Generation Z is defined as people being born in America from 1995-2012. Being born in 1997, I am one of the first of this generation to reach adulthood. As the last of the millennials finish graduating college, Generation Z, also known as iGeneration or iGen, are rapidly growing up. Not much is known about this generation, but we do know a few things and can predict the rest. As Millennials are making headline as America’s worst generation, iGen is working behind the scenes to change America for the better.
Debatably one of the most significant reasons is due to social media. Unlike the Millennials who grew up parallel with the internet, iGen grew up with it already in place. Many older generations say that this had ruined us. There has been research that has said that iGen has an attention span of a whole 8 seconds, but really we have something called an “8 second filter.” This is a highly evolved filter that is caused due to all the information that is being thrown at us from all different angles and places all at once. It is perceived as a lack of a long attention span because if it doesn’t immediately grab our attention then we move on. But when something does grab an iGen’s attention then we don’t let go until we know almost everything about it. This makes us a highly educated group. With all the information flowing through our devices, averaging at about 5 per person, we are always processing information for relevance, credibility and importance. Also, because information is readily available, we love to learn and continue learning through our lives which makes us very adaptable.
iGen has also grown up hearing the terrors and uncertainties of the past and present. We were alive when 9/11 and the War on Terror was and is still being waged. We lived through a recession, one that could have been worse than it was, but was still pretty terrible, and it touched the lives of every person in America. We are also living through and are actively involved in a modern civil rights movement. Rights issues of women, culture, race, etc. are always in the media and we continue to fight the norm every day. Long story short: we care. In research done by Northeastern University, 61 percent (consisting of iGen in high school and college) believe that the growing gap between the rich and the poor will harm their generation. We want to make a difference to make America better.
Generation Z is also very entrepreneurial but we still value education. In the same study from Northeastern University, “42 percent expect to work for themselves during their career, even though just one in nine Americans are self-employed” and another 79 percent want internships and integral experiences in college programs. We not only want to be educated, but we want to take back the American spirit of the hard working self-employer.
We are not as dumb or distracted as you may think and we are definitely not our predecessors. The past does not define us. We are educated, diverse, accepting, social, adaptable, and spirited. Don’t underestimate us because we are the future.
