Audio-visual consumption of Millennials and Generation Z: preference
for snackable content
El consumo audiovisual de los Millennials y la Generación Z: preferencia por los
contenidos snackables
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nº 36, pp. 303-320
| 303
January-June of 2023
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
How to cite this article:
Cortés Quesada, J. A.; Barceló Ugarte, T. and Fuentes Cortina, G. (2023). Audio-visual consumption of Millennials and Generation Z:
preference for snackable content.
Doxa Comunicación
, 36, pp. 303-320.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n36a1687
José Antonio Cortés Quesada.
Doctorate in Audio-visual Communication and Coordinator of the Advanced Course in
Film and Video Production at the
Escuela Superior de Comunicación Audiovisual
in Granada since 2020. He has worked
as a production assistant and producer at media companies such as Mediaset and Movistar + and was an associate
professor at the CEU San Pablo University on the Television and Advertising Production courses. He currently works
in research areas on consumption of linear television and measurement of television audiences. He teaches on the
Advanced Course in Production, as well as the Advanced Course in Lighting and Photography.
Escuela Superior de Comunicación Audiovisual, Granada, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-9292-2437
Teresa Barceló Ugarte.
ANECA
accredited Associate Professor of the Audio-visual Communication and Advertising
department of the CEU San Pablo University since the 2005/2006 academic year. Director of the Master’s in eSports
Management and Communication. She teaches Television and Video at the Faculty of Humanities and Communication
Sciences on the Audio-visual Communication, Digital Communication, Journalism, and Advertising and Public
Relations Degrees, as well as on the University Master’s in Cultural Journalism. She was the Coordinator of the Degree in
Digital Communication from its launch in 2012 until 2018. Her research work is focused on audio-visual technology and
on television and digital video users, agents and audiences. Business mentor Madri+d since 2019.
CEU San Pablo University, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-1722-5065
Gonzalo Fuentes Cortina.
Doctorate in Communication Sciences and Ocial Master’s in Film Directing. Director of
the Master’s in eSports Management and Communication. Professor of Single-Camera Production, and Photography
and Lighting at the CEU San Pablo University. He has worked at several media companies such as CNN+,
Telefónica
and
La Gaceta de Salamanca
. A member of the INCIR TV group, his research is focused on technology and new narratives
in audio-visual communication. He teaches on the Degree in Audio-visual Communication, as well as on the University
Master’s in Cultural Journalism.
CEU San Pablo University, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-3951-5381
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Audio-visual consumption of Millennials and Generation Z: preference for snackable content
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1. Introduction
ere are authors such as Zygmunt Bauman (2004), Ulrich Beck (2008) and María Paz García Rubio (2016) who assert that the
21
st
century has brought a modernity which, over the years and with the advances experienced, has led to a postmodernity which
has transformed social pillars in every aspect, from professional to personal. Society has altered its solid values, which are now
exible, with people swept along in situations of instability. is leads to ideas which claim that the State no longer directs or
presides as in previous decades, allocating this work to market forces and elites of consumption. Beck (2008), coined the term
second modernity
to describe this phenomenon, where the evolution of things does not respond to any force, but instead ows
over time. In turn, Bauman (2004) dened this new postmodernity, as well as all its characteristics, as a
liquid society
, making a
comparison between current reality and the liquid state of matter, dening solid states as enduring, while liquids easily transform
and ow.
In this way, social transformation is a reality, and this fact aects all facets of everyday life, including the consumer habits of
citizens, which have been altered in comparison with previous decades. At the same time, as Bauman analysed, being a liquid
society, one of its main characteristics is its easy transformation and that changes continue to occur, in all its facets, quickly and
almost unpredictably (Almeyda, 2020). In this new social reality, consumption is essential, and advertising and the media play
a very important role in the decision making of citizens. ere are authors such as Laura Collin (2010, pp. 121-144) who posit
that the media and advertising specically are the new Church of the 21
st
century. It must not be forgotten that the consumption
Abstract:
e 21
st
century opened the door to an unprecedented technological
revolution that allowed the internet to enter most households
worldwide. is brought with it important changes, not only at a
technological level, but also at a social level, transforming reality in
just two decades. Audio-visual consumption is one of the aspects that
has been overwhelmed by this new reality, characteristic of Generation
Z and Millennials, who opt for microcontent for quick viewing or
Snackable content, relegating broadcasters and their schedules to the
background. is research, through 642 surveys, seeks to understand
the consumption of linear television by these generations, as well as
their preferences with regard to streaming platforms and whether
microcontent on social networks is gaining ground in terms of audio-
visual consumption. It is concluded that Generation Z’s audio-visual
consumption is very dierent from that of previous generations, closely
followed by Millennials, with a predilection for short-duration content.
