Gen Z flocks to BirdTok as birding takes flight: ‘It’s a craving for something real’
Social media and Shazam-like birdsong apps drawing young people to hobby as they seek a gentler connection to the outside world Sorry Elon, but they’re not your kind of tweets. Social media users are flocking to TikTok to join a burgeoning trend for birding videos as the hobby attracts a younger demographic. With the internet ever more cluttered with polarising, shouty and AI content, evidence is…
A surge in birding popularity among Gen Z is being driven by social media and bird-related apps, as young people seek a more authentic connection with the natural world. TikTok users are flocking to videos featuring birds, with UK posts for #birdwatching and #birdtok increasing by a third in the past three months. The global number of posts using these hashtags now stands at one million.
Steven, a relatively tame seagull, has garnered over 52 million views for a video of him being fed raw Tesco salmon fillet. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' posts have received nearly nine million views over the past year, with a third of them coming from users under the age of 24. Birders attribute the trend to the popularity of apps like Merlin, a Shazam-like bird song identification tool, as well as a renewed curiosity about nature, a desire for analog hobbies, and the impact of social media.
Jack Baddams, a Derbyshire-based bird enthusiast with 300,000 followers, attributes the boom to the accessibility of birding. Anyone can walk outside and see a bird, and online communities have formed around this shared interest. Baddams, who has 300,000 followers, has placed identification rings on birds to help monitor population changes and migratory patterns.
Tim Jones, a professional ornithologist from York, notes that social media has helped draw attention to a hobby that was previously not associated with younger age groups. Birding stars on Instagram include Jacob Cobb, who aims to find every bird in the world, and US birder-singer Bonner Black. Jones also points out that the term "birding" is now more popular among younger people than "birdwatching," as it better reflects the diverse age range of hobbyists.
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has reported a surge in interest in events tailored for young birders, including bird camps, walks, and talks for 11-25-year-olds. Samuel Levy, a member of the BTO's youth engagement team, believes that people typically get into birding between the ages of 10 and 13. However, the dominant demographic among social media followers is thirtysomethings.
The RSPB welcomed the growing interest in birdwatching among younger demographics, emphasizing that this engagement can be an important first step towards building a lasting connection with the natural world.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Technology's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
