The way some people talk about how younger generations communicate, you'd think the English language — and civilization itself — was on its last legs. "Nobody writes in complete sentences anymore!" "Why can't they just put that in a proper email?" "Why are they constantly on their phones?" "What's with all the skull emojis?"
But let's be honest: how we communicate has never been static. It's been constantly changing for over 5,000 years, and it will continue to change.
At the same time, the pace of communications keeps accelerating and our options for how we speak to each other continue to multiply. Worldwide, people send 25 billion text messages per day. A key driver of this is mobile phone adoption: In the US, 98% of adults now own a cellphone, according to Pew Research.
For the market research and insights industry, the lesson is clear: we need to constantly re-examine the communication channels we're using. If we want to capture accurate insights, then we need to use the platforms best suited for the people we're trying to reach and hear from.
This need to engage consumers where they are is particularly important when conducting market research with Gen Z and Millennials. Young consumers tend to be early adopters of new communication channels. For example, Pew found that 97% of 18-to-29 year olds in the US now own a smartphone. So if you're relying on outdated approaches, you're at risk of blowing up your sample costs, slowing down your projects — or, worst of all, getting consumer feedback that doesn't accurately represent the attitudes and opinions of your consumers.
The picture on email is more nuanced than a simple "dead or alive" verdict — but the signal for market researchers is clear enough.
Among U.S. consumers, 79% of Millennials and 57% of Gen Z say they prefer being contacted by brands via email — which sounds reassuring until you look at what "prefer" actually means in practice. 59% of Millennials primarily use their smartphone to check email, while 67% of Gen Z scan their inbox on mobile.
The takeaway: Young consumers today engage with email, just not in the focused, desktop-based way that traditional long-form surveys are often designed for.
In fact, if email is your primary survey distribution channel, it's highly likely that young people may miss your messages completely...
To understand Gen Z and millennial's email behaviors, we partnered with our sister company Reach3 Insights and used our conversational market research platform to engage 705 Gen Z and Millennial consumers in the US to learn about the communication preferences of younger consumers.
Our biggest takeaway? Young people are ignoring emails.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of both Gen Zs and Millennials claim to use a messaging app or social media platform to communicate with friends and family “almost always” or “most of the time.” Similarly, 68% of Gen Zs and 79% of Millennials "almost always" or "most of the time" use SMS/text message to chat with friends and family.
But when asked about email, 56% of Millennials and a whopping 67% of Gen Zs told us they “rarely” or “never” use email for those purposes.
More worrying for brands who still rely on email surveys, our research indicates that younger generations are the least likely to prioritize your communications. In fact, almost a third (31%) of Gen Zs and Millennials claim to have over 1,000 unread emails in their inbox.
31% of Gen Zs and Millennials have over 1,000 unread emails in their inbox.
This research from Rival Technologies aligns with other studies on the subject. For instance, a study from Sign.com found that Gen Z is 82% more likely to ignore emails at work compared to Gen X.
If your brand is actively doing Gen Z research, it's important to align your approach. Here are some things to consider.
Instead of forcing old-school market research tactics to Gen Zs and Millennials, take a step back and find out how they prefer to provide feedback. Younger generations are on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and their personal and professional lives bleed seamlessly into each other.
You need to align your research tactics with how young consumers like to talk to their friends and family. For example, if you're building an insight community, consider social sampling as part of your recruitment strategy. If you're using a research panel, ask if the sample provider uses social media channels to recruit fresh participants.
👉 Looking to build a Gen Z insight community? Request a demo to learn how Rival can help!
The evidence is clear and unambiguous: email is not how young consumers want to engage with brands. Mobile is where it’s at with young consumers; they spend almost every waking hour, both at work and in their personal lives, on social media and SMS, both at work and in their personal lives.
But don’t mistake being mobile-friendly with being mobile-first. Young consumers —and, really, most people — can tell the difference between an experience that was designed for mobile in mind versus one that was first meant for desktop and forced for mobile. It's worth considering mobile survey tools or customer research software that allow you to engage participants via SMS or WhatsApp.
Also, make sure your approach to questionnaire design also aligns with the preferences of this audience. Instead of a very formal approach to asking your questions, consider a more conversational approach — using friendly language and incorporating emojis, memes and GIFs when appropriate. A 2025 research-on-research from Rival Technologies and Reach3 found that this conversational way of doing research resonates with all age groups — especially Gen Z.
This mobile-first, conversational approach isn't just about the participant experience. It's a powerful way of doing in-the-moment research. Plus, our study shows it delivers higher-quality and deeper feedback — allowing you to capture video feedback from modern consumers like Gen Z.
👉 Looking to learn more about conversational research? Check out our research-on-research for an overview.
Preferences are not set in stone. You need to continuously monitor how Gen Zs and Millennials communicate. These generations are not inherently loyal: they change employers, brands and platforms all the time. The mode of communication used by their parents, or pushed by their employers, doesn’t hold much long-term sway.
Many people assume that, with all that time spent cranking out texts or posting to social media — and skipping email — these generations, especially Gen Z, are somehow less engaged or less serious in their communications.
That’s simply not the case. These young consumers want to have their voices heard. (They’re not afraid to use social networks like TikTok to voice their opinions about social and other important issues.) But Gen Zs and Millennials want to provide feedback on their terms, and in the channels they already use.
With each new generation and each new technology, our old ways of communicating don't die — they evolve. Email isn't gone, particularly in the workplace, but it's no longer the go-to way of reaching hearts and minds. Gen Z makes up 32% of the global population, with 68.6 million in the U.S., making them a dominant consumer group — and one whose influence will only grow. Although Gen Z comprises only 30% of the population, they already account for 40% of the global customer base.
Insight professionals trying to reach this generation will have to engage them where they live and breathe. That means mobile-native survey experiences, messaging-app integrations, and social-first research designs. And yes — it probably means figuring out when to use that darn skull emoji, too.
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