Guess the number of hours you are spending on Instagram every week. Chances are it’s quite a few hours. With only a few days left in the year, the 2024 Instagram Trend Talk highlights are here to show how Gen Z will spark off conversations in 2024.

“While in many aspects Indian Gen Z’s are similar to their global peers, these trends also show specific areas where they are different and unique,” said Paras Sharma, director of content and community partnerships, Meta, India. Instagram’s insights are derived from a survey that was carried out by the trend forecasting firm WGSN and Instagram, spanning the US, the UK, Brazil, India, and South Korea.

India is setting trends

In various categories, including food, beauty and fashion, Indian Gen Z has embraced and explored emerging trends, from Ayurvedic ingredients to vegan products, plant-based meats and adaptogens. They are most excited to try diverse food and ingredients.

Career goals

Next year, Gen Z in India has ranked staying healthy, exploring career paths, and traveling as top priorities. In contrast to other nations, Gen Z in India exhibits a stronger focus on their career pursuits. Forty-three per cent hoped that 2024 would be their self-improvement “era”.

What Jhumka?!

India’s Gen Z demonstrates a greater enthusiasm for creatively showcasing fashion trends, like GRWM (Get Ready With Me) and thrifting, where creators ingeniously integrate products into their content. Examples include DIY approaches featuring saris and jhumkas. Forty-four per cent of Gen Z in India is interested in DIY and wearing clothes in unexpected ways. A fourth of them said their favourite beauty trend is getting a new hairstyle.

Their fandom

Virtually every Gen Z in India relates to a fandom, ranging from the BTS Army and Swifties to gaming enthusiasts invested in Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Roblox. Nine out of 10 Gen Z members consider themselves part of a fandom. India has the highest percentage of sports superfans, as compared to Gen Z from other countries.