Gen Z prefers emotionally resonant, interactive news: Google-Kantar

A Google-Kantar report shows Gen Z values credible, relatable, and visually rich news, with social media and video platforms driving most content discovery

Emotionally resonant, interactive, and visually engaging formats define how Gen Z consumes news and content, according to a new report. This contrasts with the more linear, formal, and static presentation typically associated with traditional news.

 

The gap in presentation significantly shapes engagement, with Gen Z gravitating toward news experiences that feel more immersive, relatable, and personally relevant.

 

The report—Bridging the Gap: Reimagining News for Gen Z—by Google and Kantar, examines how this generation’s mindset is reshaping news consumption. The multi-module study, which includes qualitative research and a survey of over 4,000 Gen Z respondents (aged 15–28) across 40 markets and eight language clusters, finds that their relationship with news is evolving.

   

Gen Z accounts for 16 per cent of urban India’s population and is the most internet-connected demographic, with 87 per cent using the internet compared to the urban average of 75 per cent (source: Kantar ICUBE Urban 2024).

 

Biswapriya Bhattacharjee, Director – B2B & Technology, Insight Division, Kantar, said this 86-million-strong group is not just consuming news but curating their own experiences. “Gen Z expects news to be credible, but also emotionally resonant, visually engaging, and deeply relevant to their everyday lives. Our collaboration with Google has helped surface powerful insights into how publishers can evolve—not by abandoning journalistic rigour, but by adapting formats, tones, and platforms to meet Gen Z on their terms. For newsrooms, this is more than a challenge—it’s a moment of reinvention,” he said.

 

According to the study, 96 per cent of Gen Z news readers are digital natives. For a majority (65 per cent), news discovery is incidental and occurs during moments like idle scrolling. Social media (91 per cent) and video platforms (88 per cent) are the leading news sources.

 

Durga Raghunath, Head of News Partnerships, Google India, said: “This is a generation that wants news that is accurate, trustworthy, and emotionally engaging. The study underscores that to genuinely connect with this audience, it is critical to adapt storytelling and formats to be native to their digital lives. Our aim is to surface insights that empower publishers to build lasting connections by meeting this audience where they are, in a way that builds long-term trust.”

 

The study also found that Gen Z is more likely to follow creators (48 per cent for niche or civic creators) than news organisations (43 per cent). Creators excel at capturing attention through engaging formats, approachable tones, and immersive narratives.

 

This is the third in a series of reports by Google India and Kantar over the past three years on India’s evolving news consumption habits, involving almost 10,000 users.