Keywords:
Liquid society; Generation Z; snackable content; fast viewing; audio-
visual break.
Resumen:
El siglo XXI abrió la puerta a una revolución tecnológica sin precedentes
que permitió la incursión de Internet en la mayoría de los hogares a ni
-
vel mundial. Esto trajo consigo cambios importantes, no solo a nivel tec
-
nológico, sino a nivel social, transformando la realidad en apenas dos
décadas. El consumo audiovisual es uno de los aspectos que se ha visto
arrollado por esta nueva realidad, característica de la Generación Z y
Millennials, que apuestan por los microcontenidos de visionado rápido
o contenidos Snackables, relegando a los broadcaster y sus parrillas a un
segundo plano. En esta investigación, a través de 642 encuestas, se busca
conocer el consumo de la televisión lineal por parte de estas generacio
-
nes, así como sus preferencias en cuanto a plataformas en streaming y
si los microcontenidos de las redes sociales están ganando terreno en el
consumo audiovisual. Se concluye que la Generación Z practica un con
-
sumo audiovisual bien diferenciado al de otras generaciones anteriores,
seguida de cerca por los Millennials, con una predilección por el conte
-
nido de corta duración.
Palabras clave:
Sociedad líquida; Generación Z; contenidos Snackables; visionado rá
-
pido; break audiovisual.
Received: 24/05/2022 - Accepted: 27/09/2022 - Early access: 14/10/2022 - Published: 01/01/2023
Recibido: 24/05/2022 - Aceptado: 27/09/2022 - En edición: 14/10/2022 - Publicado: 01/01/2023
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society, a term coined by Tawney, R. H. (1961), is a phenomenon which began in the Second Industrial Revolution (1850 - 1914)
and which during the 20
th
century even entailed a mental state (Carosio, 2008); therefore, at the start of the 21
st
century and
the beginning of the aforementioned social changes, society, and especially western society, was already an evolution of that
consumer society.
1.1. Consumption of Millennials and members of Generation Z
ose born at the outset of the 21
st
century are the true representatives of the liquid society, and have adopted this increasingly
rapid and collectivised form of consumption. ey are above all Generation Z, those born from 1995 to 2010, and part of the
generation known as Millennials, those born between 1980 and 1994 (Vilanova, 2019, pp. 43-45). is consumption scenario
entails a signicant challenge for the dierent industrial sectors and the media in particular. In 2021, there was a trend of changing
consumption by the new generations, especially Generation Z, who set aside traditional media and tended towards new forms
provided by streaming platforms, social networks, etc. is generation is characterised as being an enterprising, self-taught and
non-conformist group of people, who are at the same time individualistic and have little attachment to traditional values such
as family, friendships or eort in work (López-Vidales, 2021). ese values are characteristic of the liquid society described by
Bauman.
e consumption of social networks by the younger generations is practically standardised, and barely changes between
Millennials and Generation Z. rough a study in the Basque Country, it was concluded that no great dierences were found in
the use of these social applications by journalists of these two generations (Ganzabal, et al., 2021). Wu (2019) also reached the
same conclusion after research among American journalists.
With regard to the audio-visual industry, this social reality results in viewing of screens, or multiscreen consumption, where social
networks, streaming platforms and internet content are predominant over traditional media. Among the audio-visual content
demanded by members of Generation Z and Millennials are videos and music, with videogames also holding an important place.
News and television programmes take up barely 2% of the time dedicated to audiovisual consumption (López-Vidales, 2021). e
co-existence between traditional and so-called 2.0 models is a reality, and they are distributed to the audience, as is their form
of nancing (Ortiz, 2013), meaning that the sector must take into account that the new generations will be the consumers in the
not too distant future.
At the same time, and as explained at the start of this research, one of the characteristics of this society is the speed with which it
transforms. Within the audio-visual sector, this leads to stopping consumption of traditional media (1990s) in favour of formats
oered by streaming platforms where, when and how the viewers decide (second decade of the 21
st
century), and new formats
found mostly on social networks. ese formats are known as audio-visual microcontent, and are videos which last no more than
one minute, and which are based on virality and entertainment. In any case, young people also carry out other types of searches
through these networks, and seek tools to improve their performance in studies, take care of their mental health, and for their
everyday lives (García-Rivero, et al., 2022).
