Breaking Barriers and Building Bonds: The Crucial Role of Intergenerational Relationships in Online Communities

It all started with the dab. In 2014, Gen Z made their first submission to their culture’s permanent record with the infamous gesture: arms stretched upward and eyes tucked into the elbows. It was the opening meme to a coming of age for an entire generation. They had found their peace sign; a generational salutation that holds their place at the table where the conversations between the Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials have long taken place.

Since the dab, the web has been reshaped in Gen Z’s image with a steady stream of gestures, dance moves, and new cultural memes that fill up every app's feeds. The trend of “trends” itself has started trending, but what does that mean? Behind each of these trends, we’ve seen a pattern emerge as each generation finds its own interpretation. A phenomenon has occurred where generations don’t stand apart, but instead, connect.

Many of Gen Z’s biggest moments of cultural influence have been moments of collective initiation. Above all else, shared action toward sustainability efforts has shown itself to be a cross-generational unifier and an extended moment of collective initiative that will guide our shared future.

In the realm of consumer behavior, this means hand-me-downs are more popular and purpose-driven than ever. Vividata’s 2023 study of the Canadian Consumer showed that for Gen Z in particular, 45% say they like to shop in thrift stores and buy second-hand items, with 38% saying that thrifting and second-hand shopping is part of their look and style. We’ve also seen icons of entertainment bringing back old memories and dancing on newer screens. Older generations smiled on as Gen Z discovered the musical moods of Fleetwood Mac and the macabre charm of the Addams Family that many have known and cherished for so long.

In online communities, like the 100,000+ found on Reddit, moments of personal discovery complement these collective rediscoveries of culture past, as Gen Z ages into life’s greatest thresholds: post-college, starting a career, getting married, searching for a home, starting a family, and somehow most imposingly of all - turning thirty.

Online communities connect Gen Z with their Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer counterparts to learn how to better navigate these passages from those who came before them in communities like r/CareerAdvice, r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer, or r/BabyBumps. “Getting older is a gift not everyone gets.” one 48-year-old member of r/30PlusSkinCare shares in response to a member asking whether Botox would be right for her. “And I'd much rather spend that money on travel,” she continues. The perils (and joys) of aging are central to online communities that have become the meeting grounds between the ambitious young adults and the wizened old who have found their way to wellness and independence through life’s looming passages ahead for Gen Z.

For marketers, this dynamic adds a layer of much welcome certainty in such uncertain times. It can seem like the whims of online culture’s interests and moods can change week over week, making them hard to predict. But if we zoom out to a wider view we can see predictable patterns as today’s most influential generation ages just like those who came before them. Brands like Crown Royal have deftly created marketing moments around these principles with their 2023 Super Bowl commercial ‘Thank You Canada’ reading like a primer for the essential records, actors, and films for Canadian (and all) young adults to look to for cultural initiation.

While every September brings with it the predictable school year start of a new incoming class, every day brings more of Gen Z into the start of their career, family or retirement planning. These are evergreen moments of enormous individual importance that hide behind the tentpole moments of the year and tend to capture marketers’ attention most. For building the level of trust brands covet for their customers, what better way than to be the helping hand in someone’s personal moment of life’s initiation as they journey into adulthood?

Written by Will Cady, Global Brand Ambassador at Reddit