Gen Z Find Digital Life More Memorable Than In-Person Life: Squarespace Survey 

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Squarespace released a report where they found that 60 per cent of Gen Z and 62 per cent of Millennials believe how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in person. Squarespace partnered with The Harris Poll in an online study of over 2,000 US adults to uncover the roles of websites in daily life and how memorable they are, discovering that about one in two Americans (49per cent) say they can remember the colour of a website better than someone’s eye colour – and 71 per cent of Millennials agree, versus 58 per cent of Gen Zers.

With so many first impressions – for both individuals and businesses – now happening virtually, the survey found that nearly half (44 per cent) of Gen Z and 39 per cent of Millennials think they make a better impression online than they do in person, compared to 21 per cent of Gen X and 8 per cent of Baby Boomers. What’s more, Gen Z are more likely to remember off the top of their head the last website they visited (43 per cent) than their partner’s birthday (38 per cent) or their social security number (31 per cent).

Taking a look at entrepreneurship in 2021, Squarespace discovered that Gen Z is the most ambitious generation: the vast majority (92 per cent) of Gen Zers would start their own business, compared to 86 per cent of Millennials, 74 per cent of Gen X and 50 per cent of Baby Boomers. And current entrepreneurs, take note: more than half (57 per cent) of Americans believe that a well-designed online store or website is more important for a business to have than a brick-and-mortar location.

“The majority of Gen Z believe that how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in person – and while 92 per cent of Gen Z are typically multitasking with other activities while browsing the web, they’re also more likely to remember the colour of a website than someone’s eye colour,” said Kinjil Mathur, Chief Marketing Officer at Squarespace. “Americans browse over 3,000 websites a year, and our research shows that the things we see online can make a more lasting impression than things we see in person. This is why it’s so important to create a well-designed presence across all the things you do on the web.” 

Also Read: Generation Influence: Gen Z Study Reveals a New Digital Paradigm

Full Survey Findings

Online Impressions

• 60 per cent of Gen Z and 62 per cent of Millennials think how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in-person, compared to 38 per cent of Gen X and 29 per cent of Baby Boomers.
• Nearly half (44 per cent) of Gen Z and 39 per cent of Millennials say they make a better impression online than in person, vs. 21 per cent of Gen X and 8 per cent of Baby Boomers.
• Approximately 1 in 2 Americans (49 per cent) believe they can remember the colour of a website better than someone’s eye colour – and 71per cent of Millennials agree, vs. 58per cent of Gen Zers.
• Off the top of their head, Gen Z are more likely to remember the last website they visited (43 per cent) than their partner’s birthday (38per cent) or their own social security number (31 per cent).

How Americans Browse the Web

• On average, Americans estimate they visit 8.4 websites per day, or over 3,000 per year.
• 92 per cent of Gen Z multitask with other activities while browsing websites online – they’re also more likely than any other generation to eat food (59per cent), listen to music (59per cent), talk on the phone (45 per cent) or dance (28 per cent) while browsing websites.
• Almost 3 in 5 Americans (59 per cent) say they typically spend time browsing websites online while watching TV. The top place for Gen Z, specifically, to browse websites online is while in bed (65 per cent), followed by while on the toilet (43 per cent).
• More than 2 in 5 Americans say they spend more time browsing websites than working out (43 per cent) or having sex (42 per cent), in a given week.
• 66 per cent of Americans agree that travel is the activity that online research is most important for.

Who Americans Look Up Online

• The top group of people that Americans say they’d be most likely to look up online is “people they went to school with,” (41 per cent), and it’s also the top group who Americans think are looking them up online (33 per cent).
• At least once a week, 1 in 5 Americans (20 per cent) look up their exes online and 32 per cent look up their current romantic partner. Specifically, over half of Gen Z (51 per cent) and Millennials (55 per cent) look up their current romantic partner online at least once a week.
• 86 per cent of Gen Z and 79 per cent of Millennials look people up online before meeting them for the first time, compared to 65 per cent of Gen X and 44 per cent of Baby Boomers.

The New Entrepreneur

• The vast majority (92 per cent) of Gen Z would start their own business, vs. 86 per cent of Millennials, 74 per cent of Gen X and 50 per cent of Baby Boomers. 
• When asked what type of business they would start if they were to start their own, Americans’ top response was offering a service (e.g. teaching a class, offering advice, tutoring) over selling a physical product.
• More than half of Americans (57 per cent) think that a well-designed website or online store is more important for a business to have than a brick-and-mortar location.
• 62 per cent of Americans (and 76 per cent of Millennials and 64 per cent of Gen Zers, specifically) always look up a business’ website (e.g. a restaurant, store, etc.) before shopping, visiting or eating there (compared to 65per cent of Gen X and 49per cent of Baby Boomers).
• 7 in 10 Americans (70 per cent) agree that when a local business has a well-designed website, they’re more likely to shop there in person.