Who are Gen Z people and why do they say they are better than us

Millennials, or generation Y, have been the center of attention lately. However, the post-millennial generation has arrived to replace them. They are also known as generation Z or centennials, due to their strong relationship with technologies and the most varied electronic devices. They are those people who were born after 1996 and, every year, their number is growing. According to forecasts for 2020, representatives of this generation will be approximately one third of the Earth’s population and will be the most numerous group of consumers.

O awesome.club decided to find out who post-millennials are, what they want out of life, what differences exist between them and their parents, and why, in general, they are better than previous generations.

Representatives of generation Z want to start obtaining resources independently so that they can support themselves much earlier than when their parents did. The vast majority of modern children were born in a time of world economic crisis, so it is rare to find dreamers or people among them. downshifters (tendency for individuals to live simpler lives to reduce tension and stress): 72% of teenagers aspire to create their own company or business. Furthermore, the post-millennial generation dreams of increasing their stable source of earnings.

At the same time, a recent survey by a public opinion research center showed that 75% of 18- to 24-year-olds consider the life experience acquired by their parents to be quite useless. They choose their own path and don’t want to learn from the mistakes made by previous generations. Gen Z prefers not to disrupt the system, but to succeed in it. First and foremost within the new generation’s value system is the ability to adapt and be creative.

Generation Z is often reproached for its individualism. This is fully justified, since for them the standard model of conduct is alien and, from their point of view, cannot be effective. Along with individualism comes freedom. This new generation honors the normcore style, in the same way as Kendall Jenner, and has a tolerant attitude towards the issue of race.

That is, Gen Z is less likely to experience concerns about their physical appearance or gender identity. A recent poll showed that only 63% of European teenagers identify as heterosexual and one in 5 indicated their gender binarism. In other words, the new generation doesn’t want to limit itself.

Gender neutrality is a Gen Z trend. For example, Sting’s daughter Eliot Paulina Summer, who is also a singer, embodies this concept very well. She doesn’t highlight her femininity, she just puts her art in the foreground.

Generation Z needed to mature in the so-called “world after 9/11”. Therefore, it has become accustomed to an atmosphere of uncertainty and instabilities. Because of these circumstances, post-millennials look to the future with solemnity. In particular, this concerns professional aspirations. Headhunters say that 77% of young people understand that they will have to fight more aggressively for jobs.

Likewise, post-millennials are more demanding in relation to companies and brands; young people want to get what they want quickly and without any particular difficulties. At the same time, they value honesty, realism and frankness more. They expect the same attitude in business, preferring publicity with ordinary people over celebrities.

Post-millennials perceive the world of glamor and Photoshop in a less pleasant way. At the center of his attention is naturalness, authenticity and sensitivity. What nature has gifted them with since birth is worth more than a copy of a beauty. Women with perfect model faces, such as Irina Shayk or Angelina Jolie, of course, are beautiful, but for young girls they seem like unimportant idols. That’s because cosmetic surgery can easily create such types of beauty with a perfect nose and full lips.

Teenagers hardly try to beautify themselves and look good in the eyes of others. Therefore, currently, in the world of fashion, there are models with an unconventional physical appearance and unusual faces.

Many young people show themselves on social media with imperfections: without makeup, with simple clothes, in simple housing complexes and natural poses. Possibly teenagers got tired of the extremely glamorous visual environment, so YouTube stars are often people who have become experts in a certain field.

Generation Z young people not only crave material goods, they also want to improve the world. Many teenagers are dedicated to volunteering and social enterprise activities.

Furthermore, post-millennials started their activities at a very early age. Not long ago, the world met 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who was nominated by Swedish and Norwegian politicians for the Nobel Prize for her contribution to the movement against climate change.

Adora Svitak, at the age of 14, became a well-known public figure in the United States. She is concerned with education and literacy problems in children. Furthermore, she writes books. The money she earned from selling her books (approximately 30,000 dollars, which means an average of 120,000 reais) was sent to schools in Vietnam as humanitarian aid.

Logan LaPlante, 13, has spoken at TEDx conferences as a theorist of modern education. The video with his participation got more than 10 million views on YouTube.

The post-millennial generation was born at the time of the global network, so they cannot imagine their lives without the Internet. More than 40% of teenagers say that they are strongly attached to electronic devices and, at the same time, enjoy their smartphone more than watching television.

Many use different devices and manage to absorb a greater amount of information in the day. As a result, young people increase their comprehension speed. In addition, Gen Z is used to multi-tasking, can quickly and efficiently switch between different types of work, and can focus on their business regardless of distractions.

Generation Z people are more active in society. Teenagers are ready to assert their rights at rallies and platforms and create school organizations. In addition, this generation is interested in economic processes and human actions in the environment.

At the same time, a greater part of them value personal space and don’t always like to share their private information with everyone, leaving Facebook aside and using Snapchat instead.

In addition, representatives of the digital generation are concerned about their own health: they more often prepare their food at home and try to adopt good eating habits.

Post-millennials are less interested in the consumption of alcohol, drugs and other types of prohibited substances. As it turns out, for them this is simply unnecessary, since they can do more useful and important things. In addition, among generation Z, teenage pregnancy is considerably lower, in the same way that having sex very early is not part of their reality, compared to previous generations.

And you, what is your opinion about modern teenagers?