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ccording to the “2019 Demographic Outlook by Generation” released by Statistics Korea in 2016, Millennials and Generation Z are expected to account for 22.2% and 21.7% of the total population, respectively. The two generations are sometimes collectively referred to as the “MZ Generation,” because they are both very familiar with the digital environment and prefer using mobile devices. Sometimes Generation Z’ers are understood as simply being “young Millennials”; however, there is a need to distinguish between the two groups

Unlike Generation Z’ers, who grew up taking smartphones for granted, Millennials did not have social media or smartphones during their childhood. Millennials grew up with 2G phones and experienced the birth of the smartphone as well as the growth of social media. However, even within the Millennial generation, different people have different experiences with smartphones and social media, depending on whether they were born in the 1980s or 1990s. In China, people are similarly categorized into generations based on their year of birth. Some of these generations are: Faring Hou(born in the 1980s), Zhuling Hou(born in the 1990s), and Zhou Hou(born after 1995).

The differences in media characteristics by generation can be seen in terms of media preferences. When looking at a timeline, we can see that high-speed internet services began in 1998, and in 2002, the number of internet users soared, exceeding 10 million individual users. At the same time, internet-based portal services began to emerge, resulting in an internet boom.

Since 2009, the use of smartphones (Galaxy, iPhone) has surged, signaling the beginning of the mobile era. With the release of the smartphone, instead of unilaterally and uni-directionally receiving information through their TVs and radios, users could now actively explore information through more dynamic media channels such as computers, using the internet and smartphones, and through access to social media.

Content began to change in response to this new, bilateral flow of information. Millennials have directly experienced these changes in technology and content, and have incorporated these changes into their lives. Gen Z’ers, on the other hand, did not experience the beginning of the mobile market. Instead, they are familiar with the mature mobile market and have consumed mostly mobile-oriented content their entire lives.

Compared to Gen Z’ers, Millennials (especially those born in the 1980s) have had significantly more exposure to uni-directional media, such as television, than today’s interactive media such as the internet and social media. Millennials grew up watching TV, borrowing video tapes, renting DVDs or CDs, and watching things online. They were then introduced to video-on-demand and experienced a gradual shift to the mobile environment.

Millennials were gradually given more freedom to consume content in any way they wanted, regardless of time and place. With the introduction of more advanced technologies, Millennials could access more diverse content more easily.

The Millennial Generation includes a wide range of audiences, from before and after the onset of online culture, and actively participates in fan forums and comments, blogs, online social media based on offline relationships (such as BuddyBuddy, Cyworld) and preference-based online social media (such as internet cafes, communities, and Twitter). By communicating in all of these ways, Millennials have created their own online culture.

Even without having any kind of personal relationship with other users offline, Millennials easily form online communities with other people who share their same interests.

Online forums make it possible for people to actively participate in uni-directionally produced video content by expressing their opinions. The digital environment and IPTV (released in 2008) video-on-demand have made video replays easier, allowing users to watch and analyze videos repeatedly. Fandoms formed as a result, and people started producing parodies and communicating through user-generated content. In these and other ways, the viewer was transformed from a passive entity, to one that actively analyzes and participates in the content being produced.

This trend is evidenced by the MBC entertainment program Infinite Challenge, which aired from 2005 to 2018. Infinite Challenge viewers communicated with the production team through MBC viewer forums and online fan cafes for the show. In 2013, in an episode titled “Requesting Infinite Challenge,” fans were able to participate directly in the production process by presenting their ideas during the broadcast.

Millennials encountered the digital environment naturally as they grew older and consumed video content on a variety of media platforms, such as TVs, computers, and smartphones. For Millennials, TV was no longer a necessity. This generation shows a relatively high tolerance of paid content due to their past experience of having to pay to view media

In today’s media world, users are able to choose different media platforms and different content types based on their own unique tastes. For example, users can classify movies into “movies to see in theaters” and “movies to watch on Netflix.” There is a tendency among Millennials to utilize multiple devices for viewing content compared to other generations. This is why Baby Boomers and Generation X account for 70.8% and 46.9%, respectively, of all TV viewing time, while Millennials represents a much lower percentage of only 38.5%.Milennials’ overall decreased paid TV viewership, compared to other generations, is sometimes referred to as "cord cutting."

These types of viewers also pay for games or watch movies and dramas online. Millennials also tend to prefer platforms that allow them to access content freely at any time through mobile devices, rather having to download.

What matters most to Millennials is having the ability to customize their viewing experience to suit their individual tastes. Streaming services that support a variety of devices have “shops” (in which points are used for product purchases); these services and shops give Millennials many choices related to their viewing experience. Netflix, one such service, offers more choices by releasing episodes all at once, so that viewers can binge watch, watching up to an entire series of a single program all in one sitting. It’s interesting to note that viewers in their 20s and 30s account for 69% of all total Netflix subscribers (WiseApp, 2019).

Generation Z grew up with YouTube, which began in 2005, so this generation is also called the YouTube Generation. According to Nielsen Korea, Gen Z’ers use smartphones an average of six hours a day, which is the largest amount of smartphone use among all the generations..

According to a report that looked at the YouTube usage behaviors and attitudes of people ages 15 to 24, Gen Z’ers spend an average of 2 hours and 29 minutes a day watching YouTube, while Millennials spend an average of 1 hour and 36 minutes a day watching YouTube. Statistically, out of all the generations, Gen Z'ers spend the most time watching YouTube

On YouTube, viewers can easily become creators. The platform is particularly familiar to Gen Z’ers, who are used to communicating through video

Gen Z’ers mainly consume user-created content. According to the 2016 Nielsen Korea Monthly Topic, teenagers and adults in their 20s prefer user-created video services, while a higher proportion of users in their 40s or older prefer ready-made content..

