Do you ever have thoughts such as, ‘I wonder if I can change my MySpace song to Cardi B?’ or ‘Has my Nintendog survived without any water for fifteen years?’, Yes? Congratulations! you are old.
In 2020 3.2 billion people were under 25. This is now an audience that is too important to ignore, let me introduce you to Generation Z.
Generation Z (those born between 1995-2010), are true digital natives. They grew up in an already internet savvy world, and as a result, the ways in which they learn are very different to the generations that grew up before them. Not only were they affected by the rise of social media and mobile phones, but they also grew up in a world where on-demand content was the new normal, making the adaption to new technology a quick and easy process.
With 95% of Gen Z youngsters now preferring to talk to a chatbot rather than a human, we explore the ways in which students now learn through a range of Voice and AI channels rather than an actual human being.
Podcasts
According to Linkedin, we are now looking at the most educated generation of our time. Not only can young people now consume more content than ever, but they also have a higher willingness to learn compared to millennials. People no longer just want learning on-demand, they expect it and with the likes of Netflix and Spotify offering educational shorts, Gen Z are seeking easy options to cram in more information.
With 67% of UK 13–34-year-old podcast users now preferring to listen to a podcast over reading a book, more colleges and universities are turning to podcasts to educate and convey important information to students. With the addition of lockdown, schools such as Manchester based, Bury College, went one step further and provided prospective students with a series based on how to make a successful start at the college. This not only forms a virtual prospectus but also taps into the ideology that Gen Z prefers audio information compared to a physical book.
We also recently saw subtle behaviour changes throughout lockdown with an increase in educational podcast listening from 19% to 25%. With more time to learn, people utilised podcasts in a big way, building habits for the long term. According to a recent report, the demographic is also twice as likely to say that education was their favourite podcast category in comparison to other ages.
Voice Assistants and Chat Bots
Forbes recently stated that 74% of Gen Z’ers do not ‘naturally’ interact with humans, with Campaign claiming that the demographic ‘are three times more likely to describe themselves as introverts than extroverts’. This is down to the fact that there is now more of an opportunity to thrive as an introvert thanks to powerful communication tools – an opportunity that the previous generations had not grown up with.
One of these communication tools is the voice assistant.
Gen Z is using voice tech in the car, for what they consider routine, like making phone calls, finding a music playlist, or even adjusting the climate. They are operating TVs with voice commands, eliminating the need for remote controls. They’re using Google Assistants to make appointments and reservations via phone calls so well that the other end of the line is totally unaware that they are speaking to a bot.
Now that these devices have become the ‘norm’ in households, students naturally ask their assistants to ‘do’ their history homework, maths equations and even use apps such as Duolingo to translate speech. Children as young as four are now receiving assistants as gifts, meaning that an even younger generation are inadvertently learning how to use this technology (even if it is just asking Alexa to pull their finger), proving that the voice revolution is here to stay.
Discover how you can create compelling audio to engage potential new students, and how you can bring your organisation's culture to life through sound by clicking here.