GenZ and what they follow online
When it comes to GenZ you can say they’re all the same to a point. Although we are part of the same generation, we differ from others in that we have certain characteristics that can be seen in a simple search on TikTok. If you’re GenZ and want to see what your buddy is watching or you’re an undercover Millennial looking for new content, stick with us until the end of the article.
#BookTok is a hashtag that emerged in 2020, around the time of the pandemic, and created a subcategory in TikTok for millions of users who are passionate about books. GenZ and Millennials are the two generations that have the most active presence in this universe. And the hashtag currently has 160.9 billion hits on TikTok.
Trends have become increasingly creative, promoting reading and certain books that used to be hidden away in dark corners. Romania’s most followed creators are still on Bookstagram, because Romanian BookTok hasn’t caught the momentum that Instagram has been enjoying for a few years now. However, Booksstopia and Lavinia Reads are the most accessed Romanian accounts, and as an international recommendation, Eden Victoria has grown so much in the last year that she ended up being nominated for the BookTok Awards in the Creator of the Year category.
Let’s talk about collections, readers are just like dragons: they like to have lots of rare books of all kinds: contemporary, classics, different genres, manga, really everything. For some of the most fascinating titles, Reid Moon is just the man. With him you’ll find signed first editions from Jane Austen’s time or pieces that simply don’t exist anymore. Look, here he’ll show you some super rare manga from Junji Ito. Yes, the manga is autographed. Cry together? Yes, please.
While we’re on the subject of manga & anime I’ll introduce you to a few people you should watch. The first one is Chris, who is super well known for how well he does cosplay, and the second one is from the Romanian land, Dennis Rof, who always brings you the latest news in the genre.
GenZ is, however, the most aware generation and seeks to inform itself. Combining fun with learning is something they are best at, so they will seek to consume such content. Nurse John is an assistant who can show you that even medical staff may need assistance at some point.
We love to travel the world, and TikTok helps us do that best. But we know that GenZ also appreciates local creators, who are increasingly present. Iustin Chiroiu is one of them.
From all the walking we got hungry, so we’re telling you Andreea Corb has the craziest food combinations and her vibe is just like the YouTube vlogs from years ago. And if you want a more elegant and aesthetic vibe, Emily Mariko can give it to you. GenZ is absolutely hooked with her. Her recent wedding is one of the most popular searches on TikTok.
Let’s not forget that GenZ knows what it wants and will make sure everyone around it knows. You may forget sometimes, but worry not, Colton is here to remind you why you need to send “a la poubelle” anything that is toxic to you.
This is what Ana Petcu wants to communicate too, for whom Story Time has become her way of differentiating herself from the rest of the influencers on the platform. Her personality and sense of humour make her storytelling unique.
Every TikTok bubble is different, even if we are the same generation we have different interests and little guilty pleasures. So, what I have in my feed is quite different from what’s in yours or even for my colleague Patricia, who will also show you what GenZ is watching in her bubble.
When we think about what influencers GenZers are after, many people don’t know exactly what to answer, especially when it comes to Romania.
Surprisingly, the idea of “I’m just chasing foreigners” is false. All those who only follow people from abroad certainly have 1-2 Romanian influencers they have in their feed on a daily basis.
What I really like about our generation is that we don’t just limit ourselves to a certain category of influencers, we don’t just follow lifestyle or just beauty or just gaming and so on, we follow a wider range of people talking about subjects relevant to us – from music, movies, education, lifestyle, beauty, comedy and the list goes on.
To get straight into the bread and have conclusive examples of what GenZ is after in terms of influencers in Romania, we have here below the following list in random order (because it’s not politically correct to make top charts, you know the drill):
- Silviu Faiăr
Faiăr is that man who twitches and it really works for him. He tackles topics from politics to advertising doom, what’s going on in the world at the moment and so on. Many would say he throws hate – which is not totally wrong, but somehow his way of presenting things in a true and hard-hitting way has managed to “win” the hearts of GenZ. Basically, we have Faiăr saying out loud what others don’t have the guts to and we love it.
- Lorena Șerban
On the beauty & lifestyle category, especially on TikTok, Lorena makes her presence felt very well. From videos like OOTD, GRWM, Makeup and little highlights from her travels in “Overseas” – she’s slaying.
- Andreea Balaban
We weren’t lucky enough to find Andreea on TikTok, she explained in a video that she feels that she doesn’t represent her at the moment, but never say never! Andreea has a community where you can find mostly girls and women, composed of Millennials & GenZ. Why do we like Andreea? Because she’s a breath of fresh air beautifully wrapped in vintage paper. She focuses mostly on Lifestyle, Beauty & Travel, effectively her Travel Vlogs are won-der-ful. She’s managed to bring a balance of “let me show you how I do my makeup” with educational “History of Coco Channel Fashion House” type videos – we love her.
- Alexia Eram
Alexia has successfully broken away from the title of “Andrea Esca’s girl” and stepped into the realms of influencer marketing in the category of Beauty & Lifestyle and she rocks.
- Selly
Controversial as the name is, it is highly regarded among GenZ. You don’t have to like him as a person to recognize that he’s an intelligent man who is involved in many projects (especially educational ones, Selly having graduated from high school not too long ago) who is appreciated for the work he does both online and offline.
Now that I’ve given 5 influencers from Romania who are watched by GenZ, of course, the range is wider, but I’ve given the ones I hear most often talked about in my circle of friends (and trust me, it’s a pretty big one), I’m coming to you with 5 influencers from abroad who are loved and appreciated by GenZ.
- David Dobrik
We’ve been watching him and liking David since his days with Liza Koshy. Charisma, humor, intelligence and valid opinions that he shares on the internet just when he needs to. Professionalism is a good word that defines him.
- Joe Mele
Joe became known for his videos with his father, and later with his girlfriend and father. It’s a daily source of comedy that he subjects us to with the funniest ideas. I’m very curious as to how a day in their lives goes, if that’s what they’re really like on TikTok. To be honest, I’d have a lot of fun for a day with them.
- Yurila Masbella
You know that cool chick who does parodies on The Kardashians? That’s her. Our rising star in comedy. The point is, she’s so accurate, you can’t watch her videos without laughing. IT IS FUNNY.
- Kristy Sarah
The queen! Kristy is a real breath of fresh air, and her husband is just as funny as she is, he has a very colorful laugh – relationship goals! Why do you need to think about how you’d look in those suspicious boots straight out of Mario? Kristy tries them on for you.
- Pierre
Who doesn’t like a handsome French man who moved to America and have even a more handsome boyfriend? Pierre is just the LGBTQ creator you didn’t know you needed. Besides the fact that he’s an absolute cutie, he does his job as an influencer very well, especially since he’s mostly followed by women & girls from GenZ and we already know how hard they are to please!
We didn’t pick celebrity influencers, as you can see. We decided not to include this category because automatically names like Smiley, Irina Rimes, Inna, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Raynolds and so on would have taken over the article. Not that we have anything against them, on the contrary, we love and respect them, but we wanted to make room for people who make content and work for hours to put out a video.
Enjoy!
