Students of TRU on the Campus Activity Centre steps.
There are mixed reactions when people hear ‘Gen Z’. Some will roll their eyes or scoff, others might identify with the term, and there are some who have no idea what’s being talked about. The general conclusion is that the generation is young, dumb, and technology addicted; that they have no idea what’s going on in the world. But this is simply not true, and I will explain why.
For some background, Gen Z or Generation Z is often lumped together with Millennials, but really, they come after the Millennials and are an entirely new generation. The two under 30 generations have some similar characteristics, but if you ask either generation neither wants to be grouped with the other. Gen Z refers to people born between the years of 1997 and 2012, ranging from 9 to 24 years old and whose parents are usually of Generation X. The official years and name of Gen Z were determined by Pew Research and spread through different influences in the media such as journalists, marketers, and consumer researchers. Though, there are more creative names such as ‘iGeneration’ and the ‘Centennials’ they haven’t been as thoroughly adopted as ‘Gen Z’.
This generation appears vastly different from the generations before them. It is a generation that has strong opinions, carry large concerns, and want to revolutionize the world; considering their current ages, they are overwhelmingly political. Many Gen Z-ers support moves toward equality, better mental health, and addressing climate change as they believe it’s time to make intense changes in a better direction; that the world is running out of time to only take baby steps. They don’t think that the current governments of the world are doing enough in the aforementioned areas, or that they are listening to the concerns of young people. As a result, Gen Z is more likely to take matters into their own hands by boycotting companies or products, signing petitions, and attending protests.
Gen Z has largely been defined by its connection to technology. Deemed the first generation of ‘digital natives’ because they were raised with a bombardment of personal technology and worlds of information at their fingertips, Gen Z can easily navigate the internet with a sense of intuition that other generations have had to learn over time. To compare, older generations such as Gen X and Baby Boomers often need to research the posts they see on social media or look for sources when reading an article, but Gen Z seemingly has an uncanny sense of what’s authentic and true versus what isn’t. Gen Z is more likely to find reliable information through social networks and web apps and share the information they think is important, through methods such as Instagram story posts.
Other moments that have helped define Gen Z is the recession of 2008, the legalization of same-sex marriage, and seeing the first African American president of the United States. It’s been determined that Gen Z is now one of the most financially conscious generations due to watching their parents go through financial struggles early in their childhood. Many have been financial planning and saving money from very young ages, valuing quality over quantity, resulting in very low materialism compared to older generations. Gen Z has also been determined to be the most accepting generation, being the most open to race and sexuality diversity; likely because many Gen Z-ers themselves identify as a minority or as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. They’ve grown up during an era of acceptance and positive change, and they want to continue that.
These are small things in the grand scheme, and may not have been overly influential to other generations. But these few things have created ripples in defining characteristics and personalities of the generation. This is a generation with connections to many people and access to all sorts of information; they are constantly up to date on current events -important and unimportant alike. They have a broad perspective of life yet know what is significant to them and their needs. And they are willing to challenge others for their beliefs, no matter if it’s their parents or CEOs of major companies.
They are a generation of passion and fight, willing to stand up for their beliefs and will find the credible information to back up their position.