Turning Doomcrawls into Dollars
Gen Z is spending nearly seven hours a day on their screens, but they’ve found a way to monetize that time, or at least become more aware of how their personal data can be leveraged.
A youth voting organization called Generation Lab has introduced a new initiative named Verb.ai, which they refer to as New Venture.
“It seems that companies have long benefited from user data without properly compensating the individuals behind it,” remarked Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab. “Users want clarity about the data they are sharing and ought to feel reassured about what they’re receiving in return.”
In this instance, that “something” happens to be cash.
This app offers users the opportunity to earn over $50 a month, contingent upon their activity levels. To participate, users simply need to install a tracker that creates a “digital twin,” which captures their interactions to respond to inquiries from various clients, including political groups and venture capitalists.
The pitch deck claims, “For decades, market research has been akin to a doctor asking patients to explain their symptoms. The verb functions as an MRI machine.”
This showcases how Gen Z is reimagining data exploitation; instead of working for nothing, they are now getting paid, and it seems they’re content with this shift.
Research from Emarketer indicates that a staggering 88% of Gen Z is willing to share personal information with social media platforms, a figure that’s 20 points higher than that of older generations.
They’re not just skimming over content either; they’re fully engaged.
Gen Z consumes more media than any other age bracket, averaging almost seven hours a day (about 6.6 hours). Some reports even indicate cases where individuals exceed 15 hours.
They’re investing significantly in streaming services and subscriptions, averaging around $97.70 monthly.
It’s no wonder that nearly two-thirds of Gen Z expresses feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of media they encounter, with 66% admitting to consuming “too much.”
“Understanding the root causes of excessive content consumption is the first step,” noted Dr. Natasha Tapal Ormos, a psychology associate professor at Pepperdine University. “Interventions implemented without a firm grasp of these causes are often ineffective. Keeping logs of when the behavior occurs may help to identify patterns.”
However, rather than feeling guilty about their habits, many Gen Zers are finding ways to profit. They are open to sharing their data but also wish to establish clear boundaries.
A 2022 McKinsey survey found that Gen Z is more willing to invest in privacy measures than older demographics, with a preference for deleting their data after receiving services.
In a sense, selling their data is becoming a modern version of the “selling plasma” trend—except now it’s the phone battery that’s taking the hit.
With a goal of signing up 5,000 users by the fall, Verb.ai aims to tap into the truth about this generation. If they’re being watched anyway, they might as well transform that big data into significant earnings.
