Why are they called “The Pivotal Generation”?
Generation Z is aged 15 to 19 years old. Generation Z or Gen Z is the generation peeking right behind the millennials. Those who are born between 1996 and 2010 are considered Generation Z. Generation Z outsizes the 60 million millennials by one million making this group of individuals the next wave of consumers and employees that companies must understand in order to attract their interests.
Let’s examine the generational behavior differences between Gen Z and Millennials
Generational behaviors vary widely and examining the factors behind those sociological differences can result in some interesting findings. Millennials grew up with the peace and prosperity of the 1990’s. Think Escalades, Spinning Rims, Limp Bizkit, MTV Cribs, NSync and Britney Spears. Those expectations of peace were destroyed by the attacks that happened on September 11th.
Gen Z grew up in a post-9/11 America
When you think about it, Generation Z never exactly had the luxury of a threat free perspective. This perspective can be defined by the looking glass in which they’ve been experiencing America through. Imagine a post-September 11th childhood and world-view. This conditioning continues to perpetuate.
In a variety of ways, generation z shares many similarities with Millennials but there are several key distinctions.
1.) Gen Z is inseparably connected to Technology
The first being their complete reliance on technology. I must admit being a millennial I also share the trait of technology reliance and integration into my life as a whole, however, I can still remember life before computers and smart phones being a part of everyone’s daily life. Generation Z has never even seen or known the world without smartphones and social media so it’s even more ingrained for them than with my generation.
2.) Gen Z Embraces Diversity
Generation Z embraces multiculturalism as a touchstone of identity and sheds light on their attitudes regarding social dilemmas and social issues. They grew up in a world when the first Black President came to be in America and same-sex marriage came to existence and legalization. Generation Z expects this social progress to continue and their generation will reflect ethnic diversity in ways that have never been seen before.
3.) Gen Z is Pragmatic
When you grow up in a dangerous and uncertain world, having been raised by Gen X parents whose own prospects may have been stunted in the late 1990’s, you will likely stay away from risky behavior and gravitate toward safety. There are many statistics that detail that this generation doesn’t drink as much underage, and has higher levels of seat belt wearing. The statistics show that Gen Z is a more cautious class that steers away from danger and risky behavior.
4.) Gen Z is Private
Perhaps Gen-Z watched their siblings get in trouble from posting content on social media, perhaps they simply understand the platforms and their accessibility better than millennials. Mobile applications such as Snapchat and Whisper have seen explosive growth in the last few years. Facebook, on the other hand, has seen more than a 25 percent loss of this particular demographic since 2011.
5.) Gen Z Multitasks
As my friend, Jason Silva would say, “They say if you’re not a.d.d today, then you’re not paying attention. “. Nearly every measurement thus far details that Gen Z kids prefer 5 screens as compared to 2 by Millennials. Get ready for complete digital immersion.
6.) Gen Z is driven for success
Gen Z believes that being a success is very important and that it’s contingent on hard work, with nearly 70% stating success has little to do with luck. More than half agree being a success is the most important thing you can do. Where only 46% of millennials said this is the case.
7.) Gen Z are agents of positive social change
Every generation has a defining cause, boomers were anti-establishment, millennials focused on the environment and Gen Z wants human equality. The issues that gen z are most likely to support include racial equality, gender equality and sexual orientation equality.
8.) Gen Z demand truth and authenticity
The younger generations don’t identify with traditional images of perfection and are demanding that brands portray life more realistically. Nearly 80% of gen z like ads that show real people in real situations. If you are a savvy, sophisticated consumer of communications and media, you do not trust anyone. We have a crisis of trust in advertising and media among Gen Z.
9.) Gen Z ignores traditional media and advertising completely
Generation Z ignores traditional media like newspaper and print, almost completely. Media which targets generation z needs to be more swipe and less type, adopting more digital, innovative methods of communication. Generation Z values experience, not display ads. There’s even a lot of data showing that Gen Z are the largest users of ad blocking software.
10.) Generation Z is the largest Generation
Generation X: 1.44 Billion, Generation Y 1.72 Billion, Generation Z, 2.52 Billion
In summary, Gen Z is showing a lot of potential in a lot of ways, and we see why they call them the Pivotal Generation. We hope this article help shed some light on the up and coming generation.
If you have questions about generation z, event production, or experiential marketing contact BeCore today!