Gen Z’s Limiting Screen Time — Here’s How to Reach Them Now

I’m sure you’ve heard these comments before: “The youth today are addicted to their phones.” Although there are plenty of stereotypes about the youngest generations, some of these common assumptions are not always true.

Recent studies have confirmed that Generation Z, aka Gen Z, aka Zoomers, the oldest of whom are 28 this year, are turning the corner on their “always on” reputation.

New research shows that 81% of Gen Z adults (and 78% of millennials!) often wish they could disconnect from digital devices more easily, and 74% of them feel real-life experiences are more important than digital ones. Another study showed that nearly half (46%) limit their screen time in some way, with 17% saying they limit their screen time on all or most days.

Even more telling: Searches for “digital detox ideas” and “digital detox vision boards” are also up by 72% and 273% respectively.

In a quest for balance, people are looking to get offline. This is why it’s increasingly important to get creative with your marketing tactics, something I’ve leveraged successfully to build a $100 million business from nothing, without any capital injections or funding.

Gen Z may not be the largest population in the U.S., but they have real buying power. Studies show that these young trend-setters impact family spending habits as much as 77%.

So here are two ways to connect with Gen Z on their terms and generate more revenue for your business.

Related: 5 Simple, Science-Backed Ways Entrepreneurs Can Connect With Gen Z

Use the offline tactic that led 91% of Gen Z to make a purchase last year

Gen Z was the first generation to grow up fully online. As a result, offline marketing is novel again. Whether this is radio, print magazines or even in-person marketing, 74% of Gen Z consider real-life experiences as more important than digital ones.

Research shows that direct mail, in particular, works well with Gen Z. In fact, it’s reported that 72% of the Gen Z population said they would be disappointed to no longer receive mail, and that they look forward to receiving it every day.

Not only does this generation appreciate mail, they respond to it — 91% of Gen Z say they’ve made a purchase as a result of mail they received.

This is something I’ve seen firsthand in my own business. We analyzed 115,393 leads generated in 2024 — the sum of all our direct mail and digital leads, no cherry picking whatsoever — and discovered that we made $253.54 per direct mail lead and only $41.60 per digital lead. That’s over a 500% difference!

Even though direct mail has been around for decades, that doesn’t mean it’s without newfound bells and whistles that will help you appeal even more to today’s generation. Digital printers have made highly personalized mail pieces possible. Today, it’s easy to include eye-catching personalizations on individual mailers, like a recipient’s first name, a stock image of someone in the same demographic group or even product images related to past purchase behaviors and more.

Another modern-day trick is direct mail automation, which allows your business to tap into unique events along the customer journey with trigger-based mailings. The carves out a highly personalized experience for prospects and customers alike. For example, imagine visiting an ecommerce website and shopping around without making a purchase. If you received a postcard a couple of days later featuring the product you were looking for with a 15% discount code, would you be tempted to go back and buy? I know I would!

Direct mail automation like this is still a relatively new technology, which means you have time to jump on it and run a few tests for your business to see if it works — likely before your competitors do the same.

Related: How to Boost Your Business With Direct Mail Automation and Retargeting — a Detailed Beginner’s Guide

Attention is worth its weight in gold, so diversify your marketing to boost attention on your campaign by 39%

Gen Z loves video — whether they are actively trying to reduce screen time or not. From TikTok to YouTube, they love short- and long-form video content. Research confirms that more than half (60%) of all TikTok users are Gen Z, and 51% visit YouTube daily. So, including video content in your marketing strategy is important.

In my business, we’ve capitalized on this by including more video in online marketing. We took some of our video case studies and shortened them for social media ad content. As a result, our average number of social media leads per week doubled from 174 in 2022 to 356 in 2023! That’s a 105% increase, and it’s held steady since then.

Yes, Gen Z is limiting screen time, but that doesn’t mean they’re eliminating it. I advise you to make the most of the hours they spend scrolling — or even sitting on the couch watching Netflix.

The best part about leveraging video ads on popular platforms as well as on TV is that you can target the same groups of people on your mailing lists. It’s a great way to stay in front of your most qualified leads and keep your business top of mind.

I recommend obtaining a list of your ideal prospects and targeting them with direct mail and video ads on Facebook, Instagram and even ad-supported connected TV (CTV). When they wake up and check their phones, they come across your video ad on Instagram, then in the afternoon they receive a postcard from you, and in the evening they see a CTV commercial about your business in between shows on Amazon Prime.

This creates an effect where prospects feel like they are seeing your business everywhere. I even created a service to do exactly this, called Everywhere Small Business, in case you want to try this approach without managing all of the ads on separate platforms yourself.

Related: I’ve Helped 124,393 Entrepreneurs With Their Advertising — Here Are My Top 3 Secrets Proven to Generate Results

Studies show that this type of multi-channel, integrated approach garners 39% more attention than single-media campaigns. That’s the kind of lift in response that could be the key to shortening your sales cycle and boosting revenue — and it’s even more effective when it runs on autopilot while you focus on more important things.

In my 27-plus years of experience in marketing, I’ve learned that these tactics will help turn heads both online and offline. Whether it’s for the youngest or the oldest generations, these strategies will deliver real results.