What Millennial Think About Generation-Z in 2020

Generation Z is basically us but with smartphones and an inexplicable attachment to athletic wear. They have more or less the same social tendencies, political leanings, and a few other generational traits as us.

However, there is one noticeable difference; they are a bit more serious and mature than we were at their age. Speaking as an older millennial, we generally had a very rose-tinted, optimistic view of the world as teenagers and young adults because of the times in which we grew up. It wasn’t as hard to make a living when people my age were children. Most of the people working in convenience stores like 711 and Wawa were able to rent one or two-bedroom apartments with leftover money, and casino dealers owned their own houses with a bit of budgeting. The philosophy degree that someone held just because they wanted it still enabled them to find themselves a decent job.

Change of Times      

Events like the Columbine and 9/11 changed things. Generation Z watched neighbors, relatives, and sometimes their parents lose their jobs and homes in the housing crisis. They experienced people receiving layoff after layoff and they grew up under the shadow of terrorism and had the knowledge that some random gunman could go postal and fill them with lead any time drilled into them from kindergarten. They technically watched the millennials scapegoated for almost every social ill facing and knew that the system or previous generations would not protect them. Even with a practical and useful college degree, their chances of achieving a good career were still far from assured.

In short, they watched the old system fail at a very susceptible, young age and it has made them a bit more cynical and sober than millennials were at their age. Therefore, they make things much more seriously.

How technology has modified attitudes

Gen-Z is the generation that came after the millennial generation. Generation X who came home to dial-up phones and play solitaire with traditional cards has not lived their lives with the internet and technology that Gen-Z has lived their entire lives with. They are growing up in a changing generation. Technology has become so much more sophisticated, so rapidly that the differences between each generation are becoming greater and greater, leaving behind a bigger room for disagreement and blame. Some say that this generation will perhaps ruin America, past its general state of disarray. Others point out the fact that this generation’s attitude might benefit America; perhaps the attitude provided by Gen- Z will take off the pressure of expectations that no one wishes to follow.

These young people are growing up in an incredibly unique time in history; we have driverless cars, personalized medicines, and wars without borders. Most have used tablets and smartphones nearly their entire lives having spent countless hours of their teen years texting and posting and streaming and surfing and linking and sharing etc. But gen-z is far more than a reflection of their digital behavior. Many tend to be pragmatic and inventive filled with a great sense of responsibility and compassion.

Gen-Z is ambitious                 

Generation z embodies a great entrepreneurial spirit, nearly half of them plan to start their own businesses in the future but being an entrepreneur is more than just being their own bosses or taking control of their career paths, it’s a way to leverage their passions to create a social change. See a problem, create a business and work towards a solution and they’re not trying to create a mega-company many would just like to have a small company that would focus on the issue that they care about because for them making a difference is far more important than making money. 

This generation can be described in 4 words; Impatient, Distracted, Entitled, Apathetic, an acrostic of the word IDEA.

 Gen-Z is impatient because they are the first digital generation and we have spent a lifetime providing them with electronics that add extra dopamine to their brains to cause them to be addicts of instant gratification.

Gen-Z is distracted because we have left them a planet that is a mess and they have to solve everything; global warming, race and gender discrimination, food and security, homelessness, just the name of a few. Wouldn’t you be distracted when you have so many things to do? Where do we start?

Generation Z is entitled. Yes, entitled to the same self-evident truths that are promised in the declaration of independence. Unfortunately, the way millennials have left the planet it’s unlikely that any of them ever experienced life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

And finally, Generation Z is apathetic because they have spent a lifetime of millennial feeding them food that makes them brain dead so why would anyone want to get off the couch when the food they’ve eaten causes them to sleep and given what we do politically and the choices that we make as parents and the government officials that we elect to represent our children.

Gen-Z isn’t a generation that’s going to sit back and wait for others to develop a solution. They challenge our system in unexpected ways and despite our hesitancy, we need to embrace their desire for change and cultivate their passions because having them do it their way may be exactly what will save us all. 

References:

Picture1: https://www.bbva.com/wp-content/uploads/en/2017/04/millennials-mobile-bbva.jpg

Picture2: https://d3jh33bzyw1wep.cloudfront.net/s3/W1siZiIsIjIwMTgvMTIvMDYvMDEvMjIvMzQvNTgxL3JlbGF5c21pbGxlbm5pYWxzLTc3MHg2OTAuanBnIl0sWyJwIiwidGh1bWIiLCIxMDAweDkwMFx1MDAzZSJdXQ

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