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Rebecca Roberts

@rebeccaroberts.bsky.social

850 followers 680 following 100 posts

Marketing and comms, specialising in youth audiences. Sport, higher Ed, youth and other chatter. Host of The Hear It Podcast and founder of Thread & Fable https://www.threadandfable.com/

www.threadandfable.com

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Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Jan 27

I've published All About Alphas today, a look at what life is like growing up in the UK. It's a sobering read, built on more than 30 research reports from the last year or so (so lots of links to more indepth data).

Let me know what you think and feel free to share it www.canva.com/design/DAGcQ...

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · 16d

And the toddlers helping teens... love this one www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Meet the three-year-olds helping anxious teens spend more time in school

As school returns, we look at a scheme that pairs teenagers with toddlers from a local nursery in a bid to help increase school attendance.

www.bbc.co.uk

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · 16d

The rise of the student loan pay off party www.bustle.com/life/student...?

These Women Paid Off 6 Figures In Student Debt — Then Popped Champagne

Because financial freedom deserves mimosas, too.

www.bustle.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · 16d

One of my favourite being that watches are BACK! Largely among Gen Alphas who with phone bans are realising that the old school little gadgets had a thing going nymag.com/strategist/a...?

No Phones Allowed? The Kids Are Getting Regular Old Watches

“Every friend group needs one kid who has a watch. I’m the watch guy.”

nymag.com

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Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · 16d

Engaging Youth this week has the latest Girls Attitude report from Girl Guiding, a fascinating report on the values gap betweeen Gen Z and hiring managers, a new Office for Students survey on sexual violence/harassment and lots more engagingyouth.substack.com/p/girls-on-s...

Girls on safety, work values, pay off parties and return of the watch

Student decision making, dating linguistics and the toddlers helping teens

engagingyouth.substack.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · 23d

Making a return here, we still around? Engaging Youth is a bumper one this week looking at Clearing & Freshers (and the nose dive into 90s lad culture on campus), what brands are Alpha's liking, the Covid Pause and more engagingyouth.substack.com/p/clearing-a...

Clearing and Freshers, Sephora kids and the Covid Pause

Lore obsession, unheatlhy fame, Alpha's top brands and why Gen Z need nature

engagingyouth.substack.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Jun 27

Not sure anyone is still checking Bsky on the reg any more... but just shared latest Engaging Youth update and it's packed with reports and articles on children and young people this week - if youth audiences are your thing engagingyouth.substack.com/p/nepo-sport...

Nepo-Sport, anti-uni, ai spiritual guides and sex norms

Mental health, soft skills, army outreach and the fridge cigarette

engagingyouth.substack.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · May 20

Do we have a news inheritance crisis pending? Latest Ofcom and Ipsos Mori data tells us more about news media habits among children and young people. Social first is here to stay but trust is the biggest cost - its news via family that has the most reliability www.threadandfable.com/post/do-we-h...

Do we have a news inheritance crisis pending?

Ofcom’s Children’s Media Use & Attitudes Report and Ipsos Online Lives of 15-24s has brought us fresh data this month and it’s news media habits where I’m first digging out some things to consider.We ...

www.threadandfable.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · May 20

Latest episode is out - we're talking about Moral Panics and Gen Z - why headlines love to jump on a stereotype and why you absolutely have to dig into the data to better understand youth audiences open.spotify.com/show/16Pi1C1...

The Hear It Podcast

Podcast · Rebecca Roberts, Thread & Fable · How can we better engage youth audiences through our marketing, communications and campaigns? Back for Season 5, the Hear It Podcast speaks with guests from...

open.spotify.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Apr 29

This was such a great conversation. I interviewed @lyndsaymcdade.bsky.social from Fearless Scotland, @crimestoppersuk.bsky.social about their successful sextortion campaign aimed at helping young victims. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

Representing youth voice within campaigns with Lyndsay McDade, Fearless

Podcast Episode · The Hear It Podcast · 29/04/2025 · 23m

podcasts.apple.com

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Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Apr 15

New episode out podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

What Gen Z really think with Zoplo's Tom Cullen

Podcast Episode · The Hear It Podcast · 15/04/2025 · 20m

podcasts.apple.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Apr 12

Testing the Hear It Podcast out on TikTok. 4 days in, around 12k views and a few hundred likes, it’s interesting figuring out what is/isn’t working on there. Since X became the worst place, I’ve needed to think about other platforms. Have a look/follow/feedback etc 🙌

www.tiktok.com/@thehearitpo...

thehearitpodcast's Creator Profile

www.tiktok.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Apr 4

Loved chatting with the @rspb.bsky.social on their approach to TikTok. Flying start to the new season of the Hear It Podcast, pun totally intended podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

a seagull is standing on top of a tree stump with a blue sky in the background .

