📷 Image Credit: Blast & Keith Lee - TikTo 👆 TL;DR: The power of Gen Z creating just one TikTok review helped a new and struggling restaurant owner’s business go from failing to skyrocket success, just days after the post went viral. GenZ has changed the lives of many people through TikTok. This is especially true for one Las Vegas pizzeria restaurant business. Frankensons struggled to get customers through their door until Keith Lee posted a TikTok review. Using his own money and no paid advertising, Keith Lee gave an authentic review of their pizza. After 31 million views on Tiktok, Frankensons Las Vegas Pizzeria became an overnight sensation. With just one meaningful and popular review, the restaurant cooked more food in those immediate few days alone than in the four months they had been open. Viral videos are now one of the big triggers for word of mouth among GenZ, which is also influencing other generations. These TikTok trends have users supporting small business restaurants by taste-testing their foods, and posting about them, which is the most authentic and real you can get reaching the masses. The compassion and care for the restaurant business and small business owners are now something that can be seen on a worldwide scale. Posting engaging videos on social media helps grow the interest to dine in our takeout. In an effort to revive restaurants, small businesses, and start-ups, especially small businesses of marginalized groups, GenZ has used TikTok to bring them to light. What does the future hold for small businesses on Tiktok? TikTok's supportive community builds human connections that have lasting effects on startups and small businesses. This is an example of another great way GenZ is influencing social good. Sources:Blast & Keith Lee - TikTo Written by: Bridgette Meshkani, Intern Edited by: Lisa Marie, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: Carol Yepes via Getty Images / HuffPost 👆 TL;DR: ChatGPT is changing the academic and professional world. School administrators have cracked down on the use of chatbots. However, job recruiters think using chatbots is just fine as long as job seekers edit to insert their own voice. Talk about ChatGPT is trending everywhere! If you are a Gen Z high school or college student, will ChatGPT help you NEVER have to write an essay ever again? The ethics are being discussed regarding how to use chatbots acceptably. If you’ve been living under a rock (kidding) and don’t know what ChatGPT is, it’s an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot that pulls information from various sources and gives human-like responses to all questions. The amazing thing is that this open AI chatbot is capable of answering medical school and MBA exam questions. We found that for GenZ, chatbots are considered normal, think gaming and discord and now with Open AI, ChatGPT it's seen as a helpful outlet for students. You might be wondering what the future is for ChatGPT, especially for students who might use it as an avenue for cheating? We see Chat GPT enabling and assisting with education and learning if used properly. Many schools have already cracked down on the usage of ChatGPT. For example, an economics professor in the United States showed students the tools they have to recognize ChatGPT through ChatZero. ChatZero is an even newer platform that recognizes work that has been created through ChatGPT. On the other hand, many employers are allowing the use of ChatGPT as a tool for enhancing writing. It is viewed as an inspiration and a guide to writing, but it cannot ultimately take the place of authentic writing. This AI tool lacks originality and cannot express the voice of the writer. We took an informal survey of college students to see what Gen Z thought about ChatGPT. We found that of those questioned, about 75% of students have used a chat bot like ChatGPT for an assignment. The survey also shows that students enjoy ChatGPT because it gives them a foundation to build on using their own human thinking. We feel that using ChatGPT properly should not be seen as a threat since bot writing cannot replace the emotion and human understanding of individual personality, personal voice...yet. The worry and trending discussion are that ChatGPT takes information that was developed by the human brain with the fear that it will replace the need for human creativity and intelligence. What do you think the future of ChatGPT and those like it will be? Will it replace the need for people skilled in creative writing and creative design? And, thinking of the next generation coming up, it will be interesting to see how GenAlpha will utilize this as native users! Sources:Carol Yepes via Getty Images / HuffPost Written by: Bridgette Meshkani, Intern Edited by: Lisa Marie, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: Meta 👆 TL;DR: Instagram’s new quiet mode attempts to prevent harmful habits and mental health issues for teen girls that research has historically shown to be an issue. We use social media a lot personally and professionally researching Gen Z and Gen Alpha trends, and we realize it’s really important to take screen time breaks. Instagram’s new feature, aimed at helping youth, has given Gen Z users a tool to help reduce teen