Generational Split Reshapes Social Media F&B, Restaurant Discovery

Nearly half of Gen Z (49%) uses TikTok to search for or discover food, beverage, and restaurant content — more than double the 23% share among consumers overall, according to Datassential’s latest Social Media Sensations report. Instagram comes in a close second, with 48% of Gen Z using the platform to search for or discover food, beverage, and restaurant content, while only 23% of that generation turns to Facebook, the platform Boomers rely on most, at 24%.

Millennials search for or discover food, beverage, and restaurant content more evenly across platforms, with 46% using YouTube, 40% using Facebook, and 38% using Instagram for that purpose.

Overall, consumers (36%) are turning to YouTube most when it comes to searching for or discovering food, beverage, or restaurant content, followed by Facebook (32%) and Instagram (30%).

Forty-two percent of consumers also follow at least one restaurant on social media, rising to 55% of Millennials and 50% of Gen Z, and 30% of consumers overall bought a food or beverage from a restaurant because they saw it on social media. Additionally, half of Gen Z consumers say they discovered a new restaurant through social media, compared to 34% of consumers overall.

Facebook is currently the social media platform consumers spend the most time on at 32%, versus 30% for runner-up YouTube. It’s worth noting, however, that these two social media platforms frequently trade places. Looking closer at specific generations, only 8% of Gen Z consumers spend the most time on Facebook, compared to 53% of Boomers.

The digital detox impulse that defined 2025 also appears to have largely faded: 12% of consumers say they deleted a social media app or deactivated an account in the past year, compared with 30% in 2025. Meanwhile, 16% of consumers took a break from social media (versus 31% in 2025), and 11% of consumers set a time limit for social media usage (versus 25% in 2025).