ALT: a seagull is standing on top of a tree stump with a blue sky in the background .

media.tenor.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Apr 1

Love having a chat with Yas from @rspb.bsky.social on their approach to TikTok. As a long standing bird of the week fan- it was great to chat communities, youth audiences and what measures really count

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

RSPB Bird of the Week with Yas Devi

Podcast Episode · The Hear It Podcast · 01/04/2025 · 14m

podcasts.apple.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Mar 31

Season 6 of the Hear It Podcast lands tomorrow - some great guests coming on and sharing their wisdom and ideas of how to better engage youth audiences

#engagingyouth #youthvoice #youthmarketing #genz

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Mar 21

Latest Engaging Youth - modern masculinity, a look at Gen Alpha as consumers, should we scrap GCSE's, lockdown impact and the Gen Z uniform...
engagingyouth.substack.com/p/modern-mas...

Modern masculinity, Gen Alpha consumers, are GCSEs ok and being 'very online' is a thing of the past

Dating, drugs, brand 'lighthouses' and what's being labelled the Gen Z Uniform

engagingyouth.substack.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Mar 7

Lots shared on Engaging Youth this week; hotel of mum and dad, lost boys, is being online a human right?, is a happy youth a thing of the past, IWD campaigns, live music dips, ASMR interest and the #9to5 productivity maxing proving increasingly popular
engagingyouth.substack.com/p/iwd-unhapp...

IWD, (un)happy youth, lost boys, ASMR, 5to9 club and the hotel of mum and dad

Lots of reports, surveys and articles this week. Are boys falling behind in the UK, is being online a human right and is the UK attractive to international students?

engagingyouth.substack.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Feb 16

Zebra-striping, brainrot, dating and goth revival - plus some interesting Gen Z insights on political views of young men in the US and Germany, plus (cue Mail uproar) on UK youth view on Britain as a nation.

open.substack.com/pub/engaging...

Zebra-striping, brainrot, dating and goth revival

Drink culture shifts, youth views on politics, dating and Britain, school sport and more screen time debate.

open.substack.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Feb 8

That’s annoying - it’s so hard not focusing on one bad comment. But you know what, usually it’s more about them than you - bad day, miserable person, jealous etc, park their neggy vibes back with them. Hope you can enjoy the overall positive ones sounds like it was a great session!

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Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Feb 7

Masks-off vibe shift in the US? School phone bans and text msg scams, how to get teen girls into entrepreneurship and the Millennial pause... vs the Gen Z shake. Lots in this weeks Engaging Youth update open.substack.com/pub/engaging...

Mental health, fourth-space, phone bans and "Masks-Off Era"

Charities are calling for a MH reform, lots of data around digital/real life worlds and how to get more teen girls into entrepreneurship.

open.substack.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Jan 30

Why do run clubs have a grip on Gen Z?

*plot spoiler* for friends, dates and fun

www.threadandfable.com/post/why-do-...

Why do run clubs have a grip on Gen Z?

While running clubs aren't new, they're offering both fitness and social spaces that are rapidly on the up for Gen Z audiences.

www.threadandfable.com

Reposted by Rebecca Roberts

Reuters Institute @reutersinstitute.bsky.social · Jan 29

"It'll become more difficult to distinguish professionally-verified information from other types of content on social media. Trust will be weakened," says Brazilian fact-checker @tainalon.bsky.social in this piece on Meta's U-turn on fact-checking
reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/amid-wa...

Amid war, vicious attacks and political turmoil, global fact-checkers fear the impact of the end of Meta’s programme

Fact-checkers from Brazil, Croatia, Italy, Nigeria, Ukraine and the Philippines explain the potential effects for their revenue and their news ecosystem.

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk

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Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Jan 29

"Many of the behaviours of today’s teens and young adults are not simply thick / snowflakey / lazy, but rational responses to a world created by their elders, if not always betters. The childhood experience has deteriorated completely in the past 15 years or so."

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Jan 29

Enjoyed reading this from Marina Hyde in the Guardian

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

No, the kids are really not all right. Honestly, can you blame them? | Marina Hyde

From gen Z yearning for a ‘strong leader’ to children being swept up in riots, the portents aren’t great, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

www.theguardian.com

Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Jan 29

"Gen Z want dictators"... the challenge with headlines from surveys is they'll get the click bait. There's a lot going on for youth audiences in the UK and as Channel 4 prepares to share findings in full this week, it's this label that's been publicised the most.

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Rebecca Roberts @rebeccaroberts.bsky.social · Jan 27

Thanks for sharing Alan

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