screen time on Instagram, especially during hours crucial to good quality sleep. This new feature lets followers know when users are taking a break and reminds them that the user will receive a message once the break is over. This is also a great way for parents to engage and talk to their kids about not always being accessible. It is interesting to see Instagram creating a feature that encourages disengagement when its algorithm tries to do quite the opposite. Could this feature encourage others to unplug? When Gen Z sees their friends around them in quiet mode, will they turn their “quiet mode” on too? It is possible that, over time, we will see more people using this feature. Instagram might be hoping that this opportunity for a public break using their platform will bring fewer reports of struggles with body image issues among teen girls as a result. Creating this new tool/feature shows that Instagram is paying attention to its users' mental health, especially their younger users. This conscious effort Instagram is making to improve mental health comes shortly after the Wall Street Journal reported, "Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.” We took an impromptu survey of Bay Area college students, asking if they had heard about this new tool; not one person surveyed had heard about the quiet mode feature created by Instagram. However, they were most familiar with Apple’s app feature that limits time for each app. What do you think? Is Instagram's new quiet mode redundant for apple users? Is this a tool you will use? Click the link to see more and review directions…. Sources:Meta Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: BeReal social media app screenshot 👆 TL;DR: Amongst GenZ, BeReal is the new social media app to download. Were you one of the 10,000 average users that used BeReal just one year ago? If not, are you now one of the 10 million users that use it? BeReal has blown up ever since GenZ figured out about it. This app sends you a notification every day at a random time and requires that you post a picture of what you are doing at that moment. You have two minutes to post your BeReal before it is considered "late." It reminds me of when you turn in your homework assignment late. This app lets people, brands, and social media influencers post raw content that is unfiltered and in the moment. One image is taken from your front camera while simultaneously taking a picture with your back camera. BeReal even has features that add to that "rawness." This app lets your users know how often you have retaken your picture. Also, it enables you to know if your followers have screenshotted your BeReal. This is the first app to exist that takes a step back from the beauty standards that our society has set forth and forces people to share their unedited selves. Other apps, such as Snapchat and Instagram, have taken on this format of pictures to increase their apps' engagement. Our GenZ Creator Counsel polled a college campus to find out how many students actually downloaded the app. Of the 50 people that asked, over 80% of students said they have the app. When asked those in the 20% why they hadn't downloaded it, the general response was, "I haven't gotten around to it." It seems everyone on campus is aware of the app. It is only a matter of time before other generations hop on board to use and...BeReal. Sources:Social Media Today Written by: Bridgette Meshkani, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: Snapchat 👆 TL;DR: Hoping to stay relevant with GenZ's newest popularized app, Snapchat has begun mirroring the features that BeReal offers. Don't have BeReal, or have it and wait for that BeReal notification to go off every day? No need! If you have Snapchat, you're golden. Snapchat has introduced a new feature that offers the same visuals as BeReal. However, Snapchat provides more than just a rectangle on the corner of your screen. Have you ever wanted your BeReal photos to be the same size? Have you ever wanted your BeReal photos in different shapes? Snapchat allows for formats that offer vertical, horizontal, circle picture-in-picture, and green screens that come in all different sizes. This will let you be able to be more creative with your pictures. Although BeReal has been a big part of GenZ's lives recently, Snapchat can still be relevant because it gives everyone a different experience. BeReal only allows you to post once daily, but Snapchat will enable you to post as many times as you want. Snapchat's front and rear-facing camera feature lets you add filters to your photos. Are you selective with whom you want to engage? Snapchat allows you to be selective with whom you wish to receive specific pictures, videos, and messages. It lets you have group chats, private stories, and the most significant incentive, streaks. If you continue sending a Snapchat once a day to the same person, you will have a number next to the person's name indicating how many days in a row you have been sending photos to each other back and forth. This everyday action will form a "streak" between you and your friend. Which do you choose: Snapchat, BeReal, or Both? Sources:TechCrunch Written by: Bridgette Meshkani, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor