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Gen Z listens to four hours of audio a day and honestly? Same.
12 hours ago
- Gen Z uses music and podcasts to cope, feel things, and maybe ignore humanity for a bit
- 86% say audio helps their mood. 67% say it’s their escape plan. 61% say it helps their mental health
- Genres like lo-fi, afrobeats, bedroom pop, and 2000s throwbacks = certified emotional support bangers
Gen Z is listening to more audio than ever — not because they’re bored, but because they’re barely hanging on, and music helps. A new Edison/SiriusXM study says 86% of Gen Zers listen to music or podcasts to boost their mood and that it’s more effective than therapy, friends, and touching grass combined.
They’re averaging 4 hours and 10 minutes of audio per day. Streaming music still takes the crown, but YouTube accounts for 20% of listening. Even AM/FM radio gets a surprising 16%, because apparently nothing hits harder than accidentally catching an 80s power ballad between traffic reports.
As for what they’re listening to, the genre spread is bumpin’: hip-hop, pop, and R&B lead the pack, but niche stuff like lo-fi, afrobeats, and bedroom pop have serious traction. Music discovery happens mostly through social media (30%), but younger teens still lean on friends and family, which is cute — until they make you listen to a slowed + reverb version of a 2006 Nickelback song “for the aesthetic.”
Here’s where it gets real. A full 67% say they use it as an escape hatch from daily life. Another 63% say it helps them cope during hard times, whether that’s a breakup, finals week, or just waking up and checking the news. 61% say it supports their mental health, and 54% say music helps them express their identity.
This is why headphones matter—not in a “these have 40mm drivers and buttery treble” kind of way (whatever that means), but in a “will this let me disappear for 90 minutes without anyone talking to me” kind of way. Active noise canceling isn’t just a spec; it’s emotional armor. Earbuds that actually fit? That’s not just comfort but a seal that makes all the difference.
And here’s the part where we say: we don’t just “get it.” We test it. At SoundGuys, we don’t bite Gen Z; we listen, we measure, and we call out BS when we see it. Every headphone we review goes through real science: lab-grade audio tests with an artificial head that costs more than your car, signal analysis software used by actual R&D engineers, and isolation tests that let us say with confidence, “Yes, these will block out your roommate’s 2 AM ramen slurping.”
We chart frequency response, battery life, microphone quality, ANC effectiveness, and even virtual listening scores based on input from hundreds of real listeners. And we don’t stop there. We wear every pair for hours in real-life scenarios to determine whether they’re actually usable.
We’re not here to sell you hype. We’re here to help you find headphones that are actually worth your money and gear that sounds good and fits your life. So yeah, if your music matters to you, and clearly, it does, we’ve got your back.