Who Is Generation Z
Who is Generation Z? This article will provide an overview of the Zees, America’s Homeland Generation.
Greetings! My name is Jennifer and I’m the mother of three children who are Generation Z (Zees). I’m glad you want to learn more about this wonderful generation. I can help you. Please feel free to email me if you have a question or would like to contribute a thought or two. I love to hear from readers. Email me at jenx67 dot com. You may want to check out this book I read, We Are Generation Z: How Identity, Attitudes, and Perspectives Are Shaping Our Future
What Is Generation Z
Generation Z, also called Homelanders, is the 15th generation of Americans since the Founding Fathers. They now fill schools all across the United States. It’s so exciting, isn’t it? They’re book-ended in school by no other generation. The late-wave Millennials (Generation Y) have all graduated and Generation A has not yet been born. Congratulations, Generation Z! You dominate America’s K-12 landscape. You’re a young, but mature generation with great promise!
What Are The Years?
The years for Generation Z are 1996 to present day. Gen Zees are primarily the children of Generation X who were born between 1961 and 1981. They are also the children of first-wave Millennials or Gen Y born 1982-1995.
Names for Gen Z
Some people including the popular historian Neil Howe, call Generation Z the Homeland Generation or Homelanders They’ve also been called
- Digital Natives
- Generation Edge
- Hookup Generation (Research Tinder and Kik apps, etc., to understand more.)
- Mobile Natives
- Bubble-Wrap Kids (because of Generation X helicopter parenting)
- iGen
- Screenagers.
- Zees — My favorite, which is a play off Generation Z.
To understand how the name Generation Z formed, you have to go back to Generation X. Following World War II, Magnum photographer Richard Capa did a photo essay about featuring young people who came of age after the war. He called them Generation X because their futures were unknown.
In 1964, Jane Deverson wrote a story about British teens for Woman’s Own Magazine. Highlights included teens who hated the monarchy and slept together before marriage. The article was never published, however, because the editors thought it was too controversial. Deverson then collaborated with Charles Hamblett who published her research and titled it Generation X. In 1976, Billy Idol borrowed the title for his band, Generation X.
In 1991, Douglas Coupland cemented the name Generation X in the history books with his novel, Generation X: Tales For An Accelerated Culture.
Furthermore, the generation born after Generation X was called Generation Y. It’s been given many other names like Echo Boomers, Net Generation and Millennial Generation. In the spirit of X, Y and Z, the generation that came after Gen Y was naturally called Generation Z. This name has had more staying power than Y, because, in my unscientific opinion, Z is the funnest letter of the alphabet! In fact, Gen Ys are now almost exclusively referred called Millennials.
How Big is Gen Z?
There are about 319 million people in America and more than 25 percent of them are under 19. Thus, Zees are roughly 79 million strong.
Who is Generation Z – Characteristics
The Zees or Homelanders are still evolving, but its collective persona has already been fleshed out by many historians, marketers and sociologists. Some have characterized the generation as rebellious, while others describe them as do-gooders. Perhaps both attributes are accurate. One thing is for certain: Gen Z wants to change the world. They might still be a bit naieve, but when it comes to the enormous problems we face globally, they are unflappable. They are cause-oriented and interested in tackling a myriad of problems and crises. This is illustrated so well in a famous TED talk from young Logan LaPlante. Still the generation has huge, even apocalyptic fears about the future.
To help you understand exactly who is Generation Z, I’ve compiled the following list of characteristics commonly associated with them
- Ability to Process Massive Amounts of Information
- Addiction to Electronic Devices
- Adept at Research
- Diversity, Plurality
- First True Global Culture
- Empowered Customers
- Environmentally Conscious
- Empowered Customers
- Entrepreneurial
- Entitlement Issues
- Fears of the Apocalypse
- Intelligence
- Latent Fears (The Future Isn’t Bright)
- Mature
- Morally Conservative
- Open-Minded
- Prefer Face-To-Face Communication
- Philanthropic; Do-Gooders
- Resourceful
- Self-Directed
- Speed Over Accuracy
- Socially Empowered, Responsible; Focused on Social Justice
- Technology Literate
- Worried About The Future
What Has Shaped Homelanders?
In addition to their parents, nothing has shaped Generation Z more than technology. Despite the helicopter parenting of Generation. Zees have had unfettered access to the Internet. They’ve been called the iGeneration and screenagers for their emotional attachment to smart phones and tablets, etc. Because of too much screen time, they’ve also been called the Distracted Generation.
Social media has significantly impacted the relationships and self-esteem of Generation Z. These impacts have at times manifested themselves in sexting, cyber-bullying, Facebook mourning and the Werther Effect. Many parents now attempt to keep their kids off Facebook for as long as possible, especially since social media is now linked to depression in kids and teens.
There are also concerns that the Internet is actually making our kids stupid, however, most experts cite the high intelligence and advanced problem-solving skills of Gen Z.
The War on Terror and severe economic recession have also shaped Generation Z. None of them remember life before 9/11, and many came of age with Occupy Wall Street. Generation Z’s parents worry constantly that their children will fall out of the middle class. When they aren’t worried about their financial futures they worry about things like the rise in opiate use and the epidemic of texting while driving.
The following is a list of things that have shaped Generation Z. You can think of others, please share them in the comments section.
- War On Terror, ISIS
- 9/11
- Columbine, Sandy Hook and the Aurora Shooting
- Severe Economic Recession (And their parent’s crushing debt)
- Helicopter Parenting/Over-parenting by Generation X
- Tiger Moms (Overly strict, Hyper-focused on academic prowess)
- The Advancing Global Society
- Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat
- Global Warming
- Social Media (It has redefined friendship) Popular networks (as of 2015) include Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Whisper and Secret
- Cybercrime
- Technology (Think Skype, Periscope and Beyond!)
- Screens: TV, tablets, smart phones, desktops, laptops
- Cyber-bullying, Sexting
Cultural Touchstones
- First Black President
- Gangnam Style
- Harry Potter
- Hunger Games
- Japanese Pop Music
- Korean Pop Music
- Viral Videos
- YouTube Celebrities
- YOLO: You Only Live Once Philosophy
Popular TV Shows (1996-Present)
Here are a few dozen TV shows watched by Generation Z. As you can see their lives have been filled with an enormous about of screen time. Please check back, as I will be posting popular books and movies, too.
Adventures of Jimmy Neutron
Arthur
Bear In The Big Blue House
Ben 10
Big Time Rush
Bob The Builder
Caillou
Clifford The Big Red Dog
Curious George
Dexter’s Laboratory
Dora The Explorer
Dragon Tales
Hannah Montana
iCarly
Johnny Bravo
Kim Possible
Lilo and Stitch Series
Little Einsteins
Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards
Peppa Pig
Pepper Ann
Phineas and Ferb
Pokémon
Power Rangers
PowerPuff Girls
Reading Rainbow
Rugrats
Sesame Street
Sid The Science Kid
Sonic X
Spider Man Animated Series
Sponge Bob
The Clone Wars
Strawberry Shortcake
Super Why
Teen Titans
The Backyardigans
The Fairly Odd Parents
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Wiggles
Thomas the Tank Engine
Twilight Series
Wild Kratts
Wild Thornberrys
Wizards of Waverly Place
Word World
Yo Gabba Gabba
Yu-Gi-Oh
Zoey 101
Zoboomafoo
I have published a couple dozen posts about Gen Z since 2009. I even started #GenZChat on Twitter, but have not had time to keep it going. Someday! I love learning about this generation because I want to understand my children better. The world in which they are coming of age is far different from mine. Practically everything about their lives is different from mine! The following are links to most of the posts I’ve labeled or tagged “Generation Z.”
In addition, I want to give a big shout-out to my virtual friend Nancy Nessel, an expert in all things related to Gen Z. Her blog is Getting Gen Z.
Generation Z Research, Studies and Infographics
Finally, a number of formal studies answering the question, Who is Generation Z? have been published on the Internet. There have also been several beautiful infographics with wonderful bite-size information about Gen Zees. Click here to view them.
Who is Generation Z? What is your biggest takeaway after reading this post?
Alexandra says
June 19, 2017 at 7:12 pmI’m really confused… I was born in 1997 and I’ve always thought I was a Millennial… Whenever someone said something about them I felt like they were talking about me lol And at first I read about both generations to compare them and I felt much more comfortable and agreed more to the Millennial mindset and stuff, but after this post I’m confused once again, because I also seem to have a lot in common with Gen Z… I feel so lost xD Idk what to call myself, my heart says Millennial but my brain says Gen Z…
Jennifer says
June 19, 2017 at 8:43 pmHello, Alexandra! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your curiosity about Generation Z. You will forever be a cusper navigating between two generations until time and history further defines the years once and for all. In the meantime, learn all you can. You can also call yourself a late-wave Millennial or a first-wave Gen Z!
Sarah says
April 14, 2017 at 11:11 pmMy sister was born in 1996 and is a weird hybrid of Millennial and Zeer most likely due to some of my influence.Those at the end or beginning of a generation seem to have that issue. The oldest Millennials I know are more like Gen X than Millennials.I was born in 1989 and I can see what a difference five years makes.The internet seems to be a big point. I didn’t start using the internet until I was around 7 and didn’t have a cell phone until 2004.This astounds teens I know.As does dial up…
Jennifer says
April 15, 2017 at 4:03 pmDial-up! The good old days. I miss them and my I heart AOL bumper sticker. I agree — five years can make a big difference in the time-frame you mention. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah. I hope you’ll return!
Brett says
February 23, 2017 at 10:51 amCouple questions:
1) How did you (or whomever) come up with a beginning birth year of 1995 for GenZ? Strauss & Howe go all the way out to 2004 (IIRC). 2004 seems too long (23 years!), and my daughter (2001) seems more GenZ than Millennial. But 1995 seems too early; that means the Millennial generation is only 14 years long.
If I had to guess, I would push the end of the Millennial generation out to at least 1998-2000, maybe settling on 1999. That would be on the short end of a generation’s length (18 years), but still in line with S&H’s other generations.
I’m guessing the driver of this is the post-9/11 sociopolitical landscape, and all of the consequent lawnmower (closer to the ground than a helicopter) parenting and government.
2) Would this mean that Canadian GenZers are properly called Zeds? 🙂
Jennifer says
February 26, 2017 at 5:04 pmMy oldest was born in 1997. She is more Gen Z. She is so different than the Millennials I’ve known in the workplace. I think it’s all very subjective and the more time that passes, the more we see a line of demarcation form between these two generations. They are very different from one another.