Young Users Are Turning To Social Media For Everything Resulting In Search Engine Use Decline
A new study by Forbes Advisory is digging deep to find some interesting insights regarding young consumers and their current use of the internet.
It’s interesting to note how Gen Z is turning more to social media for a range of topics, causing a dramatic decline in search engine use. So if you think Google was the answer for everything, well, that’s not the case anymore.
It likely does not come as a huge shock to many as youngsters are more inclined to social media than anyone else out there today, especially concerning exploring new products. It’s quite intriguing to realize from such a study what it is that has caught people’s interest and what Google is being utilized for.
The team at Forbes Advisor revealed through its latest survey how 2000 web users tend to get more insights from discovery behaviors. The current finding stated that youngsters are using more social media now than before and what they once used to turn to Google for is now the case with popular apps including Instagram and TikTok.
We saw Google take AI to a whole new level by adding that to Search. It gave rise to more automated overviews regarding a few questions. When such conversational shifts become the trend, you can only imagine how people would no longer be turning to Google for a lot.
We’ve seen TikTok also take a massive turn by rolling out AI chatbots into its own algorithms while Meta just launched AI to every single one of its platforms other than Threads. So what you get to see are some very similar options and it’s going to be interesting to watch how things alter thanks to these major AI developments.
The study by Forbes Advisor is also looking at what people are searching for on social media versus what’s being explored on Google. Is there a difference? And if yes, what’s that difference?
There is a gap in terms of generations and what people from various age groups look for on the internet. With technology maturing, so many users are looking for things online. They keep altering and marketers look for a unique approach when seeing things online.
The study rolled out saw a 30% fall in using search engines to look for various brand names. More and more users are looking for brands via social media apps and it’s more common amongst Gen Z and the millennial group as compared to the older generation. Some are solely relying on social media to interact, collaborate, and find things from brands so this is a trend that does not seem to be going anywhere soon.
24% of those relying on studies make use of social media when looking for certain topics like cafes, fashion, and even sports. Millennials are favoring the pattern and would much rather stick to this than use the classic Google means.
The shift is so interesting and tends to hit the 38% mark for those who are exclusive and utilize mobile phones to attain access to the web. Meanwhile, the stats showed how one in five individuals felt Google or another search engine wasn’t needed as they could get access to websites via social media.
On the flip side of things, older generations were using Google more frequently to reach the web. 76% mentioned how they like to use Google while 71% stick to Facebook.
Read next: Cracking the Link Building Code: Lessons from Google’s Leaked Documentation
