Gen Z - How NFTs have become their new social markers

While the cryptocurrency world in general is dominated by Millenials, NFTs in particular seem to be capturing the interest of Gen Z more. NFTs, otherwise known as non-fungible tokens, have gained unequivocal popularity. These digital property certificates are raising brands interest. Those brands are trying to capture the Generation Z, more familiar with technological innovations. For this barely mature generation, NFTs are not a fleeting movement, but a trend. If NFTs have been able to meet a specific need, such as proving ownership of an asset digitally, then they cannot be considered transitory. This simply implies that their use is bound to evolve.

Identity construction on the digital - NFTs relevance to Gen Z

Gen Z is properly a digital population. It is a generation that has not really known the world outside of the Internet, smartphones, social media. It is the connected generation. For a population that evolved with Web 2.0, so the social media and the mobile market Web, it is normal that Gen Z users value their digital identity more than people from Generation X, who sometimes don't even have one.

According to a study by Razofish and Vice Media Group conducted around the metaverse and the games of tomorrow, 30% of Gen Z gamers are willing to buy branded skins or wearables for their avatar in the metaverse, which shows this generation propensity to take care of their virtual image.

Identity built with NFTs within the Gen Z

The Gen Z will thus use digital technology to build an identity. Digital art in this case will not be a mere hobby, but a means of expression. This will be done through NFT collections, which will be illustrated through the PFP (Profile For Picture). The uniqueness of NFT will also translate in a more subtle way the uniqueness of each individual. Through simple images authenticated by the blockchain mechanism, the Gen Z will create an identity marker.

A generation that seems to unite around NFTs

According to the same study conducted by Razofish and Vice Media Group, Gen Z gamers spend twice as much time in metaverse games as they do in physical company with their friends. Apparently, these gamers feel more legitimate and comfortable in the metaverse than they do in real life. This can be explained through the fact that many friendships within Gen Z are forged online before they are made in real life. The point is that virtual worlds allow them to better express their identity, to feel freer, to be free of some of the constraints of physical social life.

In these virtual worlds, people sharing the same interests will easily gather in communities, as it is the case with some large-scale NFT projects. Communities will transcend the notion of the individual, which can lead to a willingness within the group to share values and aspirations, to advocate for common causes, or even to support each other.

Gen Z's Need to Find Value in Web3

The Gen Z communities created around a project will however make the difference in that they will not be inactive. This generation feels drowned by the flood of information characteristic of Web 2.0. They don't want to just be subjected to it anymore, but to be active, to participate in the mutations, in the changes. The progressive decentralization of the Web is inexorably changing the behavior of users on the digital world. A new economic model is taking shape, where intellectual property is fragmented, where the user has the right to vote, where the buyer is paid.

Gen Z is not spared from this, on the contrary. They are the ones who will benefit the most from it. And aware of this, they feel the need to co-construct the future, on a sounder basis, where user data is no longer held by monopolies and where finance no longer rests on centralized organizations whose decision-making power is almost unlimited.

If NFTs are to some extent a means of identifying Gen Z, brands can use them, not just for their own benefit, but to prove to this generation that they, too, are determined to co-construct an equitable economic system, in which everyone can find their place and bring value.