We polled Gen Z to see if they actually communicate like the kids in Heartstopper

The A.V. Club went straight source to figure out whether Gen Z even has each other's numbers saved in their phone at all

By Emma Keates | August 25, 2023 | 7:35pm

Aux Features Heartstopper

We polled Gen Z to see if they actually communicate like the kids in Heartstopper

Heartstopper Photo: Netflix / Samuel Dore

Although the cartoon leaves have settled on Heartstopper’s excellent second season, hardcore comic book fans and casual viewers alike were left with one lingering question. No, it’s not—spoiler alert—whether or not Charlie will hit send on his “i love you” message to Nick, his boyfriend, which will surely be covered in the show’s already-confirmed third season. It’s about the platform that that message may or may not be sent on in the first place.

The Heartstopper kids exclusively communicate through Instagram DMs. It’s confounding—at least to me, a ‘90s kid almost a decade out from my own angsty high school days. Much has been made of this little quirk in this generally thoughtfully-crafted show. Do director Euros Lyn or original comic writer Alice Oseman have some sort of back-door deal with the social media giant? Do these characters even have each other’s numbers saved at all? Is this how real Gen Z friend groups communicate?

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We can at least posit an anecdotal answer to that third question. And that is… actually kind of yes.

I polled a small group of self-identified Zoomers (full disclosure: one of them is my little brother) to get to the bottom of things. Of the group that responded, one quarter said they exclusively use Instagram to communicate, so that’s some major points for Lyn and Oseman. Only 63% use iMessage or texting at all—lower than I and any fellow millennials might have expected. One respondee clarified that they use Snapchat and iMessage interchangeably, while another ordered their favorites “1. iMessage 2.insta 3. snap 4. tik tok.” One outlier also responded that they use Discord exclusively, and that “none of my friends use [iMessage].” In fact, the only numbers they have saved in their phone at all are “ones I’d need in a personal emergency.”

But… why? One Instagram user—who also doesn’t have their friends’ numbers saved—cited the facts that “phone numbers change” and they have “friends in different countries,” concluding, “Instagram is easy.” For another, it’s because of the dreaded green text bubble, a theory that’s been posited for Heartstopper’s Instagram habit as well (Elle, a member of the show’s friend group, uses a Samsung phone.) “I have an Android phone, and all my friends (and acquaintances and classmates and co-workers and bosses) complain about looking at green messages, so I just message them on Instagram or through email,” our test subject said.

So, how accurate is Heartstopper really? “On a scale of 1-10, a 6,” said one respondent. “I think it’s very accurate,” said another, but with a catch: “There was at least one scene where it seemed like they hadn’t named their group chat and that was wrong.” For a show that decided to decorate one of its main character’s rooms with a neon sign that just says “music,” this may be a little too much to ask.