Gen Z: A new outlook

Source: Gen Z _ A word cloud featuring Gen Z. This is licensed und… _ Flickr

Born between the years 1995 and 2015, the Gen Z population forms most of the young adult community in the world as of now. This is important considering most of the framework of a nation is formed by the actions of the youth and their opinions have considerable weightage upon the decision-making process.

Other than this, their thought process is also a driving factor in how the generations after them will perceive the world- what they will teach is what the future generations will learn. So, their role in society isn’t to be underestimated at all. Yet, there are quite a few challenges this group faces because of issues like a generational gap and advent of technology when they were growing up. Are their views justified enough? Or are they too lenient like the older generations take them to be?

About the generation

Other than the time period between which they were born, older generations use a few other characteristics to identify the Gen Z folk:

The one thing that sets this whole generation apart from its predecessors is the progress in technology as they were growing up. Using technology comes naturally to them and they can more or less be considered the “digital pioneers”. This has both its cons and benefits: while they have the ability to gather and manipulate information from any part of the world, using this has a direct impact on their mental health and leads to health conditions like stress, depression, anxiety, reduced attention span, and poor self-opinion.
They are very diverse, when compared to the previous generations. A survey, conducted by taking the American population into consideration, shows that Gen Z would be the last generation to be consisted of a majority of white people- just 51%. A lot of other ethnic groups constitute the rest of the demographic and the next generation- Generation Alpha- will have only 48% of a white majority.
Mental Health awareness reached a peak during the 2010s and this can also be attributed to the efforts of this generation which is very vocal about these issues. This is because Gen Z folks are the ones who have started reporting mental health problems more so than their predecessors. This has led to an increase of mental health awareness and Gen Z is labelled the “loneliest generation”.
The wars and financial crisis in the 20^th century have made it very obvious to Gen Z people that being financially minded is the best way to go. One of their prominent traits is being financially responsible, and believing in security and pragmatism.
And lastly, they are also very politically vocal and progressive. Many people like staying up-to-date with the political agendas around them and also speak up about their thoughts and opinions more often.

Notable examples of involvement

With their outspoken courage and readiness to get involved in everything, the Gen Z community has spoken up about a lot of issues which weren’t that discussed about by the Millennials or the Gen X folks.

The Workplace

The main focus for a majority of the members of this younger generation is the way the workplace operates and manages their issues. While many people of the older generations have argued that Gen Z is getting “coddled”, is “entitled” and “wants to have it all”, Zoomers (members of Gen Z) wear such accusations like a badge of honor. Their intense belief in work-life balance, value alignment, and fair pay makes it easy for them to ignore these accusations and they focus on fighting for their rights in the workplace.

This fight has been characterized by frequent breaks from the work life, quitting as long as job satisfaction is achieved, and looking for jobs with bigger pay cheques. These were but preferences for the Millennials but now Zoomers look at them as expectations which should be fulfilled. Any criticism is shrugged off and they continue to look for better opportunities for themselves. All in all, a job according to them, is supposed to be more humanistic in nature.

This has been justified by using some reasons:

They are working to bring positive change in the workplace environment of the future generations as well.
Their economic landscape is not the same as what it was for the generations before them. So, it is fair for them to expect bigger pay cheques and not solely look for a career that offers “personal development”.
The COVID pandemic added to the already existing economic difficulties their generation was facing. It has sped up the pace of inflation and other economic precarities.

Political and Environmental issues

In opposition to a theory that claimed that Zoomers are “coddled”, a Stanford-affiliated study showed that Zoomers are, instead, self-reliant, pragmatic, and highly collaborative.

According to this study, members of the Gen Z community care highly about others and are very interested in addressing issues like climate change and war. This research was completed by Roberta Katz, a senior research scholar at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) and her co-authors, Sarah Ogilvie, Jane Shaw, and Linda Woodhead.

Zoomers have formed a significant portion of the voting population in every nation and their political clout is only going to grow from here on out. Since diversity is already a for-sure thing for this community, it is not surprising that they are very politically active and are quite progressive and pro-government. Seven in ten Zoomers look up to the government to do better as compared to a comparatively lesser share of Millennials. But unfortunately, they are also the generation which has lost the most faith in politics because of how frustrating it can be. So, they are not sure if the government is going to do something for sure but they still look up to it as their best option.

54% admit that climate change is a real problem and is caused by human activity- Gen Xers, Boomers, and Silents don’t agree so much about this. They are also going to be the best-educated generation as of yet! Among 57% kids have joined college which is much better compared to the 52% in 2003 for millennials and 43% in 1987 for Gen X.

Activism

As for activism, the increased interest and involvement of Zoomers can be attributed to technology. Technological advances have made it easier for people to voice out their opinions and fight against challenges like economic distress, social unrest, climate change, and inequality. Many youths have mobilized into action as they have received access to information on the net which keeps them updated about whatever is happening in the world.

Youth movements aren’t a new thing- they have been around for centuries. But the gen Z ability of mobilizing, communicating, and gathering support is unique to their group and sets them apart from every other generation. Unlike their predecessors, Zoomers are constantly consuming and knowledge about social issues and news. This consumption makes it hard to stay unaware about whatever is happening.

Reports show that 70% of Zoomers are involved in something political or social in nature. These people aren’t proper activists but they are involved and advocate for rights and equality. Only one out of five Zoomers will willingly work for a company which doesn’t share their values.

So, Gen Z is disillusioned and anxious. But it is also the most ambitious and progressive generation. These are quite the contrasting sides of the same coin. But in some cases, something is better than nothing. Maybe, what the experts are predicting will turn out to be true and Gen Z will actually bring about the change we so desperately require as of now.

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