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Social media isn’t just where people connect with others. For an increasing number of users—and for Gen Z members in particular—it’s also becoming the first place they go when they want to search for information, according to a new survey by social media analytics company Sprout Social.
The report, which surveyed social media users based in the U.S., UK and Australia about their social media habits, found that social media is now the preferred channel among Gen Z consumers when it comes to where they go to look up information online, underscoring social’s dominant role in both commerce as well as the attention economy.
Nearly half (41 percent) of Gen Z respondents said they turn to social platforms when looking for information, according to the report, beating traditional search engines such as Google (32 percent), chat-based AI tools (11 percent) and friends/family (9 percent).
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When all generations are taken into account, traditional search engines still remains the top resource for finding information online (52 percent), with social platforms coming in second (24 percent). However, more than a third of social-media users across all age groups (37 percent) admit they now prefer to go to social first when searching for product reviews and recommendations, and 35 percent said it’s their go-to for finding local restaurants and activities as well.
More than three-quarters of those surveyed (76 percent) said that content they see on social media has influenced a purchase they’ve made within the last six months. For Gen Z members, that number rises to 90 percent.
Nearly half (47 percent) said researching brands on social media has improved their financial decision-making. Once again, that number was even higher among Gen Z (62 percent).
Facebook remains the most popular social platform (81 percent), followed by YouTube (71 percent) and Instagram (66 percent), with YouTube gaining in popularity to take the number-two spot since Sprout’s previous report. WhatsApp, which remains the most popular app in the UK, came in fourth (at 53 percent), followed by TikTok (52 percent), Snapchat (39 percent), X (38 percent), LinkedIn (33 percent), Pinterest (31 percent), Reddit (22 percent), Threads (14 percent), Bluesky (5 percent) and Mastodon (1 percent).
According to the report, the content that consumers rely on social media for most is cooking and recipes (50 percent), followed by TV/movie recommendations (43 percent), music discovery (36 percent) and personal interest topics such as sports, beauty, health, news, fashion and travel.
Findings for Sprout’s latest “Consumer Pulse Survey” were based on a survey of nearly 2,300 social media users based in the U.S., UK and Australia. Surveys were conducted online between April and May by market research firm Glimpse.
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