Speaking to Young People in Market Research

Updated: 21st August 2025

Slay, lit, sus, delulu… language among young people evolves at lightning speed.Whether you’re seeing it on TikTok, hearing it from your own kids, or watching it pop up on TV, keeping up can feel like a full-time job. But when it comes to conducting market research with young people, qualitative market research agencies need to know how to engage with them. It’s essential if you want to engage them and get honest, valuable insights.

Young people and market research

While Millennials have now moved into adulthood, the real focus for market research is firmly on Gen Z and the emerging Gen Alpha. Gen Z are digital natives who live and breathe social media, while Gen Alpha – born after 2010 – are already shaping household purchasing decisions. It’s essential that qualitative market research agencies and brands know how to reach out to the influencers of tomorrow.

Communicating with young people 

Qualitative market research agencies can struggle when it comes to communicating with young people and conducting market research with Gen Z and Gen Alpha. For starters, they have proven to be an elusive group: they live in a world of continuous updates and are easily distracted. They live and share their lives on the go, they want information instantly - and if they don’t get it they will move on just as fast. However, despite all of that, it’s essential that market researchers understand the lifestyle, habits and behaviours of young people. Here’s how:

The importance of digital

Gen Z are the first digital natives. They were born into a digital world and almost all (98%) own a smartphone which means that digital methods are essential when it comes to engaging with them. Market research online communities, mobile ethnography, video, social media research. If you want to attract the generation of tomorrow, you need to appeal to their digital nature. And you can forget face-to-face methodologies, too as this generation wants research that fits in with their busy lives, which means mobile methodologies will continue to grow in importance in the coming decades. 

Speak to them in their language

Thanks to social media and texting where messages tend to be written quickly and in short bursts, young people today communicate differently to older generations. Whether it’s emojis, conjoined words or abbreviations, young people can get their meaning across in fewer words. Linguistic creativity and cultural references are hallmarks of this language, where some phrases have even been born simply due to a popular meme or a mistake on social media that people found funny and co-opted. From rizz, "it's giving...", and main character energy, if you want to engage with this audience and get them to spill the tea (see what we did there?) you need to keep up.

Youth language evolves with every meme, so if you want to reach out to young people and conduct market research with them, you will need to make an effort to understand how they communicate and what they respond to, and ensure you keep up with the changes. Young people today tend to be sus(picious) of obvious “sales-y” tactics and prefer to be approached in a more casual way, which means that clever, entertaining messaging with a sense of humour can make a big impact and encourage them to share with their friends.

It’s not about shoehorning slang into your screeners, but about understanding the tone, pace, and style of how young people communicate. This helps moderators build rapport and ensures participants feel comfortable enough to share openly.

Let them know they are valued

It’s not just about talking to young people in their language, though. If qualitative market research agencies want to engage with young people, they need to know how much their opinion is valued. Younger generations today truly care about the world and want to make a difference. Gen Z, in particular, have a reputation for activism, inclusivity, and sustainbility. They like collaborating and want to benefit others. So if you want to encourage young people to take part in your market research, it’s important not just to communicate with them in their language, but to make sure you emphasise how important their role is, too. By showing them how the research will make a difference, you can make sure they’re keen to get involved and eager to take part. Slay!

Thinking about conducting market research with young people? Then make sure you download our must-read guide.