Webboh and Studenti at Paranoia Festival 2026 with “Listening to Identities”: not just research, but an open dialogue with young people

Webboh and Studenti, respectively the benchmark for Gen Z in Italy and the leader in digital educational, brought to the stage of the Paranoia Festival a research focused on the relationship that teenagers have with their parents. The survey was conducted by Webboh Lab, the first Permanent Observatory on Gen Z in Italy, together with the Sylla Research Institute.

The two Mondadori Digital communities, both media partners of the Festival-a cultural movement that puts young people's mental health at its center-involved their audience of very young people, succeeding in transforming the words and behaviors of the new generations into concrete insights, useful for understanding a change that involves not only teenagers and families, but also schools, institutions, media, brands, and organizations.

All the results of the survey, which involved over 3,000 girls and boys under 19, of which more than 2,300 chose to also leave an anonymous message to their parents, were presented at BASE Milano during the talk "Listening to identity. How Gen Alpha and Gen Z build themselves today", as part of the second day of the Milanese event of the Paranoia Festival. Speakers at the meeting included: Giulio Pasqui, Founder of Webboh; Furio Camillo, Scientific Director of Webboh Lab and the Sylla Research Institute, along with content creators Samara Tramontana and Klaus; and psychologist Marzia Targhettini, Treasurer of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy.

«The Paranoia Festival, with the collaboration of Institutions, offers young people physical places where they can meet, express themselves, and be heard. We feel the responsibility to do the same in the digital environment, through Webboh and Studenti. Therefore, with this research, we gave them a space to speak out: over 3,000 girls and boys responded, and as many as 2,300 chose to entrust us with an anonymous message addressed to their parents. A gesture of trust that is anything but taken for granted», commented Daniela Cerrato, Chief Marketing Officer of Mondadori Digital. «This demonstrates that Webboh and Studenti are two editorial platforms with which the new generations can easily interact and where they can easily open up to bring their issues to light. This is where the valuable work of Webboh Lab and the Sylla Research Institute fits in, allowing these testimonies to be elaborated into useful data to understand the perspective of the youngest», concluded Cerrato.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEENAGERS AND PARENTS: FAR FROM A FLEEING FROM THE FAMILY
The data emerging from the research conducted on the Webboh and Studenti communities disproves the clichés about isolated teenagers or those uninterested in their relationship with adults; the vast majority of young people seek an authentic connection with their parents and wish to talk about:

• personal future (77.4%),

• their emotional sphere (71.8%),

• time management and their passions (71.8%)

• friendships (70.4%).

Conversely, topics traditionally associated by adults with adolescent life slip to the bottom of the list, such as:

• affectivity and sexuality (42.2%)

• social media and online life (33.1%).

From the qualitative analysis of over 2,300 anonymous messages, what makes the difference is nevertheless the "how" to dialogue; young people primarily ask for more listening (24.6%) and less judgment (23.6%). If on the one hand 42.6% state "They love me but they don't understand me", fully 39.5% of the open responses reiterate the need to "talk more and better", confirming that even in moments of conflict, the emotional bond with the family remains solid (27.4%).

To download the survey: https://webboh-lab.it/come-gen-alpha-e-gen-z-costruiscono-oggi-se-stessi/

Webboh is the benchmark media for Gen Z. Founded in 2019, it has been part of the Mondadori Group since 2023. It boasts a monthly web and social reach of 5 million (source: Comscore social incremental reach, last 3 months media) and a fanbase - across TikTok, Instagram, Youtube, and Whatsapp - of over 6 million followers. It is stably in the top ten most influential Italian media on social media, as well as first in the Generation Z target for engagement and video views (source: Classifica Top Media Italiani by Prima Comunicazione).

Webboh Lab, born from the encounter between Webboh and the Sylla Research Institute, under the scientific direction of Prof. Furio Camillo, is the first Permanent Observatory on Gen Z in Italy. Its goal is to provide an authentic and real snapshot of Generation Z, giving voice to young people through surveys and research that transform their opinions into concrete insights for companies, institutions, and media.

The Sylla Research Institute is specialized in the design and execution of market surveys. The Scientific Director of the Institute is Professor Furio Camillo.

Studenti is the Mondadori Digital media brand leader in Italy in digital educational in the education category, with 3.4 million unique web users (source: Comscore - May 2026). It is a benchmark for the New Gen at school, but not only, thanks to a dynamic and constantly evolving editorial offer, characterized by innovative languages and content: a formula that has allowed Studenti to reach over 1.2 million followers on social media - across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp - where students can access guides and tutorials to prepare for exams, receive support to find their orientation in their scholastic and professional future, and find resources to better experience their student life in every aspect, including personal well-being.