Generation Z is starting to come of age
They are being shaped by insecurity and hyper-interconnectedness
Canada found itself in reflection mode last week as we marked 20 years since the 1995 referendum on Quebec independence. I’d like to reframe the discussion and point out that 1995 also marked the emergence of a whole new generation poised to redefine who we are and where we’re going: Generation Z.
It is important to reflect on where we’ve been. We’re a young country with strong traditions and a rich history. But we also find ourselves at a crossroads facing a range of new challenges. Building a Canada for the future also means being prepared to disrupt, re-imagine and reinvent ourselves. As a new Liberal government prepares to take the reins in Ottawa, and we look ahead to Canada’s 150th and Montreal’s 375th birthdays in 2017, let’s consider what — or who — is coming down the line.
Let’s talk about Generation Z.
Broadly speaking, Generation Z refers to the age cohort following the Millennials (also known as Generation Y). Whereas Millennials were born between 1980 and the mid to late 1990s, Gen Z is roughly defined as those born between 1995 and 2010. They number about two billion worldwide and one-quarter of the North American population, making them a larger generation than the one preceding it.
This is a group just coming of age. They turn 18 between 2013 and 2028. It’s tricky to pin down a generation that is in the process of defining itself. However, what we can do is look at some of the social, economic and political conditions shaping this group of young Canadians (and, for those who will arrive through immigration during this period, Canadians-to-be).
Beyond having no tangible memory of the last great constitutional crisis in Canada, Generation Z is also the first age cohort to grow up in a post 9/11 world of global terrorism, surveillance, and institutional and economic instability. They have never experienced a halcyon period of government spending booms, only recession and austerity. They are living the environmental impact of climate change.
True digital natives, they’ve grown up swiping screens and using social media, and are fully at home in a world mediated by technology. Because their lives are so deeply informed by the realities of these new information and transportation technologies, theirs may be the first real global generation, where ideas about language, culture, identity and community are being formed across national borders.
In Canada, they have grown up in a country where gay marriage is legal, and — possibly — where marijuana will soon be legalized. Issues like race, gender and sexuality are part of the political public conversation and pop culture.
A recent study by the New York firm Sparks & Honey notes that many have watched their parents and older siblings negotiate high debt loads with precarious, low-paid work. As a result, they have learned that safe choices don’t always guarantee security or success.
All told, their lives are shaped by complexity, insecurity and hyper-interconnectedness. What this indicates is that theirs will be a generation of entrepreneurs and disruptive innovators. The Sparks & Honey report suggests that where Millennials are optimists, Gen Z are realists, where Millennials seek out celebrity, Gen Z wants to earn their success. Where their Millennial precursors have been characterized (rightly or wrongly) as impatient, narcissistic and entitled, Generation Z is forecasted to be resilient, independent, industrious and collaborative.
What is certain is that this post-referendum generation will inherit some of the key challenges facing Canada as we move forward. Examples include our national dependence on resource-based economies, revitalizing our democratic institutions, reconciliation between First Nations and non-First Nations people, investing in new sectors of innovation and entrepreneurship, how Canada should be positioned in the world, and figuring out how to leverage our cultural and linguistic diversity to build the intellectual and economic corridors that connect Canada to the rest of the world.
Something to reflect on.