Gen Z is turning back the digital age clock.
Tiffany Zhong spent the last decade studying social media habits and used the information to create the Gen Z version of Myspace, called Nospace.
On top of going to school virtually during the pandemic, the Zoomer generation has grown up in peak social media with algorithms dictating what they see and who they interact with.
Now, they’re turning away from standard social media in search of more authentic connections that can’t be found on TikTok.
“Gen Z simply are sick of the same old, same old when it comes to social media,” Katya Varbanova, a brand marketing strategist, told Bustle.
Zhong, 27, is hoping that Nospace will give Gen Z a similar social media experience to the one millennials had — for better or worse.
Like MySpace and the early years of Facebook, Nospace users will have personal and customizable profile pages where they can share casual updates on what they’re up to.
“What I see right now is all social media is just media — it’s not social anymore,” Zhong told Bustle. “Everyone is ogling at each other’s lives and personalities, but no one is engaging with them.”
“That’s the problem we’re solving: connection with others and self-expression,” she added.
Nospace users will be able to share what they are “watching, eating, reading, listening to IRL” and “star” their interests to allow them to find people with similar interests.
And yes, the new app will list a user’s closest friends, just like the MySpace Top 8.
“All these other apps these days, it’s just algorithmic. A lot of posts just get pushed down if you don’t get engagement,” Zhong explained.
Nospace has been likened to a giant global group chat by those who have tested the app, especially with the separation of a “friends only” curated by yourself of just your friends, and a chronological global feed, with every active user in real-time.
“They’re craving new experiences mainstream apps aren’t able to produce,” Varbanova said. “Add information overload to that, [and] the com-paranoia can lead to anxiety, [eating disorders], and mental health struggles. No wonder Gen Z are craving places that make them feel better, not worse.”
Rather than likes, Nospace will feature “boosts” — similar to a Facebook or Instagram like, but it won’t push it up in the algorithm or rank content — it’s just for “fun.”
“It feels like a game. People love leveling up. You get unlimited boosts … Everyone can feel special.”
Zhong’s goal is that her app will help people find friends with similar interests and encourage more self-expression.
“Loneliness is increasing because of a variety of reasons,” she said. “We don’t have as much to talk about with our IRL friends anymore because everyone watches different content. It’s not like we have the same Sunday shows, or the same shows that drop the same episodes every week.”
“It feels lonely to be in a world where we’re just watching our own content, or our own personalized feed of content and videos, instead of connecting with others,” she says. “Socializing is so much more important than ever. It doesn’t exist anymore.”
There’s currently over 380,000 people on the waitlist for Nospace, which is set to launch summer 2024, according to the app website.
This isn’t the first “old” social media feature to be of interest to Gen Z.
Earlier this year, Facebook brought back its “poke” feature, and the younger generation loved it.
