Z MARKS THE SPOT

Baby Boomers, Gen X and Millennials … and now Generation Z has arrived. With the latest wave of teenagers coming of age this year, young Australians are using their voices like never before, building personal brands and striving for authenticity in an inc

With the latest wave of Generation Z teenagers coming of age this year, young Australians are using their voices like never before.

Generation Z. They’re the first generation to simultaneously straddle a virtual world and physical world in their formative years. The first generation to grow up admiring the Instafamous and who obtain regular life advice from YouTubers. A generation for whom lifelong learning and ongoing formal education will be a reality as they adapt to approximately 17 jobs across five careers in their lifetime. A generation for whom global travel has become a rite of passage in transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. A generation who has grown up not only as content consumers but content co-creators and collaborators, having a voice from the youngest age. A generation who wrestles with FOMO as everything seems to have accelerated – from keeping up with the latest technology to fast-fashion trends to managing streaks on Snapchat. A generation who is highly literate in understanding the subtext of memes and who has created a new global youth language. TBH (to be honest), I’m NGL (not gonna lie) – Gen Z is lit – IDEK (I don’t even know) how they are navigating the complexities IRL (in real life) while managing a personal brand and constant bombardment of the online world.

Generation Z refers to those born between 1995 and 2009, the cohort following Millennials, who are also known as Gen Y and who were born between 1980 and 1994. Gen Zs are our school students, our higher-education students, and they are the generation entering today’s workforce. While they make up approximately one in 10 workers today, they will comprise approximately three in 10 workers by 2025.

When conducting interviews with numerous Gen Zs, I asked them what has shaped their generation. The overwhelming response? Technology. It is not only the number of devices and how frequently they interact with digital technologies, but how technology has shaped their thinking, facilitated communication, redefined community, affected their sense of identity, influenced their consumer preferences and become core to their learning and like a constant companion to them.

The Next Gen Study, based on the results of a recent online survey of 854 Vogue Australia readers, found that those aged 14 to 24 who bought clothing in the past year spend on average $1,553 per year on clothes, with an additional $541 on shoes, $448 on cosmetics and $156 on hair-care products (add $153 for those who have purchased beauty and hair appliances). For those who buy fragrance, add $234 to the budget. The list of spend goes on – handbags purchases totalled $543, and those who bought sunglasses in the past year spent an additional $193.

While for people of different generations, that may seem like a modest amount of the yearly budget, these same survey respondents reported an average annual income of $27,087. (Many in this age group are still full-time school students or further education students, with just some employed full-time.) With an eye on inflation, I do wonder how these categories of spend have changed since the Builders, Baby Boomers and Generation X were in the same life stage. It’s my suspicion that maintaining an online personal brand is impacting these categories of spending far beyond just the cost of the monthly mobile phone bill. This includes the need to change outfits more regularly so as not to be seen wearing a repeat ensemble on Instagram, even when at a party with a different group of friends.

These things matter for many Gen Zs, as they live simultaneously in two worlds managing a seamless integration between their online and offline realities. They move between physical and digital platforms for social life, conversations, learning, assessments, work and play with a fluidity and ease. Indeed, the very nature of being social has now taken on a whole new dimension. Social media is now considered such a legitimate form of interaction that it has shifted the emphasis away from face-to-face contact as the primary means of communication and relationship formation. For a Gen Z, it’s not either/or but rather both/and, with a conversation via social media flowing smoothly into an actual real-life conversation at a later date. Gen Zs consider it a priority to maintain social connection throughout the waking hours and the tool readily on hand to do so (quite literally in the form of a smartphone) is social media.

As a generation raised in an instant society, Gen Zs are conditioned to providing and receiving immediate updates on the lives of people in their network, even if the news or update seems somewhat inconsequential. Their social media use is driven more by the desire to stay constantly in touch than it is about the announcement of a significant life event. The frequency of communication over digital platforms plays a key role in building friendships and forming friendship groups. And being in the same location is no longer a prerequisite for socialising. Gen Zs use social media platforms to connect with multiple people at once, investing in relationships even when apart. The prolific use of these technology platforms has shaped Gen Z’s expectations and approaches to communication, shopping, trends, consumer behaviour, relationships, learning and work.

