Bad taste in memes is top turn-off for Indian Gen Z: Instagram Trend Talk

The Instagram Trend Talk previews the trends expected to surface on Instagram in 2024.

Poor taste in memes is a top turn-off for Gen Z in India, a survey by Instagram has revealed. The primary methods to connect with someone on Instagram include sending them a meme, liking their feed posts, and interacting with their Stories.

The survey, titled “2024 Instagram Trend Talk”, forecasts how Gen Z will drive popular internet culture in 2024.

Out of around 5,000 Gen Z respondents surveyed across India, Brazil, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States, 90 per cent of them belong to a particular fandom, ranging from BTS “army”, fans of the cult Korean pop band, to online video game Fortnite and the Indian cricket team.

The survey, conducted by Meta-owned Instagram and trend forecasting firm WGSN, covered questions on Gen Z’s perception of work, relationships, fashion, beauty, food and social media, in the context of the upcoming year.

43 per cent hope that 2024 will be a year when they will invest in their personal growth and development, Instagram said. As compared to their counterparts from other countries, Gen Z in India also believe that starting one’s own business is the best way to achieve wealth.

“Indian Gen Z's upbeat and entrepreneurial spirit stands out as they eagerly explore new interests and trends across different domains,” Paras Sharma, Director of Content and Community Partnerships, Meta, India, said in a statement.

Highlighting that humour is a huge part of how Gen Z connects with people, nearly a third of respondents in India picked “bad taste in memes” as their top turn-off, according to 2024 Instagram Trend Talk.

On the fashion and beauty trend, contents featuring GRWM (Get Ready With Me) and thrifting, where creators ingeniously integrate products into their contents, are popular among youngsters in India.

These include DIY (do-it-yourself) approaches to wearing sarees and “jhumkas”, or traditional Indian chunky earrings.

44 per cent of those surveyed in India are interested in such content, the social media giant said.

Nine out of 10 GenZ users in India belong to a particular fandom from music to gaming and sports, such as BTS “army”, Swifties (Taylor Swift fans), AR Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal and Anirudh, to fans of games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty and Roblox. The Indian cricket team, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Chennai Super Kings are some of the sports entities that Gen Z sports enthusiasts in India are obsessed with.

“And, while in many aspects Indian Gen Zs are similar to their global peers, these trends also show specific areas where they are different and unique.”