Latest news with #CyrusBeschloss
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Gen Z is willing to sell their personal data—for just $50 a month
Rather than clocking in at a Saturday job or selling old clothes for quick cash, Gen Z has another side hustle up their sleeve: selling their personal data. To take advantage of the nearly seven hours a day Gen Z spend on their phones, a new app called launched by youth polling company Generation Lab, is now offering to pay young people for their scrolling time. By installing a tracker which monitors what they browse, buy, and stream, Verb creates a digital twin of each user that lives in a central database. From there, companies and businesses can query the data in a ChatGPT-like interface, and get a more accurate picture of consumer preferences than they would get even from a room full of Gen Zers. 'For decades, market research has been the equivalent of a doctor asking a patient to describe their symptoms. Verb is an MRI machine,' the company's pitch deck says. And Verb is willing to pay. 'We think corporations have extracted user data without fairly compensating people for their own data,' Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab, said per Axios. 'We think users should know exactly what data they're giving us and should feel good about what they're receiving in return.' Verb's maker, Generation Lab, was founded in 2016 and is based in Washington, D.C., according to the company's LinkedIn page. It currently has 6 employees listed on the company's official website. The broader global data broker market, meanwhile, is expected to grow in the next few years, reaching a projected $561.538 billion by 2029, up from $389.765 billion in 2024. In return for their personal data, Verb pays $50 or more per month to the user, depending on activity. For Gen Zers, it's a fair enough deal for something they are likely doing anyway. About 88 % of Gen Zers report being willing to share some personal data with a social media company, compared to just 67% of older adults. That is provided they are fairly compensated either with cash or a personalized social media algorithm, a 2022 Euromonitor International study found. A generation filled with contradictions, Gen Z is at the same time still taking protective measures with their data. They are clearing cookies, using anonymous browsers, and encrypting their communications twice as often as other generations. However, they also are more likely to agree with the statement, 'I don't mind being tracked by websites or apps,' compared to older generations, according to a 2023 survey from the cybersecurity company Malwarebytes. The extent of Gen Z's willingness to share personal data was apparent during the still-ongoing regulatory scrutiny of TikTok over data privacy concerns in China. Case in point: the 'Goodbye to My Chinese Spy' trend that took off as the possibility of TikTok being banned in the U.S. loomed earlier this year. 'Sending Xi Jinping a data care package because he's taken better care of me than the US government ever has,' read the text over a TikTok video of an envelope addressed to the president of China. 'To my (alleged) Chinese spy – nobody knows me like you, babe', another TikTok user posted.
New York Post
20-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Gen Z found an ingenious way to cash in on their endless doomscrolling
They're turning doomscrolling into dollars. Gen Z — the generation glued to their screens for nearly seven hours a day — has found a way to cash in on their scroll time: selling their personal data. Generation Lab, a youth polling company, just launched a cheekily named new venture called that pays young people to let an app track their every digital move — from what they browse to what they binge — all in the name of market research. Advertisement 5 Gen Z spends all day glued to their phones — now they're getting paid for it by selling their digital lives to the highest bidder. maxbelchenko – 'We think corporations have extracted user data without fairly compensating people for their own data,' Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab, said per Axios. 'We think users should know exactly what data they're giving us and should feel good about what they're receiving in return.' Advertisement In this case, that 'something' is cash. The app can pay $50 or more per month, depending on activity — simply for installing a tracker that builds a 'digital twin' to answer queries for clients ranging from political groups to venture capitalists. 'For decades, market research has been the equivalent of a doctor asking a patient to describe their symptoms. VERB is an MRI machine,' the company's pitch deck boasts. It's the latest example of Gen Z flipping the script on data exploitation. Instead of being tracked for free, they're getting a paycheck — and they're not mad about it. Advertisement 5 A youth polling firm just dropped a slick new side hustle called — and it's paying Gen Z to let an app snoop on everything from their scrolls to their streams. Mdv Edwards – 'Eighty-eight percent of Gen Z is open to sharing personal information with social media companies,' according to eMarketer, 20 points higher than older generations. And they're not just watching content — they're inhaling it. Gen Z consumes more content than any other age group, clocking nearly seven hours per day (6.6 to be exact), according to a recent Talker Research study. Advertisement 5 The app shells out $50 or more a month just for slapping a tracker on your phone — one that builds a 'digital twin' to spill your secrets to politicos and VCs. Pixels Hunter – Some even binge for 15 hours or more. They're also shelling out big bucks — around $97.70 a month — on streaming services and subscriptions. No surprise, then, that nearly two-thirds of Gen Z say they consume 'too much' media, with 66% admitting they feel overwhelmed by the constant barrage. 5 Gen Z is glued to their screens more than anyone else, clocking nearly seven hours of daily doomscrolling, according to a Talker Research study. Seventyfour – 'The first step is to figure out what's causing the excessive content consumption in the first place,' explained Natasha Thapar-Olmos, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, as per South West News Service. 'Without understanding the cause, efforts to intervene will be less effective. Try keeping a log of when the behavior tends to happen and any patterns in what might precede it.' But instead of guilt-tripping, many are monetizing. Advertisement Still, while they're open to sharing, Gen Z also wants boundaries. A 2022 McKinsey study found they're more likely than older adults to pay for privacy protections or wipe their data once they're done with a service — proof they want control, not surveillance. 5 Gen Z may sell their data — but they're not suckers. A 2022 McKinsey study found they're more likely than boomers to pay for privacy or wipe their tracks clean. jittawit.21 – Advertisement If nothing else, selling your data is giving 'selling plasma' energy — except now, the only thing bleeding is your battery. With a goal of reaching 5,000 users by fall, Verb is banking on one very Gen Z truth: if they're already being watched, they'd rather turn Big Data into big bucks.
