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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe strongest evidence for youth trends visible in 2025 points to a shift in how young people participate: many watch and browse social media, play in customizable digital worlds, discover products online, and look for ways to express personal taste. These are broad patterns, not a definitive ranking of every trend. The available 2025 findings are much richer for Gen Alpha than Gen Z, and the studies use different ages, samples, and survey dates.
What counts as a 2025 Gen Z or Gen Alpha trend?
“Gen Z” and “Gen Alpha” are broad labels, not age bands used consistently across these studies. The evidence here includes GWI’s survey of internet users aged 8–15 across 18 markets, Collage Group’s weighted April 2025 survey of children aged 6–12, and a Springtide survey of 13-year-olds conducted in January 2024. Those samples describe different ages and moments; none represents every young person in either generation.
For Gen Z, the accessible 2025 evidence is thinner. Pacsun describes its 2025 Youth Report as covering how young consumers shop and what shapes self-expression, but its page does not expose the report’s full findings. The patterns below are therefore best read as evidence-backed signals, particularly about Gen Alpha, rather than a scorecard of what is uniquely popular with each generation.
Social media is increasingly for watching and browsing, not only posting
GWI’s “Gen Alpha unfiltered” report draws primarily on 21,502 internet users aged 8–15 in 18 markets. Comparing GWI Kids Q1 2021 with Q1 2025, it describes younger teens using social platforms to watch, browse, follow sports, spot trends, and find style inspiration, while posting, sharing opinions, discussing causes, and reading news declined relative to 2021.
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The useful distinction is a change in the mix of activity, not an exit from social media or a universal move toward passivity. The survey covers internet users, and individual activities do not necessarily shift in the same way across markets.
A separate snapshot of 13-year-olds
In a January 2024 survey of 13-year-olds, Springtide Research Institute found that 99% said they used social media at least sometimes. The most commonly named platforms were YouTube (82%), TikTok (65%), Snapchat (51%), Facebook (45%), and Instagram (41%). These are figures from that age-specific 2024 survey, published in an article on April 28, 2026—not a measure of all Gen Alpha’s 2025 platform use. Springtide’s account notes that its findings were already two years old when published.
The same Springtide respondents named several reasons for using social media: 65% said their friends did, 52% used it to gain knowledge, 47% saw it as a creative outlet, and 41% used it to connect with things they cared about. These motives suggest social media serves multiple roles, from keeping up with peers to learning and creative expression.
Digital entertainment is interactive and personalized
Collage Group’s Spring 2025 report describes children aged 6–12 choosing much of their online video and game entertainment, preferring personalized video experiences, and engaging with games as spaces where they can shape what happens. Its discussion of sandbox-style play and the overlap between online and offline experiences points to a broader pattern: entertainment can involve making choices, playing with others, and shaping an experience, not just watching it.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →One finding illustrates the appeal of virtual goods without implying that physical toys are obsolete: 43% of children aged 10–12 in Collage Group’s April 2025 survey chose an in-game item—such as a skin, power-up, or pet—over a real-life toy in a forced-choice question. That result applies to this age subgroup and choice, not to children’s preferences in every purchase or situation. Collage Group’s report provides the survey findings.
Children help discover products, while adults remain part of the purchase
In Collage Group’s weighted April 2025 survey of children aged 6–12, 84% had bought or asked for something they had seen in a video game or online. The figure includes requests as well as purchases, so it is evidence of discovery and influence—not a measure of children independently spending money.
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The same survey found that 61% looked up reviews, prices, or product information before buying or asking for something, and 56% said they liked online shopping more than shopping in stores. Together, these findings describe children participating in product research and preference formation. For younger children, the path from seeing an item to a household purchase can still involve a parent or caregiver evaluating the request and paying for it.
Customization connects self-expression across digital and physical life
Collage Group found that 93% of children aged 6–12 in its April 2025 survey were interested in designing their own toy, clothes, or snack: 67% said it sounded “really fun,” while 26% said it might be fun depending on the choices. This supports an interest in customization, not a claim that one fashion aesthetic, brand, or microtrend leads youth culture.
Customization can take different forms—from personalizing a physical product to choosing an avatar or digital item. Pacsun’s 2025 Youth Report page frames self-expression and shopping as relevant themes for young consumers, but does not publish enough detail to establish a ranked list of styles or to compare Gen Z and Gen Alpha on specific preferences. Pacsun’s report page also lists a 2026 edition; the 2025 framing is the relevant one for this article’s time period.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Belonging and self-expression coexist with comparison and pressure
In Collage Group’s April 2025 survey, 69% of children aged 6–12 said they wanted to fit in with other kids, and 57% said they often compared their looks with other children. The report also describes parental concerns about unrealistic beauty standards and children’s future mental health. Those findings show a tension between self-expression and social belonging; they do not establish that all children feel the same way or that social media alone causes comparison or distress.
Springtide’s separate January 2024 survey of 13-year-olds offers a different snapshot: 72% disagreed that they felt worse about themselves after spending time on social media. Answers about whether they wasted too much time were more mixed. Because the surveys differ in age, timing, and questions, they should not be combined into a single verdict about social media’s effects on young people.
What these trends do—and do not—say about Gen Z and Gen Alpha
The evidence supports a shared-trends overview: online discovery, interactive media, customization, and the negotiation between self-expression and belonging are useful themes. It does not support a confident ranking of what is uniquely Gen Z versus uniquely Gen Alpha. Most of the detailed quantitative findings here concern children, while Pacsun’s accessible page does not provide enough 2025 results for a direct cohort comparison.
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Quick Recap
- Check the age and survey date: a finding about 6–12-year-olds or 13-year-olds should not be generalized to older teens without supporting data.
- Separate activity types: watching, posting, creating, messaging, gaming, and shopping are different behaviors, even when they happen on the same device.
- Distinguish influence from independence: a child can discover or request a product without being the household’s purchaser.
- Treat survey results as snapshots: the reported patterns describe particular respondents and questions, not a permanent generational personality.
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