Gen Z Decoded: Channel 4's Alex Mahon

We were delighted to welcome Alex Mahon,CEO of Channel 4 as our guest speaker at The Marketing Society's Annual Lecture for 2025 at the Royal College of Physicians. Alex treated the gathered audience of Members, industry friends and guests to a fascinating wide ranging talk covering GenZ, Channel 4’s bid to moving to 50% digital plus words of wisdom on leadership.

Alex dedicated much of her presentation to the important research Channel 4 has recently carried out on young people, on what it means to be a young person in Britain today, how they spend their time, and how that makes them feel emotionally. All of which has huge implications not just for traditional broadcasters but also for us as marketing leaders and for society as a whole.

We all know as a society we’re spending more and more time streaming and on social media but for younger people who spend much less time on traditional media platforms this has caused major differences in how information is consumed.

Alex explained how Channel 4’s research uncovered some troubling outcomes of what this shift is doing to young people as the way they digest content is altering the (previous generations’) traditional life pattern - happy children, less happy as adult pressure mount, then contentment in later years. This is possibly the first generation to report a gloomier outlook than their parents. Despite being the most connected they are also the loneliest and they're becoming less happy. With Gen Z typically spending 5 hours daily on video, mostly on social platforms, the content they are digesting often lacks context, prioritises sensationalism, and is consumed in isolation resulting in increased polarisation and potential radicalisation. And we are already seeing the consequences of this.

Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust

Alex revealed another important finding from Channel 4’s research which, as leaders we need to consider, Gen Z is not one homogenous group, it consists of six distinct groups ranging from empowered "Girl Power" optimists to concerning "Zero-sum thinkers" who believe society operates as a winner-takes-all system.

• Girl power: Optimistic young women
• Fight for rights: Socially conscious activists
• Blank slates: Disengaged young men
• Boys can't be boys: Traditional masculinity defenders
• Dice are loaded: Those believing systems are rigged
• Zero-sum thinkers: Those with winner-takes-all mentality

All this adds up to trust patterns that are flattening as Gen Z ceases to follow the traditional hierarchy of trust in information sources, preferring friends, influencers, brands and advertisers which makes them more vulnerable to unregulated, polarising content.

To deal with these seismic shifts, Alex stressed the need for maintaining the prominence of public service and fact-based content alongside training AI on verified, factual content and she also recommended media companies meet young people where they are, maintain quality content and create and maintain clear brand trust to enable two-way engagement.

Channel 4 Digital Transformation

Alex also expanded on the challenges Channel 4 has faced as it undergoes rapid digital transformation with the aim of moving to over 50% digital share of business. It is working hard to manage this transition while preserving brand identity, being a risk-taker alongside commercial success and creating a system that identifies news produced with proper journalism and fact-checking.

With many years in leadership roles from many different businesses Alex gave valuable insights into successful leadership from managing change while preserving organisational culture to the importance of creating an environment where creative risks are protected, the need for empathy toward young workers facing economic challenges and the value of constant learning and curiosity.

And let’s finish off with a quote from Alex herself:

"My challenge is, at the end of this is for all of us to think about what we can do, what we can do in our businesses, what we can do to make things easier for them, what we can do to keep society together and they feel that's a positive force in a democratic society. Because if we're not doing it as people who have the media, who have the power to advertise people when they come to our businesses, just who is going to do it?"

Get more insight

If you want to find out more about Channel 4’s Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust research booklet: Read it here.

Photos from the event can be found here.

We also announced on the night that our first pulse survey from Play Verto is now live! We’re replacing traditional annual surveys with these interactive pulse surveys because they allow us to listen continuously to your evolving perspectives and act quickly on your feedback.

Please take part in our Play Verto Pulse Survey - our always-on Member listening tool. Please do take a moment to have a play, your insights will not only shape our strategies but also contribute to broader social impact initiatives.

Published 14 March 2025