And Now, Some Good News For Social Media
The social landscape is kinda having a weird moment. Apparently, now in the industry if you feel uncomfortable with a platform’s environment you can just “go f*ck yourself”, while on the other hand, more and more research continues to blame social media for growing issues around mental health. Roblox has just released a series of research findings however, that are a fascinating window into perhaps a solution: connecting with others online via avatar provides emotional resilience.
All of that metaverse hype we recently lived through was arguably driven more by brand and business interest, than the opportunity to deliver something consumers and audiences were asking for. Given some of this new research, it’s worth considering if we’re now finally seeing a real reason for consumers to see value in virtual worlds and avatars.
According to Roblox’s 2023 Digital Expression Trends Report on Gen Z:
Respondents were 2.2x more likely to say that expressing themselves in immersive spaces via their avatar feels better ("more me") than posting 2D photos from the physical world on social media
25% say playing with an avatar helps to improve their mental health
29% say their avatar has helped them build a connection with others
25% often work to look more like their avatars
While social platforms like IG and TikTok have indirectly encouraged culture to optimize physical look and style for digital performance - hence the rise of things like getting plastic surgery to achieve “Instagram face”, or the bizarre world of Looksmaxxing - Roblox’s findings suggest that maybe avatars will emerge not in the way the industry initially wanted them to with the hyping of metaverse potential, but instead as a form of social armor that allows audiences to discover and validate themselves in a safer way.
For the youngest end of Gen Z, Roblox is a priority platform that across multiple studies rivals even TikTok in terms of time spent and affinity. Yes, that may be because a tween’s social platform preferences will change as they get older. However, in the same way Millennials’ mistakes paved the way for Gen Z to be more thoughtful digital citizens in what is wise to share, post or send, this may be a moment where Gen Z will pave the way for the next generation to be even better digital citizens. In avatar form.