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One of the technical advances that the 21
st
century brought with it were smartphones with internet connections, where users
today store all types of content; in addition to being congured as the primary source for accessing information. In fact, in 2020,
according to the Association for Media Research, over 91% of users browsed the internet from their personal phones, compared
with 69.8% who used a computer (AIMC, 2020). is reects that this screen, the smartphone, is the main window for consumption
today, and part of this consumption is audio-visual. Millennials and Generation Z are more frequent users of social networks such
as Instagram and TikTok, where microcontent is spread, on occasions created by themselves, and consumed as an audio-visual
break.
e importance of this microcontent has reached such a point that a new form of communication is being congured by a
generation, with TikTok and Instagram being the social networks used for this purpose (Zhu, et al., 2019). At the same time, there
are studies such as those by Elena Álvarez (2019) and Marta Portalés (2019) which attempt to form a new type of teacher training
using this microcontent to generate interest among members of these generations, completely removed from traditional teaching
methods. In this way, the Marketing concept of snackable content (King, et al., 2021) emerges, as if it were a snack or quick
appetiser; in this case audio-visual content is compared with something quick to ll free time, eliminate boredom, or simply
for consumption with no other aim. According to Álvarez (2019), this is due to the members of the liquid society being content
generators, and at the same time being characterised by self-learning, using the internet on an almost daily basis to seek new
lessons through video tutorials. However, interaction is not only generating content. Participation in content by young people
is especially focused on likes, with 44% of Millennials participating in these conversations, increasing to 50% among Generation
Z (López-Vidales and Gómez, 2021). In turn, with smartphones being responsible for such an important social change which
aects both communication and acquisition of skills for a whole generation (in this case Generation Z), this tool must not be left
out of teaching and creating new digital environments within the use of new technologies (ICT) in the classroom (Portalés, 2019).
1.2. New trend in audio-visual consumption
In the coming years, Generation Z will represent over one third of the total global population and it is necessary to understand
and study their habits and consumption. Above all, the impact that social networks such as TikTok have on the members of this
social group and the way of consuming audio-visual content must be taken into account (Cervi, 2021, pp.198-204). is may be
considered the era of audio-visual microcontent, content which is generally a few seconds to a maximum of ve minutes in length.
e mobile technological revolution and the arrival of social networks are responsible for this phenomenon, the content of which
may range from comedy to science or challenges, attracting large audiences. In 2019, 68.79% of consumers of microcontent on
social networks such as TikTok were under 24 years old, and 73.69% were under 30 (Yang, et al., 2019).
One of the reasons that social networks such as Instagram, and especially TikTok, have generated so much engagement with
Generation Z and that consumption of microcontent has increased is because they respond to the needs of this liquid society and
allow audio-visual consumers to also be able to generate content. e social participation (more prominent among Millennials)
allowed by social networks such as Twitter has been left behind when consuming audio-visual content. Generation Z now feels
more comfortable viewing microcontent and creating it (Patel and Binjola, 2020). A fact which is very pertinent is the increased
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production of this type of content, with increasingly advanced editing and post-production, even to the extent of high budget
professional productions. It must be mentioned that much of this content generated by users replicates previous content which
went viral, so the creativity developed by it is relative. In any case, 31.4% state that they access online audio-visual content because
they like to see content created by people like them, which they consider “somewhat important”. Only 29.3% consider this aspect
“very important” (Navarro and Vázquez, 2020).
e question that must be answered, understanding the main characteristic of this generation as being change, uidity and
volatility, is what could happen if this audio-visual microcontent replaces higher budget, longer duration audio-visual productions.
If Millennials and the members of Generation Z opt for these audio-visual breaks of at least one minute to consume audio-visual
content, where could that leave the lm and television industries? is research intends to answer these questions, as well as to
ascertain the real audio-visual interests of these generations to present the path that the audio-visual industry must take.
2. Objectives and hypotheses
e main objective of this research is to ascertain the characteristics of audio-visual consumption (linear and VOD) of the new
generations in Spain; thus, three secondary objectives are proposed, listed as follows:
O.1. Ascertaining the consumption of linear television by Millennials and the members of Generation Z.
O.2. Establishing the preference for content streaming platforms among Millennials and Generation Z.
O.3. Checking whether the microcontent oered by social networks and similar platforms is gaining ground with regard to
audio-visual consumption.
