Identifying and Analyzing Emerging Social Networks with Global Level Growth Potential Considering Gen Z Preferences

In recent years, social networks have been a main source of destination for consumers’ free time. Given their popularity, social networks have started to become more and more diverse, offering users different content possibilities. Young people belonging to Generation Z (people that were born between 1997 and 2012) have slowly started to become a main audience to which social networks are addressing to, especially because they are a main source of growth. The study found interesting data regarding Gen Z preferences in the scientific literature, but not enough data regarding the new emerging social media networks. Using an analytical investigation, this paper aims to respond to the question of which emerging social networks has the potential to become popular on a global level, considering the preferences of Gen Z consumers. The paper analyzes seven emerging social networks taking into consideration 8 quantitative (general) criteria, not specific for Generation Z audience and 2 qualitative criteria specific to Generation Z. Using a weighted arithmetic average between the 10 criteria, the study identified Reddit to having the biggest score followed closely by Discord. The implications of the theoretical contributions of the study could generate further research regarding Reddit and Discord in the scientific literature and could also inspire developers on offering products (social media networks) that address more Gen Z needs such as diversity or interest for personal finances. The proposed matrix is a first attempt to quantify the data available from secondary sources, considering sources of data available at the same time for all 7 analyzed social networks. The matrix could be improved as follows: by including important quantitative popularity criteria, by taking into account the extent to which qualitative criteria are met by each social network and by taking into account risk factors for future predictions.