Are Gen Zers taking Millennials’ digital habits one step further? That may be the case when you examine the data that describes their digital inclinations and IQ. It’s time to parse through the data and describe exactly how Gen Z is taking Millennials’ tech savviness one step further.
Gen Z is Large
Currently, slightly over 1 in 4 Americans or about 27% of the population is a Gen Zer. They were born between 1997 and 2012. So, the youngest are entering high school and the youngest are beginning their careers. But they are already making their mark in a digital sense in far more profound ways than Millennials did.
Gen Zers are True Digital Natives
Just take a look at the statistics. You will see that digital savviness and an inclination to all things digital runs in their blood. Over 95% of them own a smartphone. So, that gives them lots of opportunities for digital interactions, especially on social media platforms. About 83% of Gen Zers own a laptop and 78% own a gaming console that operates off the Net.
Millennials may have had digital technologies when they went to school, but Gen Z was the first generation to grow up with digital devices. Older Millennials had a cell phone when they were juniors in college. Younger Millennials were juniors in high school when they got smartphones. But most Gen Zers got smartphones when they were about 12 years old.
More than half of Gen Zers, according to one survey, don’t feel right if they don’t have their smartphones with them at all times. And as mentioned earlier, they are heavily into social media. The most popular platform among them is Instagram. Also, about 25% of Gen Zers spend at least 5 hours a day on TikTok.
However, that may be replaced with Facebook in the near future. Gen Z is the first generation in history to truly live off of their smartphones. In 2021, 60% of Gen Zers used their smartphones to stream music daily. About 37% of them listened to podcasts weekly. Most Gen Zers also spend a little over three hours a day streaming videos.
Also, approximately 44% of Gen Zers stream Netflix for 3 hours a day. About 80% of that generation has a Netflix subscription.
Gen Z is Nostalgic for the Good Old Days
The good old days for them aren’t the 1940s or the 1950s. They’re the early 2000s. Yes, Gen Zers crave products that were popular at the turn of this century. But they want these products to be marketed with a new sense of sustainability and social awareness. Three trending hashtags on Instagram may lend support to that:
- #y2kfashion
- #y2kaesthetic
- #y2kstyle
That means low-rise jeans, a fashion trend during the early 2000s are popular again. That can be confirmed by Depop’s sales revenue. It’s a fashion resaler app, and over 90% of its customer base is under 26. It’s also selling ‘vintage items’ from the early 2000s like crazy.
Tech products from the early 2000s are also seeing a resurgence in popularity thanks to Gen Z. The flip phone was popular at the turn of the 21st century. I had a flip phone for about 14 years, starting from 2001. Flip phones are making a comeback because they’re not connected to the Net and because they’re simple to use.
Gen Z is Taking Millennials’ Love for Tech a Step Further
Indeed, Gen Z is taking Millennials’ love for tech a step further by demanding that old items that were trending when Millennials started to enter the workforce be brought back but with a tech and eco-friendly twist and emphasis. They are also very digitally connected and crave digital experiences above anything else.
