Who Is Gen-Z?
For the past decade or so, the conversation on generations has been dominated by talk about the young Millennials, but now there are some new kids on the block and they don’t play.
Who is Gen-z?
Generation Z, also known as Zoomers, is the generation that, according to the Pew Research Center, was born between 1996 and 2012. In 2021, the adults of this generation are between the ages of 18 and 24.
This generation is reshaping American society by being the most diverse generation in the United States so far, with 48% of them being non-white. Almost a quarter of this generation are also the children of immigrants with at least one foreign born parent. That means many of them see the world outside of the Wastern, Euro-centric lens.
Education
Gen Z is the most educated generation in the United States. Although much of this generation is still under the age of 18, 59% of those old enough are enrolled in colleges and universities. The high school dropout rate is also lower for this generation than any other generation and minority and women enrollment in college is on the rise as well with more Women, Latinx, and Black students getting higher education.
But even though they have higher rates of University enrollment they have to deal with higher college tuition costs and more long term loans than any other generation. According to Collegeboard, in the past 30 years, the average tuition of a public four-year school has tripled for public two year institutions and doubled for non-profit four-year institutions, and tuition costs continue to rise.
Mental Health
Along with being the most diverse and the most educated, members of this generation are more likely to be open about mental health struggles. However, studies show that Gen Z is also the most stressed generation, and college debt is the least of this generation’s concerns.
In 2020, many Gen Zers had to switch from in-person school to online school overnight as the COVID-19 global pandemic took over. Expected to do well in school to be able to compete in the increasingly competitive workforce, these students were put under a lot of pressure. Many of those graduating during the pandemic and economic downturn struggled to find opportunities after college and have had to move back home.
Another stressor for this generation is climate change. A survey done by Amnesty International found that Gen Z believes that climate change is the most pressing issue of our time. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report late 2018 saying we have just 12 years (now 9) to limit the effects of global warming before they become irreversible, but that’s not their only worry.
Prior to the global pandemic, 75 percent of Gen Zers cited gun violence, particularly school shootings, as a significant source of stress according to the American Psychological Association. After the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 that killed 17 people, students banded together to create the March for Our Lives movement leading to a March on Washington and thousands of students walking out of classrooms across the nation.
Being the most diverse generation in the United States, this generation is also affected by police gun violence against black and brown bodies as well as harmful immigration legislation against refugees, migrants and undoucmented immigrants.
Politics and Activism
Along with a global pandemic, 2020 saw a wave of Black Lives Matter protests after the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, at the hands of the police. The protests, which had started in Minneapolis, Minnesota spread like a wildfire across the US and across the world. Many of the people attending, organizing and leading these protests were Gen Zers. But this was not their first protest.
During his term as President, Donald Trump signed into effect a Muslim ban and attempted to cancel DACA. Because about a quarter of Gen Zers are the children of at least one immigrant parent, and about two-thirds of DACA recipients are under the age of 26, this generation was not having it. Protesters, many of them young people took over airports to protest Trump’s Muslim ban and took to the streets to protest ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) separating children from their parents.
Gen Zers tend to lean left on most issues from racism, homophobia, transphobia and Islamophobia to immigration issues and women’s rights. Even those who identify as conservative are more progressive on issues, such as climate change, than previous generations, and that shift is showing in the polls.
The 2020 Election saw record breaking youth voter turnout. Gen Z voters, between the ages of 18 and 24 voted more for Biden than any other age group. This trend is expected to continue to increase in the next few years, as more and more Gen Zers turn 18 and are eligible to vote while the number of older voters continue to decrease.
Digital Natives
As digital natives, this generation is quick not only to hop on social media platforms but use them to organize and get their message across.
After George Floyd’s death many young people took to Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to spread awareness, share their stories, sign petitions and raise money. They also used social media to register people to vote and organize around the election.
In June 2020, then President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Tulsa Oklahoma despite COVID -19 dangers. In protest, young TikTokers and K-pop stans organized to inflate the expected numbers of attendees at the rally. They called the campaign to request free tickets, then never showed up. They also added tickets and merchandise to the shopping cart but never checked out.
Because of the false data, the campaign planned an event in a stadium with a capacity of 19,000 as well as a second event outside, but only about 6,000 people attended the event. Trump’s campaign blamed the low turn out on protests but reporters at the scene said there weren’t many protests in the area. Using social media to organize they embarrassed the Trump campaign.
As this tech-savvy generation starts entering the workforce, our world will become more and more digital.
Zellenials
Now that you know that Gen Z is tech savvy, fierce and opinionated, there’s one other group of young people that you should also watch out for: Zellenials. Zellenials are the subgeneration caught between Millennials and Generation Z. They are often those born between 1995 and 2000.
This generation relates to both Gen Z and Millennials yet don’t quite fit in with either one. They are smart enough not to eat tide pods but also fired up about political and social issues. They still remember VCR players and used landlines to call their friends when they were young but are also digital natives in the tech world.
Caught between two generations drew a lot of attention, this sub-generation is one to look out for and not underestimate.
By Hanin Najjar
