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The added perks will likely appeal to Gen Zers and help meet their credit card reward demands

Gen Zers and young millennials are the most likely to splurge on beauty in 2024鈥攂ut their path to purchase is anything but straightforward.

Forty-five percent of Gen Zers ages 10 to 18 report turning to video games to deal with negative emotions鈥攖his includes 66% of boys (compared with 23% of girls), according to Gallup. What does this mean for advertisers? Invest in banners on genAI sites and apps. Teens are embracing genAI as a regular part of their digital activity.

Despite mental health concerns and corporate distrust, teens still find value in social platforms鈥攅specially for connection, creativity, and emotional support.

64% of teens said major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Meta don鈥檛 care about their mental health or well-being, and 62% don鈥檛 believe they will protect their safety at the expense of profit, according to a January 2025 Common Sense Media report.

Meta under fire on multiple fronts: Teen-targeting claims, a high-stakes FTC trial, and Chinese advertiser pullback could reshape the company鈥檚 ad model.

Only 23% of younger shoppers plan to spend less this holiday season: That鈥檚 down from 31% last year as Gen Zers and millennials are eager to pull out their wallets.

Despite new safeguards, Meta faces backlash after chatbots discussed sexual topics with teens, threatening trust among parents, regulators, brands, and the celebrities lending their voices.

New Character AI feature offers opt-in parental reports: While better than nothing, teen users still control visibility鈥攈ighlighting fragmented safety standards across AI chatbots.

A lot happens in a week, so every Friday we're going to analyze all the new data and provide you with some of the key takeaways. Welcome to the Friday 5. This week, teens want ads with products in action, consumers aren鈥檛 giving brands negative feedback, and St. Patrick鈥檚 Day doesn鈥檛 interest consumers as much as other holidays.

Gen Z is looking for 鈥渂esties,鈥� said speakers at ZCON, a conference featuring Gen Z speakers, creators, marketers, and business leaders. Speakers and attendees emphasized connections, personal branding on social media, platforms for networking, and more. Here are four takeaways from the event.

When formulating Gen Z outreach plans, financial institutions may overlook these three tactics.