In this way, the aim is to check whether television consumption is declining due to the incursion of content streaming platforms,
as well as whether the members of this generation are increasingly losing interest in long-duration content, preferring to opt for
microcontent with the rise of social networks.
us, the hypotheses formulated for this research are the following:
H.1. Younger generations do not consume traditional linear television, opting for streaming content oered by payment
platforms.
H.2. Social networks form part of the daily consumption of Millennials and Generation Z, and their daily consumption is
greater than that dedicated to traditional linear television.
H.3. e microcontent oered by social networks even further fragments the audience, especially younger audiences, creating
a new way of consuming audio-visual content and moving away from duration and format standards.
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Audio-visual consumption of Millennials and Generation Z: preference for snackable content
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3. Methodology
To undertake this study, a quantitative methodology has been used, with a questionnaire of 28 closed-ended questions as a
technique, and a qualitative methodology through holding three focus groups. For carrying out the focus groups, a script was
drafted and three groups were created: two in the Community of Madrid (22
nd
and 29
th
of September 2021) and one in Andalusia
(20
th
of September 2021), with members belonging to Generation Z. Each discussion group was made up of 10 participants, with
ve men and ve women (30 participants in total), aged between 18 and 26 years, who were students of dierent communication
specialities at the
Escuela Superior de Comunicación Audiovisual
in Granada (ESCAV) and the Faculty of Humanities and
Communication Sciences of the University CEU San Pablo (Madrid). anks to the conclusions obtained from this activity, the
questions included in the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) questionnaire were selected through the Google Forms tool,
which was distributed among the chosen sample N=642.
In this way, a disproportionate stratied probability sampling was carried out by age (born between 1980 and 2010) with a sample
N=642, mainly made up of individuals from elds of communication
1
, who are members of Generation Z and Millennials, of
a middle and upper-middle social class, to respond to the questionnaire created, without taking gender into account, Madrid
(37%), Andalusia (26%) and Catalonia (22%) being the autonomous communities with the greatest representation. Considering
the responses obtained (642 individuals), and based on the total population of Spain in this age group (16,217,893) obtained from
the latest report of the National Statistical Institute (INE) from 2021, the results of this research have a condence of 95%, as well
as a 5% margin of error. Additionally, being a disproportionate stratied probability sampling, Millennials represent 36.60% of the
total participants, while 63.39% were members of Generation Z.
e eldwork was carried out between the 1
st
of October 2021 and the 1
st
of March 2022. e rst phase was aimed at Generation
Z, and the second at Millennials. Once the responses to the questionnaire had been obtained, the results presented below were
collected and analysed.
4. Analysis and discussion of results
e results can be classied into three dierent lines of analysis, following the three objectives proposed at the start of the
research. Firstly, the decline in consumption of linear television by members of Generation Z and Millennials will be analysed. e
predilection of Millennials and Generation Z for content oered by social networks will then be studied. Finally, the predilection
of the members of these generations for short-duration audio-visual content will be examined.
4.1. e decline of consumption of linear television of Millennials and Generation Z
When addressing whether the survey respondents continued to consume content from linear television, it was found that 72.2%
of Millennials did so, in comparison with the response from Generation Z, which increased by practically 3 percentage points
to 75.1%. is demonstrates that the sector is in good health, although when asking about the daily time dedicated to linear
television, the responses showed that the daily consumption has a downward trend. us, as shown in Figure 1, the daily time
dedicated to linear television is not very high.
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Figure 1. Daily consumption of linear television by Millennials and Generation Z
Source: created from own data
According to the report presented by
Barlovento Comunicación
in 2020, the average audio-visual consumption time of linear
television was 240 minutes per person per day, adults between 45 and 65 years of age being those who dedicated most time to
consuming this media. In this way, the data presented in this research indicates that the generation gap is more than evident,
as there is a dierence of over 200 minutes of daily consumption between Millennials and the members of Generation Z. e
disconnection of younger viewers from traditional media has been analysed previously by authors such as López Vidales, et al.
(2010), highlighting that the younger audience, belonging to the Millennial generation, rejects television and opts for the internet.
Similarly, when asking about the reasons why consumption declined and the existing perception of linear television, the
responses are clear. As shown in Figure 2, 53.3% of survey respondents of Generation Z do not nd the content of linear television
appealing, while 38.3% state that the problem is that its content is subject to a schedule. Furthermore, 42.1% of Millennials
highlight advertising blocks as the main problem.
Figure 2. Problems with perception of linear television by Millennials and the members of Generation Z
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Audio-visual consumption of Millennials and Generation Z: preference for snackable content
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