NDTV
20-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Why GenZ Is Sharing Personal Data With Companies Willingly
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Generation Lab's new platform, allows users to earn money by anonymously sharing data, aiming for fair compensation. By tracking browsing habits, it creates digital twins for accurate market insights, shifting how companies approach data collection. The way people perceive data sharing is changing. Generation Lab, a youth polling company, has a new product called, which is revolutionising market research by offering users a chance to earn money by sharing their data anonymously, according to Axios. According to Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab, "We think corporations have extracted user data without fairly compensating people for their own data." This new platform aims to change that by providing users with transparency and fair compensation. For just $50 or more per month, users can download a tracker on their phones, which takes only 90 seconds to set up. This tracker monitors browsing habits, purchases, and streaming app usage, all while keeping bank account activity private. The data collected is used to create a digital twin of each user, allowing companies to gain a deeper understanding of consumer behavior. Imagine a political advocacy group seeking to understand where women under 30 get their news. With Verb, they can query the digital twins that fit this demographic and receive accurate answers. This method of polling is likened to an MRI machine, as described in Generation Lab's pitch deck: "For decades, market research has been the equivalent of a doctor asking a patient to describe their symptoms. VERB is an MRI machine." A significant portion of Gen Z is open to sharing personal data, with 88% willing to share information with social media companies in exchange for incentives. This demographic shift is changing the way companies approach data collection. As Beschloss notes, "We think users should know exactly what data they're giving us and should feel good about what they're receiving in return." By tracking user behavior rather than relying on self-reported data, Verb provides a more accurate picture of consumer preferences. With a goal of reaching 5,000 users by the end of September, Generation Lab is poised to disrupt the market research industry. The future of polling has arrived, and it's all about buying and selling data in a more transparent and fair way.
Axios
20-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Gen Z's new side hustle: selling data
Many young people are more willing than their parents to share personal data, giving companies deeper insight into their lives. Why it matters: Selling data is becoming the new selling plasma. Case in point: Generation Lab, a youth polling company, is launching a new product, today — betting that buying this data is the future of polling. "We think corporations have extracted user data without fairly compensating people for their own data," says Cyrus Beschloss, CEO of Generation Lab. "We think users should know exactly what data they're giving us and should feel good about what they're receiving in return." How it works: Generation Lab offers people cash — $50 or more per month, depending on use and other factors — to download a tracker onto their phones. The product takes about 90 seconds to download, and once it's on your phone, it tracks things like what you browse, what you buy, which streaming apps you use — all anonymously. There are also things it doesn't track, like activity on your bank account. VERB then uses that data to create a digital twin of you that lives in a central database and knows your preferences. Say a political advocacy group wants to know where women under 30 get their news, they can use VERB to query one or all the twins who fit that demographic in an interface that feels like ChatGPT. If a venture capital firm wants to figure out which apps are trending among young people, they can ask. The intrigue: Generation Lab says this method of polling will give companies, nonprofits, and news organizations more accurate information about how young people really think by tracking their behavior instead of asking them about it. 'For decades, market research has been the equivalent of a doctor asking a patient to describe their symptoms. VERB is an MRI machine,' Generation Lab's pitch deck says. The polling company is aiming to get to 5,000 users of the tracker by the end of September. Between the lines: Many younger Americans consider sharing data the tradeoff for being online. They're already giving away their data for free, and are even more willing to share it for cash. 88% of Gen Z is open to sharing personal information with social media companies, 20 points higher than older generations, eMarketer notes. 33% of Gen Z agrees or strongly agrees with the statement 'I don't mind being tracked by websites or apps,' compared with 22% of older adults, according to a 2023 survey from the cybersecurity company Malwarebytes. Gen Z-ers and millennials are also more likely to expect incentives or rewards for sharing data — whether that's money or a personalized social media algorithm, a 2022 Euromonitor International study found.