New content is constantly being generated and shared across social media platforms, too. And many young people find genuine enjoyment in following trends

that relate to their particular interests in much the same way that previous generations might have borrowed newly released books from the library. As Matt (born in 2000) explains: “I don’t necessarily post things on social media ... I use it for enjoyment as well, because I follow pages that are interesting and relevant to me.”

The Vogue survey also revealed a fascinating trend about who Gen Zs are turning to for fashion inspiration and lifestyle trends. There were no standout winners; rather, the list was as broad as it was diverse. This is another reality that has opened up to us in this globally connected digital era: everyone can have a platform, anyone can have a voice, and we can find role models and inspiring people from anywhere. As a result, Generation Z has access to a limitless number of bloggers, YouTubers and artists, as well as subcultures and interest groups and can more easily share their favourites with their networks. Regardless of how niche an interest may be, they will be able to find others online from around the world that share a similar passion. They love expressions of creativity, authenticity, and self-expression, while also seeing people from their own generation have platforms to share their talents. It’s no surprise that our cover star Billie Eilish (born in 2001), among others, is gaining resonance with her own generation.

But it’s not just the impact of managing online personal brands that is affecting consumer behaviours, it’s also the warp speed of change in our society. Gone are the days of waiting a week for the next episode of your must-watch TV series – we can stream entire seasons of shows straight to our TV and phone screens. We are now in an era of fast fashion; where there used to be two to four seasons of fashion a year for clothing brands, now there is a constantly moving fashion cycle. And we’re not just tracking brands we can purchase at our local shopping centres – online shopping has given us access to brands across the world at the touch of a button. Gen Zs use social media for more than just keeping up with their friends – as Audrey (born 1996) explained to me, it’s a platform to connect with the world and what’s on trend.

The rise of the personal brand and mass followers has also created a new opportunity for peer-to-peer influence and social marketing. Companies are tapping into influential social media users to have them promote products to their followers. Marketers have recognised that everyday individuals who are popular on social media have the natural ability to generate brand exposure among their pre-existing, and ever-growing, social media fan base in a similar fashion to how a famous actor or sportsperson may be sponsored in another marketing space. This has also opened up new earning avenues for Generation Z. Many Gen Zs are savvy at building an online audience of followers and have become significantly influential. Gen Zs have grown up admiring YouTubers and those who have become Instafamous, and many desire to reach that level of fame for themselves and set about building online followings to do so.

The ways in which Generation Z can connect equally with world leaders, celebrities, brands and friends through social networking platforms is also affecting the way they approach work. Barriers to entry in order to start a business or earn an income on the side have broken down. In the past, one needed to do entry-level work in an organisation to earn an income. Today, people are more empowered to market directly to their followers, embrace the gig economy and connect their skill sets with market needs (from Uber and Airtasker through to online freelance platforms). Geographic boundaries no longer define who you can follow or connect with.

Members of Generation Z have been saturated with limitless options for personalised learning and entertainment and, as a result, will only give their attention to programs, people and portals they find entertaining. They will be engaged and passionate if they understand the why behind the what and where they can enjoy the work and see the impact it is having. They have become sensory engagers, expecting constant stimulation, and opportunities to be not only consumers but also contributors – and this extends to every area – from providing feedback on restaurants, shaping brands and being an active part of the workplace. Gen Zs are used to having a voice. They like helping to discover untapped opportunities, finding faster and more effective ways of doing things, and having contexts where they can continue to learn and grow. Generation Z has seen the rise of disruptive organisations and platforms, and the decline of those who have not kept pace with the change. As a result, they fear irrelevance, and place a high value on change and being in a context that is innovative and entrepreneurial so that they are not left behind.

Added to all of this, they have not only been exposed to unprecedented news updates about global events and are acutely aware of the broken state of the world, but they have been told they can change the world for good and are deeply motivated to make a difference. They want their lives and the investment into their careers to actually change the world. As a result, Gen Zs will be attracted to organisations where they are impelled by a vision, and motivated to do their day-to-day work in a way that is connected to a greater mission and sense of purpose. Casting a vision of purpose will resonate with a deeply felt need in many Gen Zs, who really are deeply driven to make a positive difference in this world.

Claire Madden is a social researcher, demographer and author of Hello Gen: Z: Engaging the Generation of Post-Millennials (Hello Clarity, $24.95).