimacy of the flip phone as a real smartphone contender is…well not legitimate.
So what does this show us about Gen Z?
This is a promising recognition of and action on the severe grasp our phones have on our mental health, especially in social situations. Reading through the comments on this video about going out with a flip phone is enlightening, and also terrifying.
For Gen Z, the flip phone trend is a signal for a broader, more intentional attempt to regain control and independence from our devices.
3. Words in the workplace: confusion and advice on Gen Z employees.
“2 top executives at consulting giant McKinsey broke down 3 ways Gen Z is transforming the workplace”, “ ‘They’re 25, they don’t do emails’: is instant chat replacing the inbox?”, “Davos attendees can’t stop hating on Gen Z”.
Articles on Gen Z in the workplace are constant. And constantly bad. This week’s conversations from Davos are just amplifying the frustration and misunderstanding that exists about Gen Z in the workplace.
The McKinsey article referenced above leads with the following quote from a McKinsey senior partner:
"Perhaps the defining characteristic of Gen Z is that, instead of wanting to revolutionize, Gen Z is comfortable with the idea of change through structure".
If you’re remotely familiar with the actions of Generation Z, this is a blatant and offensive misunderstanding, that almost certainly stems from one thing: not talking to actual Gen Z’ers. Surely the sold-out Trump rally, the Starbucks fake applications, March for Our Lives, or just a plain google search on Greta Thunberg are just a few examples of the ways in which Gen Z are certainly not comfortable with the idea of change through structure.
Some notable topics have surfaced from the Davos conference on Gen Z, including the theme that “Nobody wants to work these days”, ghosting interviewers, and frustrations around the attention that Gen Z gets from managers.
The current conversations had by the media and the executives at Davos are only serving to further the generational workplace divide.
Whether it is communication methods, how to retain Gen Z, or how to recruit them, starting with a simple conversation with your Gen Z colleagues may be an effective way to start a healthy and unifying dialogue.
4. Miley is back with Spotify’s biggest hit ever
On January 12th, Miley Cyrus released her new song Flowers, in the lead-up to the release of her new album in March. And it took off, quickly becoming the most-streamed song in a single week in Spotify history.
In the past 30 days, #mileycyrus has had over 700M views on TikTok, with the vast majority starting on January 13th. Immediately after the song’s release, TikTok went ablaze with content surrounding the song’s meaning, its timing, and its empowering mantra.
What will clearly be a Valentine’s Day 2023 mood, Flowers shows the high magnetism that Miley has with the Gen Z audience. As her first release in nearly 3 years, Cyrus has such a strong bond with her audience that they often refer to her as “mother” or “mom”.
Did you have Miley and Shakira destroying their exes to start 2023 in your bingo cards?
~lastly~
The Reveal: Gen Z’s Top 25 Most Magnetic Brands 🧲
This Thursday at 4pm ET, we will be doing a live reveal and release of our Gen Z’s Top 25 Most Magnetic Brands report.
Each year, the team at dcdx analyzes 100+ brands with our GenZ Score® to identify the brands that attracted the most conversation from Gen Z.
Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoyed this! We’d love to know if this new format suits your reading style. Your opinion matters to us - what did you think?