A 2025 Deloitte survey found that around half of Gen Z and millennial audiences feel a stronger personal connection to the creators they follow on social media than to television personalities or actors. It reflects a generation drawn to spaces where they can respond, participate and create, rather than simply consume. Young people are already reshaping how ideas are shared, how creativity is expressed and how communities connect.

What social media understood early is that participation creates connection. Young people are not passive recipients waiting to receive information. They want to respond to it and add something of their own. That expectation does not disappear when they step away from the screen. It increasingly influences how they learn, experience culture and engage with the world around them.

For cultural institutions, that shift matters. The first generation to grow up fully immersed in the digital world is accustomed to information that is immediate, interactive and shaped by choice. Nearly three-quarters are already using AI tools in their daily work and learning. They are moving easily between physical and digital environments, looking for opportunities to test ideas, make things and learn through experience rather than instruction alone.