Let’s talk about the woman fuelling economies across the world with her tour – and the Gen Z fans that show up every single time.
Quick hand-raise – who here has heard of Ms Taylor Swift?
Ok, good – let’s get into it.
Like social media, Taylor Swift is someone who multiple generations engage with – but in completely different ways. Her first devotees were millennial teenagers. She has found her way into the ears of Gen Zs, and now, even Gen Alphas are donning sequins and scream-singing themselves hoarse at her gigs.
But the stans are stanning differently, depending on their age. As teenagers and young adults, Millennials mainly exhibited their devotions privately, secretively, in Tumblr blogs that – in this day and age – read like secret codes.
Gen Zs are far less afraid than their Millennial cousins to be perceived as cringe or uncool for what they love.What’s more, Gen Z stans are very much anchored in the real, the tangible. You only have to watch a video of young girls tailgating the Eras Tour to appreciate how communal Gen Zs have made appreciation.
And these experiences are very much anchored in uni life, too: from the 40+ swiftsoc societies that have sprung up at UK universities, to the proliferation of club nights devoted to one single artist. Gen Z don’t want to love the things they love in isolation. They want to do it in the light of day, wearing sequins, and screaming at the top of their lungs.
When Gen Zs love something, they love it with their whole chests – and their wallets, too. They go out and buy the cowboy boots. They book the international flights. They stay up to watch the Super Bowl for the first time. And maybe – just maybe – they keep an entire country out of recession.
And it’s not just Taylor Swift. We see these patterns of devotion play out in Gen Zs love of sports (UK women’s football), film (Saltburn), fashion (bows) – and on a micro level in brand devotion (the Stanley cup’s meteoric rise is a prime example).
Ultimately, brands should read Gen Z stan culture as a good thing. It shows their capacity for loyalty, their desire for community, and their willingness to influence and share what they love with each other. But – much more importantly – it shows a generation that is proud of what they love, and accepting of how it might differ from what others are into.
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