CULTURE MOMENT: Rom-coms are foundational to Valentine's season and, this year, the genre is getting a modern update by Gen Z. Instead of tuning into the 2000s classics they’ve already seen thousands of times (13 Going on 30, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), many Zs are instead watching real-life people posting on social media about their own romantic lives. While many of these social stories play out to small, niche audiences, others explode like a summer blockbuster. Take, for example, Summer England’s “The Neighbor Saga,” a 60-plus part TikTok series watched by hundreds of thousands of people. According to our recent study on Gen Z dating and relationships, 59% of Zs say they’re more fascinated by real-life love stories on social media than by fictional ones in movies.??
WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT CULTURE:
- Social media rom-coms are not a niche trend. 68% of all Zs say they’ve followed a love story on social media (e.g. Instagram, TikTok), according to our recent study. Not surprisingly, Gen Z women are leading romance streamers.
- The success of this emerging genre lies in its storytelling, which tends to be short, serialized, and relatable, with great characters and real-life stakes. Unlike almost any other romance format, audiences can engage directly with the main characters through comment threads and Q&As.?
- These real-time romance stories organically tap into the hyper-current dating zeitgeist, a draw for Gen Z audiences seeking both escapism and commiseration.?
WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERS:
- Real-life can be more tantalizing than fiction, so leverage romance to engage Zs. Brands should look to emerging romance storytellers on TikTok for tips and tricks on what’s trending as far as compelling story arcs and audience engagement.?
- Partner with content creators that are raw, honest, and open-hearted. This V-Day season, connect with Zs who keep it real. Consider ways to leverage real-life romances as they play out on social media in real-time —?and ride the highs and lows of burgeoning romance.
- Rom-coms were ripe for disruption, and so too are other classic storytelling genres. According to our research, more than half of Zs (54%) agree that “rom-coms need to be entirely reinvented to reflect the way Gen Zs date.” With Zs disrupting traditional life paths and milestones, get creative inspiration from the ways real-life content creators flip the script on storytelling and entertainment genres aligned with your brand vertical.
For more on how Gen Zs are carving out space for raw, real authenticity on social media, check out SubSocial in ALMANAC: The Gen Z Entertainment Issue.
