{"id":22746,"date":"2024-06-06T10:32:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T14:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=22746"},"modified":"2024-06-06T10:32:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T14:32:27","slug":"new-survey-finds-that-almost-half-of-gen-zers-live-a-double-life-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/06\/new-survey-finds-that-almost-half-of-gen-zers-live-a-double-life-online","title":{"rendered":"New Survey Finds That Almost Half of Gen Zers Live a ‘Double Life’ Online"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"gen<\/a>
Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do you have an online secret that no one knows about? Nearly half of Gen Zers feel like they\u2019re living a \u201cdouble life\u201d regarding their offline and online personas. A survey of 2,000 Americans, split evenly by generation, found that 46 percent of Gen Z respondents feel their\u00a0personality online vastly differs\u00a0from how they present themselves in the real world.<\/p>\n

However, they\u2019re not the only ones hiding a different side of themselves behind a screen. In fact, 27 percent of respondents across all generations share this feeling, with 38 percent of millennials, 18 percent of Gen Xers, and 8 percent of baby boomers claiming to live \u201cdouble life\u201d online. The poll also asked Americans if they\u2019re keeping their\u00a0online persona a secret\u00a0from any family members \u2014 and one in five said yes. Specifically, 31 percent of Gen Z respondents admitted their online world is a secret from family, while 27 percent of millennials said the same.<\/p>\n

OnePoll conducted this research on behalf of Lenovo for the latest iteration of its \u201cWork for Humankind\u201d project, called \u201cMeet Your Digital Self.\u201d In this project, Lenovo brought the online personas of two Gen Z individuals to life as three-dimensional avatars. The avatars not only resembled each individual but also responded to real-time conversation, adjusting their tones, movements, and facial expressions based on individual quirks and emotions. The goal was to enable meaningful conversations between the Gen Z participants, their families, and the avatars, deepening understanding of each of the three participants\u2019 online worlds. The survey highlighted the value of these conversations, as 53 percent of Gen Zers said it\u2019s easier to express themselves online than offline. That\u2019s compared to 40 percent of respondents overall \u2014 including 49 percent of millennials and 35 percent of Gen X. Less than a quarter (23 percent) of baby boomers said the same.<\/p>\n