Cringe content, empathising tech & soft feminism: GenZ’s new culture codes

Delhi: Virtue Worldwide, the creative agency powered by VICE Media Group, unveiled the 2024 Virtue Guide to Culture. This in-depth report, embedded in culture, sheds light on the critical codes guiding  Gen Z and their behaviours. 

The propriety research was conducted across key APAC markets, including India. The findings are as follows. 

Cultural Code #1: Constructive Chaos
Asian youth is turning chaos into a wellspring of inspiration and self-expression. By channelling the power of the weird and absurd through art, technology, fashion, and culture, that is amplified by social media. 

86% of young people say, “It’s normal to be weird,” with cringe content becoming mainstream in India. Homemade, lo-fi, and slapstick social content is gaining popularity, standing out from polished feeds and celebrating authenticity. 

Cultural Code #2: Fan Authority
Fanpower rises from a deep-seated desire to belong. It gives a sense of community and a collective identity. Power has shifted to the fans, who can make or break celebrities. They have become pivotal in shaping the success of public figures. 

Take cricket, for instance. Fans in India have had a deep, entwined, long relationship with the game and its players. During the recent T20 World Cup, emotions ran high against Hardik Pandya, who was believed to be out of form. Ridicule, brickbats, and social media memes became central, but with his significant contribution to a subsequent win, he redeemed himself for his fans and Indian cricket.

Fans have also expanded beyond the sphere of celebrities to champion their causes and push for independent initiatives.

Cultural Code #3: Empathetic Technology
Technological advancements are reshaping intimacy and social interaction. 31% of youth agree AI will provide therapy within 10 years, and 62% of young Indians believe AI will moderate social media within the next decade. 

KamaSutra’s ‘Kamaverse’ is a prime example, offering a virtual space for open and positive discussions about sex. Virtual avatars in ‘Kamaverse’ answer questions without judgement and provide virtual rooms for product discovery in a safe and private environment, helping young Indians become more open-minded and communicative partners.

Cultural Code #4: Feminism’s Soft Revolution
Laughter, leisure, and reclaiming spaces to move and walk are emerging ways of assertion and protest, in the feminist movement. Changing the world while having fun is the new code. Whether it is reclaiming streets by meeting to sleep in parks or midnight walks, these are brave, bold, new ways to protest and assert presence.

A viral video featuring Arundhati Roy’s ‘militant laugh’ symbolises this brave and playful assertion of presence. The movement champions the power of being oneself and making impactful changes while revelling in the journey. 

Reflecting on the implications of the research for the Indian market, Saumya Baijal, Strategy  Lead, India at Virtue Worldwide, said, “For brands to have conversations with audiences that matter to them, it is critical for them to seat themselves in culture codes relevant to those audience groups. The Virtue Guide To Culture unlocks such codes that can enable communications that can be both short term, specific and dynamic, as well as long-standing and consistent.”