[New Wave] Content Tailored to MZ Generation Preferences

Presidential candidates are showing interest in the gaming industry to capture the attention of the younger generation. However, it is questionable whether they truly understand the youth. The strong call to listen to the real stories of young people through youth communities likely stems from this reason. At least in the content sector, a serious effort is needed to understand not only game industry promotion policies but also the broader environmental changes and shifts in individual preferences.

The MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) refers to those born between 1981 and 2010. Since there are significant gaps even between Millennials and Generation Z, recent attempts have been made to understand them separately.

What is important is that, as predicted by MIT professor William Mitchell in 1999 in his book City of Bits, electronic space has transformed into bits, and through the internet, a new space called the network in a digital environment has become part of everyday life. As Mitchell envisioned the future society, speech, music, scenes, and writing have all converted into bits; contact has become connection; physical sites have turned into the internet; schools have become virtual campuses; and physical transactions have shifted to electronic transactions?connecting to the current COVID-19 era where the MZ generation takes center stage.

Looking at the content consumption patterns of the MZ generation, we observe new phenomena such as habitual daily consumption of short, mobile-based content; news delivery in the style of social networking services (SNS); and active participation not only in consumption but also in content planning and production. The metaverse (extended virtual world) has become a playground, subscription services across all fields have expanded, social crews and new fandom communities have grown, and with keywords like short-form content and small but certain happiness (sohwakhaeng), this generation pays attention to the little things. Based on YouTube, they exhibit characteristics of ‘experience’ rather than mere video watching, and they value so-called ‘gashimbi’ (value for the heart) over cost-effectiveness.

Borrowing an expert’s expression, ‘Homo mobilicus,’ who skillfully uses smartphones and lives in virtual worlds, will evolve into ‘Homo habicus,’ who seeks diverse tastes and cultural pleasures, expands self-development and cultural enjoyment, and enhances social competitiveness. They are a generation more accustomed to self-expression, valuing honesty and empathy, and prioritizing their ‘hip’ tastes. In this environment, books are on Amazon, music on YouTube, movies on Netflix, games on Twitch, socializing on Facebook, and photos must be uploaded to Instagram, making smartphones a part of the body?a world natural to metaverse natives.

Recently, the term ‘Deep-tact’ has emerged in this context. ‘Deep-tact’ is a compound of ‘deep’ + ‘untact’ (contactless), meaning pursuing deep relationships without direct contact. Regardless of the connection, the quality of relationships is valued more than quantity. The intention to reduce uncomfortable relationships and increase contact points with people who match personal tastes is also a preference of the MZ generation. In the new environment led by them, serious reflection is needed on how content consumption will affect our society and how we should respond to future changes amid these transformations.

Byungmin Lee, Professor, Department of Cultural Contents, Konkuk University