Chat, brat, and everything else trending with Gen Z this week.

Welcome to our weekly teen and young adult newsletter powered by YPulse AI and The Newsfeed. Never miss a beat on what young people are up to.

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Kaley Mullin | Youth and Trends Insights Lead, YouTube

Ask YPulse AI

Every week YPulse AI answers one reader-submitted question. If you'd like to submit a question, please send it to [email protected] or leave it in the comments.

????♀? A reader asks: "What is Gen Z doing for the holidays?"

Gen Z is reimagining holiday celebrations by blending traditional activities with modern trends. Their celebration style emphasizes social connection, digital engagement, and curated experiences.

Young adults are embracing hosting, with 68% organizing dinner parties and 62% preferring themed gatherings inspired by social media. These events focus on creating aesthetically pleasing, shareable moments that reflect their generation's digital-first mindset.

Gaming is central to Gen Z's holiday activities, with 69% of teens planning to game during winter break. They balance this with traditional elements, as 54% also enjoy family board games, demonstrating their ability to merge digital and analog entertainment.

Experiential activities are crucial, with 59% planning to attend holiday shopping events and pop-ups. Young adults are particularly drawn to festive experiences, with 45% attending holiday events and 31% visiting themed bars in urban areas.

This generation maintains connections to traditional celebrations while infusing them with contemporary elements. Their approach reflects key Gen Z characteristics: social connectivity, digital fluency, and experience-driven preferences, creating new holiday traditions that bridge past and present.

Originally asked on November 10, 2024 using the Pro AI model. Response has been edited for brevity. Learn more about YPulse AI →

The Newsfeed

Each week we share the most clicked posts from our expert-curated Newsfeed.

01 | Some parents are finding gentle parenting too challenging.?

While the approach does promote nurturing and non-punitive discipline for children, it can also feel overwhelming and tiring for parents. Many parents are feeling the strain of always needing to respond calmly and patiently to their children's behavior, which can lead to burnout and self-doubt. Although Millennials coined gentle parenting for its benefits, they’re learning it's?almost impossible to keep up with the image of this approach on social media.?Now, some parents are starting to feel that it may not fit their lifestyle or meet their needs—and are practicing “lighthouse parenting” instead. (NBC News)??

???YPulse data:?50% of Gen Z and Millennial parents are interested in trying gentle parenting?

02 | The Catholic Church now has a cartoon mascot named Luce—for Gen Z, of course.

The mascot, named after the Latin word for light, was created by the co-founder of Italian, Japanese-inspired brand Tokidoki. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who is in charge of organizing the upcoming jubilee year for the Vatican, says the mascot was designed to “enter into the world of pop culture” that young people love. He emphasized that it would help communicate the theme of hope to younger generations, while representing a blend of Christian symbols and Japanese culture. Luce’s cross-cultural design will also be a symbol at a comic and games convention in Italy and Expo 2025 in Japan. (Sky News)??

???YPulse data:?13% of 13-39-year-olds describe their religious faith / beliefs as Catholic

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03 | Tweens and teens are calling people “chat” IRL.

Streamers and gamers refer to their viewers as the “chat,” because of their text responses to live content—but the term has made it offline. Now, just like other internet slang that kids and teens are now making headlines for saying, calling friends, family, or basically anyone “chat” (think using in place of "guys") is regular lexicon to young people. And while it may baffle older gens or teachers, interestingly, some linguistic experts have a positive outlook on “chat,” saying it represents a value for “inclusivity in group interactions” and a “nonthreatening” social icebreaker to starting conversations. Other online slang is, of course, of more concern, as students repeat things they see in TikTok comments or stream chats without fully understanding the meaning—just that it gets a positive reaction, something young people have always craved. (Slate)??

???YPulse data:?65% of 13-17-year-olds who hang out with their friends virtually while playing video games use the chat feature in the game?

04 | A bakery in Houston has gone viral for its pumpkin spice-filled conchas.?

La Hacienda Bakery went viral on TikTok in October after showcasing its seasonal stuffed conchas, which are pumpkin shaped and full of pumpkin spice filling. The bakery has gotten over a million views on TikTok and is now selling out daily, with some customers reportedly traveled over 16 hours or even taking flights to Houston just to sample these treats. The demand has become so high that the bakery now has a waitlist, and owner Leslie Rangel mentions that La Hacienda is tirelessly working to package and ship their conchas and other pastries. The pumpkin spice concha phenomenon is part of a broader movement across the country, where Latinx bakeries are modernizing the traditional concha by introducing innovative flavors and designs. (Eater Houston)?

05 | "Brat" is Collins Dictionary’s word of the year.

YPulse reported in real-time?on the popularity of “brat summer,” which swept the internet—and the world—following Charli XCX’s album. In turn, “brat” became a fashion trend, a shade of green, a way to define a presidential candidate, and most of all: “a way of life.” The other mentions on Collins’ short-list for the word of 2024 are just as heavily Gen Z-driven. Words like “looksmaxxing,” “rawdogging,” and “yapping” also come from social media trends, while “era” and “romantasy” reflect other massive pop culture moments. (Collins,?AP News)

?? YPulse reported:?Gen Z named “rizz” as their word of the year in 2023?