Mistrust of Facebook’s parent company and weariness with divisive content are among the factors driving enthusiasm for platforms such as Pinterest
The Times
Gen Z-ers looking for a social media oasis have returned to platforms such as Tumblr and Pinterest, data has shown.
Tumblr, a micro-blogging website that began in 2007 and was popularised in the late 2000s and early 2010s, said that 50 per cent of its active monthly users and 60 per cent of new sign-ups were from Generation Z in 2025.
Kim Townend, a social media consultant, said: “Gen Z are a great fit for Tumblr because Tumblr has always run on niche micro-communities, and it has this in common with Gen Z’s social platform of choice, TikTok.”
The rising popularity of Tumblr among Gen Z is a result of not just an “obsession with nostalgia” but also a “general mistrust of all things Meta”, she added.
“Before there were TikTok trends there were memes that originated on Tumblr. Even though the platforms themselves are very different, the way that communities form on them is quite similar. Tumblr was the original home of fandoms, and TikTok has taken on that mantle in recent years.”
Tumblr is not the only social media platform enjoying a surge of Gen Z traffic. Pinterest, which is used for creative inspiration and image sharing, reported that the amount of monthly boards created by Gen Z users had increased by 340 per cent in five years.
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Amanda Brennan, the former head of content at Tumblr, said: “There’s a lot to be said about the magic and serendipity of places like Tumblr and Pinterest because they feel like relics of a different time, when the internet was less about who you are and more about how you want to express your internal world. It’s a less scary way to explore parts of yourself because you don’t have to attach it to your everyday life in the same way that some other platforms require from you. It’s what you and you alone choose, not you and the algorithm.”
Freddie Wright, 26, from the United States, has been using Tumblr for ten years. “I was mostly interested in using Tumblr as an archive to keep track of all the great art and writing I was finding, but it’s become a real online ‘home’ for me since then. It’s a place I can come to and not feel like I’m being sold a product every time I click on something. That’s a huge plus for me.”
She said that the laid-back attitude of the site gave respite to many of its young users. “There’s kind of a ‘live and let live’ mentality throughout much of Tumblr,” Freddie continued. “Of course there are arguments, but I can opt out of it super easily and just chill. My opinion matters to me because it’s my opinion, but it’s just me. I don’t need to have the last word, I don’t need to be the most politically correct blogger, and cancel culture is a race I don’t have any horses in. I’m just chilling.”