Generation Z – How Are They Different From Millennials?
Generation battles, which is better and how are we essentially different from one another depending on the time frame we were born in?
There are Millennials on one side, and the emerging Generation Z on the other side. We should find out who they are and where they find their place in this modern society.
Who are the millennials and are they as sophisticated as their name is? Millennials are set to be born between early 1980s and mid 1990s up to 2000. Many changes occurred within this time frame, and this generation was prone to change its abilities and way of thinking in comparison with the former generations.
Millennials were born when the digital world emerged and gained its recognition. This generation was born with media and communications as being nothing out of the ordinary. It has gained the name from the authors William Strauss and Neil Howe back in 1987.
The Generation Y, namely Millennials, was thought to become more aware of the society and gain perspectives of a larger scale. The Millennials are confident, sheltered, special, pressured, achieving, team-oriented, conventional, and special, according to Strauss and Howe.
This generation are the most aware of cultural differences, being the most ethnically diverse generation up to that moment in time. Prior to this generation, the freedom to pursue what you dream was not quite relevant to the generation of that time, while to the Generation Y, to follow your dreams and be confident in doing so is the most important life aspect.
RELATED: Millennials Approach to Relationships
Millennials have found themselves at the verge of unemployment, due to their high expectations as a result of a degree. They were pushed to believe so that if they pursue a great education, they will be highly rewarded afterwards. But the harsh reality has disappointed them now. The parents who taught their children so, are known now as helicopter parents. Funny thing, the parents who did not have the power to achieve this kind of freedom wanted the very best for their children only to lead them to disappointment.
This generation is addicted to mobile phones and have changed the prior workplaces only to suit them and their modern society. They find the balance between life and work really important and find networking as the most useful skill to solve problems and raise awareness.
Being born in a world of powerful branding, they are often skeptical and marketing does not work for them in various cases.
Technology wise
They are comfortable with technology changes and IoT. They can adapt really easily and even multitasking can be well done by this generation. Regarding privacy on internet, they understand and do not fear it unless it crosses the line.
It is well spread the idea that Millennials are dependent on Internet and technology, namely mobile phones and laptops. They often troubleshoot when Internet is off and they do not have a deep knowledge of the hardware behind the software. They often will need assistance from the Generation X in terms of hardware.
As a summary, research sourced by Pew Research:
Who is Generation Z? Generation Z is considered to be the improved and a more vocal version of Generation Y. It is the most diverse and inclusive generation up to this point. They lead and change.
This generation is born between 1998 and 2016, thus they are young and definitely born in a world bombarded by information and knowledge. But is this a quality or a weapon?
Generation Z is frequently called “Millennials on steroids”, due to the fact that it is so much more than the Millennials. They grew in power and in voice. We should get an insight into their youth, as they did not yet joined the workforce. In a research done by 747 insights and Collaborata, they have realized that Gen Z does not show as much patriotism now, as they become more and more inclusive.
It is with this generation that things might find a solution and gain another perspective. Demands will shift and what worked until now on the prior generations, might as well not work with this generation, as it is change-oriented for sure.
Technology wise
This generation was born with Internet, and it comes up in all aspects of their character.
They are susceptible to rumours, and quite easily influenced by media, as a result of their lack of experience in consuming the latter.
Social media wise
Gen Z does not regard privacy with as much ease as Millennials do, thus they would much rather prefer Snapchat instead of other social media, only because it offers the security and the control they seek, even if it is only on surface.
Cultural and political wise
Generation Z is the most diverse generation yet, thus it is the most inclusive as well. They highly embrace diversity and actually seek it. They look out for equity and fight for humanitarian causes. Regardings politics, many of this generation believe that the world is headed in the wrong direction and their lack of optimism is what is making them fight for their future.
To conclude, it may seem that this generation is taking over the control with much confidence and will overthrow the last generations, but is it truly so or are we heading towards emotional disbalance in terms of every aspect of one’s life?
To understand how Generation Z differs from the Millennials, their differences are listed below. But why is it important to assess these? It might be really important in how we will be handling job recruiting and how society will get ready for their bold and strong character.
1. Gen Z is concerned about privacy, while Millennials does not bother with such things. Gen Z prefers Snapchat and social medias that allow them to secure their contents, while you will find the Millennials on Facebook. This might raise awareness on the importance of personal privacy and how to not lose it.
2. Gen Z prefers face-to-face communication, while Millennials prefer texting while communicating. Slack, instant messaging, are definitely replaced by facetime, Skype and others, which allows you to communicate easily in real time. Day in, day out, this might not be the best solution to a better communication, as it may as well take up too much of your time.
3. Gen Z attention span might be significantly lower than that of the Millennials. By always following trends and strings of information, this generation is prone to always being in a continuous update. Companies and our functioning societal organs will have to figure out a way to keep them attentive.
4. Gen Z goes global. They find similarities in cultural differences and are more likely to become more diverse than their prior generations.
5. Gen Z is focused on roles, rather than a job description. They seek for multiple roles which might as well match their attention span and abilities to be always up to date. Is roles mingling really the answer to a more interactive workplace, or even a social environment?
6. Gen Z is more entrepreneurial. This is the generation which is oriented towards businesses and the freedom of entrepreneurship. It is 55% more likely to start a business than Millennials would do.
7. Gen Z seeks individuality, while Millennials are not as prone on it. The youth of this cohort will for sure look for authenticity and fairness. If a brand will not deliver what they promised, this cohort will walk away.
8. Gen Z is independent. They will not necessarily seek for traditional education as Millennials did. If they have alternatives and they are non traditional, they will for sure take their chances.
9. Gen Z are more realistic, rather than optimistic, as Millennials are. Maybe this is because so many problems arise now in our society, and this cohort will try and fight for the right cause.
10. Gen Z is competitive. Millennials are collaborative.
Even with all of these pieces of information, are we even ready to embrace the challenges of this generation? We will have to wait and see.
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Images Source: Pixabay
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