Make way for Generation Z

This tech-savvy breed takes its cue from the internet, not parents, but is still loath to fly the nest, writes

GENERATIONS are moulded by seismic social events that occur during their formative years. So as Generation Z reach adulthood, how do they differ from the groups that came before them?

Dr Jean Twenge, the author of Generation Me, defines a generation as people born around the same time who experience a similar culture growing up. They’re individuals with shared historical and cultural environments and also shape culture in their own way.

“For example, millennials were born between 1980 and 1994, and grew up in a time of self-focus, optimism and tolerance. The generation after the millennials, born between 1995 and 2012, were the first generation to grow up with smartphones.”

Dr Sethulego Matebesi, head of the sociology department at the University of the Free State, says: “They’re the hashtag generation and in South Africa we also call them the ‘born frees’. They were born after 1994 and the notion of this generation is that they’ve got a total view of life.”

Matebesi says the key difference between millennials and Generation Z is that the interaction millennials experienced with technology was monitored, whereas Generation Z have been immersed in it right from the start.