Gen Z’ers communicate with individual streamers on platforms such as AfreecaTV and Twitch, as well as on YouTube, effectively broadcasting together. They even produce videos where the creator and viewers study together. To Gen Z’ers, watching someone study or eat (also known as a mukbang), is not simply watching a video, but is enjoyed as an experience.

Gen Z’ers have created a user-oriented experience culture through the reproduction of videos. Users film their own reactions to movies, dramas, entertainment shows, or blockbuster movie trailers, such as for the Avengers. Such “reaction videos” reproduce content to express it in different forms. This can be seen in videos that combine multiple videos into one, and videos that are created as a reaction to other reaction videos.

They tend to watch reaction videos based on their own interests such ready-made content, which includes movies, anime, dramas, or other forms of entertainment. Other popular video types include: “unboxing” videos (in which users open packages onscreen and introduce products while giving their first impressions); videos in which users react to items from other cultures/countries (such as YouTuber Korean Englishman’s “Fire Noodle Challenge!!” video showing British people eating spicy noodles); and other such content that standard media outlets have failed to cover. Kpop reaction videos produced in Korea are enjoyed mainly by overseas teens and YouTubers in their 20s. These videos have also played a role in forming K-Pop fan groups for Korean idol groups such as BTS

According to a statement given by Naver CEO Han Sung-sook at Naver Connect 2018, YouTube users, especially younger users, are moving beyond using YouTube simply for viewing videos and are now using it as a search engine. According to the Nasmedia 2019 Internet User Survey, about 7 out of 10 teenage internet users report using YouTube as a search engine. Unlike ready-made content, which is aimed at general audiences, user-created content, which accounts for the majority of YouTube, can handle the diverse and specialized needs of viewers at the level that they need

Gen Z’ers obtain product information on YouTube as well as recipes, all types of tutorials, movies, news, and more. Content views also influence their consumption of products or media, especially when content creators who are trusted by their viewers recommend certain products or media. Users may show a greater tendency to consume ready-made or gaming content, such as movies and dramas, after viewing content such as creator summaries or gameplay videos.

In contrast to Millennials, who still show a tendency to consume based on celebrity endorsements, Generation Z’ers prefer influencers who produce user-created content. For most Gen Z’ers, videos are now an integral part of life. In order to target this generation, social media platforms like Facebook are expanding from message- and photo-based feeds to real-time video streaming. Instagram's IGTV and Facebook's Watch are good examples of this. It is also said that Gen Z’ers prefer short videos, because passively watching videos now seems boring to them.

The characteristics of Generation Z, the generation of experiential media, are not limited to online platforms. Produce 101, a reality show which started in 2016, is creating a phenomenon in which fans cheer for their favorite contestant, not only through online communities and social media, but also offline, and communicate with other fans using actual post-it notes. Similarly, movie theaters, which have been gradually losing their teenage audiences, capitalized on the popularity of the song “Let It Go” and offered sing-a-longs, followed by “cheer screenings,” which function like a concert with fans holding cheer signs. Both of these efforts have proven to be a success.

Millennials and Gen Z’ers differ in the media they were exposed to during their developmental years, and thus they have different media consumption patterns. In particular, Millennials born in the 1980s show tendencies that are the farthest removed from those of others in the so-called MZ Generation. Millennials in their 30s, who were born in the late 1980s, have long viewed media through the television screen. Unlike Millennials born in the 1990s, who are now in their 20s, most Millennials in their 30s have their own homes and have become fully independent. This group is more accustomed to ready-made content shown on TV.

From Millennials born in the 1980s to Generation Z’ers, ready-made content is slowly shifting toward mobile and user-made content.

This trend is not only limited to one generation, but is spreading throughout the general population. This is evidenced by the rising percentage of people in their 40s and older on TikTok, which was once considered to be exclusively for teenagers, and the increase of middle-aged and older adults on YouTube. These and other changes are gradually spreading throughout all generations as society continues to evolve as a whole.

How then should media corporations cope with these changes as they prepare for Millennials and Generation Z’ers to increasingly become their target audiences? Demands for content are increasing, and there are a variety of content pools and low-cost international subscription streaming services that can satisfy these demands. However, younger viewers in Generation Z are starting to no longer be satisfied with what they see and are demanding more and newer options.

This group of viewers wants content that can meet their needs at their level, allowing them to participate and communicate directly with media content, be a producer of video clips, and/or share their experiences, such as in the form of study broadcasts or mukbangs.

Existing TV formats that supply and provide content are finding it increasingly difficult to satisfy new audiences.

To ensure their future success, media corporations may want to focus on N-Screen, which supports multiple devices, create and distribute content that can handle a variety of short-length material, or add elements that allow for sharing and active participation by users. This could be in the form of social TV or in the form of contact with offline customers such as Netflix's Stranger Things pop-up event.

Millennials and Gen Z’ers have different characteristics than older generations because they are used to different media, platforms, and content. They are more accustomed to self-expression, and they value honesty and empathy. They also tend to show a preference for media that is customized to their own personal tastes. How will the media consumption patterns of these users affect future generations, and how should we cope with these changes? It's time to start thinking the answers to this important question.