Why young people need karaoke more than beer

Gen Z is the most digitally connected generation in history but how has this impacted physical socialising? Walk into a pub and you’ll see older patrons strike up casual conversations over a pint, while younger customers cluster around karaoke machines, quiz nights and pool tables.

It’s not that they can’t socialise. They know how to be physically present - in fact, ONS data shows Gen Z is more physically present at work than older cohorts. But, the difference is, that they’re thriving in structured environments. The unstructured world of small talk and serendipitous connection is somewhat of an alien concept.

What does that mean for pubs, clubs and social venues? Should they cling to tradition, or rethink what ‘social space’ looks like for the first generation raised entirely in a digital ecosystem?

I discuss these questions in my latest Weekly Briefing Report

Read the full story