13 Tips On What Is Generation Z
Who are they and what makes them tick?
Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic group succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation A (Alpha).
Popular media as well as researchers use the mid-to-late 1990s as the starting birth years and the early 2010s as the ending birth years. Generation Z’ers are the children of Generation X or older Millennials.
Members of Generation X are the very first social generation to have grown up with access to portable digital technology and the Internet. From a young age, members of this even though necessarily digitally literate, have been dubbed “digital natives”
Experts have expressed concern about the negative effects of screen time in adolescents, as compared to younger children.
Compared to earlier generations, here are 13 tips on what members of Gen Z tend to do:
- live more slowly than their predecessors when they were their age;
- have lower rates of teenage pregnancies;
- consume alcohol (but not necessarily other psychoactive drugs) less often.
- are more concerned than older generations with academic performance and job prospects,
- are more mature at delaying gratification than their counterparts from the 1960s.
- concerning sexual behavior Sexting among adolescents has grown in prevalence. The afect of this remains poorly understood. Y
- youth subcultures have not disappeared, but they have been quieter. Nostalgia is a major theme of youth culture in the 2010s and 2020s.
- globally, there are indications that the average age of pubertal onset among girls has decreased considerably compared to the 20th century, with implications for their future and their welfare.
- In addition, allergies among adolescents and young adults in Generation Z is higher than the general population;
- there is greater awareness and diagnosis of mental health conditions,
- sleep deprivation is more frequently reported.
- In many countries, Gen Z youth are more likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and psychiatric disorders than older generations.
- Around the world, members of Generation Z are spending more time on electronic devices and less time reading books than before, with implications for their
- attention spans,
- have an understanding of A.I.,
- vocabulary,
- academic performance,
- … and future economic contributions.
History of Gen Z
The designation Generation Z refers to the idea that it is the next generation after Generation X, continuing the alphabetical sequence that began with Generation Y (Millennials).
This idea of Gen X is based on The Strauss-Howe generational schema (it is anything but a theory). This meme is unfalsifiable because it contains no testable hypotheses or anything else that can be objectively measured.
The descriptions it includes and the predictions it makes have the same level of rigor and specificity as your daily horoscope in the newspaper. Neither author has (or had) any background in history, sociology, or any other related field. Their books are best read as alternative histories and speculative fiction. When they are evaluated in that light they can be entertaining. But in terms of accuracy the Strauss-Howe schema has no science to it.
The Pew Research Center surveyed the various names for this category on Google Trends. By 2019 it was found in the U.S., to be overwhelmingly the most popular. Today both the Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries both have official entries for Generation Z.
In Japan, the categoy is described as neo-digital natives, a step beyond the previous name of digital natives. Digital natives mainly communicate by voice or text, while neo-digital natives use movies, video, and video-telephony. This pattern emphasizes the change to mobile text and video from PC among this neo-digital population.
Another informal term used to refer to members of Generation Z is Zoomer. It merges the boomer, referring to baby boomers, with the “Z” from Generation Z. Zoomer in its current incarnation gained a huge following in 2018, when it was used in a 4chan internet meme satirizing Gen Z adolescents by means of a Wojak caricature called a “Zoomer” The Merriam-Webster dictionary suggests the use of the term zoomer in the sense of Generation Z as far back as 2016. It was actually placed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary in October 2021.
As of 2024 popular media and researchers loosely use the mid-to-late 1990s as beginning birth years and the early 2010s as end birth years for the meaning of Generation Z.
• The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines Generation Z as “the generation of people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.”
• The Oxford Dictionaries define Generation Z as “the group of people who were born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, who are regarded as being very familiar with the internet.”
• The Collins Dictionary define Generation Z as “members of the generation of people born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s.
• The Pew Research Center has defined 1997 as the starting birth year for Generation Z, basing this on “different formative experiences”, such as new technological and socioeconomic developments, as well as growing up in a world after the September 11 attacks.
Pew has never specified an endpoint for Generation Z, but suggested 2012 as a potential endpoint for their 2019 report.
Various news outlets now use a starting birth year of 1997, often citing Pew Research Center.
Many analytics companies, media outlets, management groups, consulting firms. and think tanks have set a 1997 beginning date for Gen. Z.
In a 2022 U.S. Census report, the designate “Generation Z” was used to describe “the youngest generation with adult members (born 1997 to 2013.
Some news outlets have chosen1995 as the starting birth year of Gen. Z.
There are differing time designations through business and governments around the world.
Arts, Culture, Personal Values and Happiness
The Economist Magazine has stated that in comparison to previous generations, members of Generation Z tend to be more:
- educated,
- well-behaved,
- stressed
- and depressed
The Takeaway
What are the patterns that have led to all this?
- In Asia, educators in the 2000s and 2010s typically sought out and nourished top students;
- In Western Europe and the United States, the emphasis was on poor performers.
- Furthermore, East Asian and Singaporean students consistently earned the top spots in international standardized tests in the 2010s.
This story is an excerpt from my course “How to Become Really Wealthy”
©Lewis Harrison, all rights reserved.
Here are a few stories in a similar vein:
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Before you go…
I am Lewis Harrison, a successful entrepreneur, and advisor to philanthropists. I am also the award-winning author of over twenty books on business, leadership, personal growth, and strategic thinking. I offer programs, courses, and coaching. I also teach seminars and speak on personal development, and life strategies. Reach out to me at askLewis.com
Here are links to four of my best-selling business books for Gen Z:
https://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Capitalism-Spiritually-Business-Teachings/dp/153982618X
To learn more about my thread — Ask Lewis — please read this short piece below…
https://lewiscoaches.medium.com/about-ask-lewis-0080d181e677
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Gen Z, Memes
