India – Creative agency Virtue Worldwide, powered by VICE Media Group, has unveiled the 2024 Virtue Guide to Culture, an in-depth report on Gen Z culture and behaviours. The guide is based on research conducted across Asia Pacific markets, analysing various cultural codes that influence Gen Z in Asia.
According to the report, the demographic embeds absurdity and chaos into their unique self-expression. Using unconventional norms in art, fashion, technology, and culture, Gen Z showcases eccentricity and authenticity. In Asian countries that are considered to be traditionally conformist, including India, embracing the absurd is a new norm. This is reflected in the popularity of homemade, lo-fi, and slapstick social media content.
The guide also shows more substantial fan authority among Gen Z, which gives them a sense of belongingness and collective identity. It has resulted in a shift in power from media celebrities to the fans themselves, where the fans have the authority to shape the success or downfall of public figures.
Meanwhile, the rise of empathic technology is also apparent. Technological advancements have become more influential in social interaction between young people.
Another emerging cultural code is feminism’s soft revolution, which comprises new ways of assertion and protest. This includes fun and leisurely ways to embody the feminist movement.
“For brands to have conversations with audiences that matter to them, it is critical for them to seat themselves in culture codes relevant to those audience groups. The Virtue Guide To Culture unlocks such codes that can enable communications that can be both short term, specific and dynamic, as well as long-standing and consistent,” Saumya Baijal, Virtue Worldwide Strategy Lead in India, said.
The guide aims to provide brands and marketers with valuable insights to help them engage with the Gen Z demographic.
