How Instagram Threads Became the WikiHow for Gen Z
How does a Google-averse generation figure out how to deal with acne, fake friends, and boy trouble? On Instagram, of course.
When Sophie, a 13-year-old in Arizona, began eighth grade last year, she wanted to start things off on the right foot. Instead of picking up the latest issue of Teen Vogue or googling around for advice, she reached for her phone and followed a slew of “thread” accounts on Instagram.
These accounts provide her, and the thousands of other teens and tweens who have become addicted to them, with a daily feed of highly digestible information about how to tackle acne, become more popular at school, deal with fake friends, get a boyfriend, keep your grades up, and more. They have names like @selfcaresis, , and , and they look like this:
