VisualGPS Creative Trends Culture Generation Z Seeks Human Connection

Social media, it’s the love‑hate relationship that defined a generation. Generation Z is the first generation to grow up with social media as an integral part of their lives, making them the first "digital natives". While Millennials experienced the transition from analogue to digital, Gen Z has only known a world where social media, smartphones and the internet have always been available. Getty Images' VisualGPS research shows us that 71% of Gen Z feel that social media shows them real‑time perspectives of what's happening around the world and how it impacts people. This same generation, who grew up online, entered the workforce through remote meetings and is now actively relearning how to socialise offline, with 73% of Gen Z looking to connect with people more in‑person than online.

It was that last statistic that formed the central idea for this shoot, which had the working title “Meeting IRL”. With authentic human interactions being key, German‑based creator Counter Film was the natural choice to pitch this idea to, with their talent for great casting and picking locations. A venue was found with a good indoor space, but an extensive outdoor area allowed for the free movement of people, and seated gatherings of different sizes. More problematic was the crowd. We were looking for a group of between 50 and 60 people to make the space seem busy, all Gen Z or Millennial, but you are not going to get those genuine moments of connection if you cast individuals, we really needed people who knew each other. This is where the bar owner stepped in. Apparently, if you own a successful venue, you know a lot of people, and so he was able to pull together the required number of guests, who also had connections with each other.

With a limited shooting time available, we decided to use two video cameras, allowing us to work different areas of the venue at the same time, meaning that we could cover a great variety of situations. We also opted to let the scenes unfold in front of us naturally, with minimal direction, and this paid dividends as after about an hour of shooting, the guests became unaware of our presence, and we got those great moments of genuine connection that we were hoping for.