Who Is Generation Z | Discover the Homeland Generation

What Years Are Generation Z?

The years for Generation Z are debatable and vary widely among demographers, sociologists, psychologists, historians, government agencies, and marketing firms. History is still unfolding and until Gen Z has come of age we won’t know the final parameters for sure. Here’s how some experts break it down in 2020:

Neil Howe and the late William Strauss named Generation Z the Homeland Generation or Homelanders, for short. In their book, Generations they identified the birth years for Gen Z as 2005 to the present age. Thus, in 2020, the oldest Gen Z would be 15 and the youngest would be less than a year old.
In 2019, Pew Research defined Generation Z’s birth years as 1997 to 2020. This provides a current (2020) age-range of 8 to 23 years old.
Jean Twenge, a popular psychologist whose body of research is in generational differences, defines the starting point for Generation Z as 1995. Her preferred reference for Gen Z is iGen.
Nancy B. Nessel, a Gen Z marketing consultant, defines the years as 1996 to 2010.

Typically, generations stem from similar life experiences. Depending on where you grew up and your birth order, you may identify with one generation more than another, particularly if you were born on the cusp. Noting the simple definition of a generation found at Dictionary.com is a worthwhile exercise:

The entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time…
The term of years, roughly 30 among human beings, accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.
A group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes, etc. (Compare Beat Generation, Lost Generation, etc.)
A group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time…

Ultimately, a person must decide for him or herself where they belong. In my opinion, people should claim the generation whose collective persona most reflects their own life experiences.

Generation Z Ages | How Big Is Generation Z?

As a fan of the Strauss and Howe generational theory, I follow their birth years and/or age ranges for all generations. Thus, the age range for Generation Z as of 2020 is 0 to 15. In 2020, the first Homelander turned 15 years old, and the youngest was born.

The birth years used to define Generation Z impacts the size of the generation in America. Using Strauss and Howe’s range, there are about 70 million Gen Zs.

There are about 319 million people in America and more than 25 percent of them are under 19. Thus, the size of this generation is somewhere between 70 and 80 million.

When I began blogging about Generation X in 2007, almost nobody referred to Millennials as Millennials. We called them Generation Y or Ys. It quickly changed overnight, however, based on a popular article about their coming of age. I’m not sure the name Generation Z will stick, although my kids seem to really like it.

Here are some of the names historians, psychologists and marketing experts have used for Generation Z.

Homeland Generation or simply Homelanders
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

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 a fun letter — the coolest member of the alphabet.

The Zs 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 naive, 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. Keep in mind, I am a writer and this is secondary research. I have never conducted any primary research on Generation Z.

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

Other than 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 smartphones 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.

COVID19 and the Global Pandemic
Black Lives Matters (George Floyd, 2020 Riots)
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
Social Media including Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Whisper, etc.
Global Warming
Technology
Screens: TV, tablets, smartphones, desktops, laptops
Cyber-bullying, Sexting

Gen Z Infographics & Key Posts

I have published a couple of dozen posts about Gen Z since 2009. I even started #GenZChat on Twitter, but have not had time to keep it going. 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.

Summary

Article Name

Who Is Generation Z: Homelanders

Description

A definition of Who Is Generation Z (Homelanders) including characteristics, size, years, names (Homeland Generation, iGen, Zees) plus events that shaped them including 9/11, economic collapse, mobile tech, war and more.

Author

Jennifer James McCollum

Comments

Traci B says

May 11, 2021 at 11:46 am

Hi, Although I don’t agree with your exact dates for Gen-zs, I’m more in the camp of 1997-2012ish, I found what you had to say very interesting. I was a bit of a helicopter parent to my daughter, born in 2001, and something I have learned and I now see the fruits of in so many of these kids who were raised the same way, is that we are not meant to have everything taken care of for us all of the time. We are meant to fall down and fail and get dirty and, sometimes, deal with people who aren’t very nice to us. My daughter, now 19, has some sort of issues, but apparently can’t be classified. I think the real problems stem from never having to deal with anything really hard or painful as a child as I intervened in almost every instance with the mindset that I was protecting her in the ways that I, along with many gen-xers, were never protected as we had the generation of collapsing parents.
I find it interesting how the Gen-zs are so obsessed with dystopian culture in films and TV. I sometimes think the best fix we could give them would be a mandatory 6 month “walk-about” (as in the Australian or indigenous term) in the wilderness. It is what they need. I think a lot of their emotional/mental problems would disappear if they just spent an extended time in nature learning how to rely on their instincts and each other in real, concrete connected ways that served an actual, physical purpose rather than virtual. Life is not virtual.

- Jennifer says
  
  May 11, 2021 at 4:16 pm
  
  Yes, yes and yes. Ugh. Your comment hit me right between the eyes. I am so weary of dystopian culture. My Gen-Zs are very into it and it does concern me.
  
  Regarding years, my oldest was born in 1997. She identifies as a Millennial but to me, she is all Generation Z. I think time will tell. I believe Strauss and Howe start Gen Z at 1996.
  
  Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I do think we created a whole new set of problems with our helicopter parenting. =/
  
Kirstyn Bruno says

June 21, 2020 at 1:07 pm

Very interesting read! I have two children that are Millenials (1991 & 1994) and one son born in 2008 that is Gen-Z. He calls his generations Zoomers! Maybe it’s just his ADHD but it definitely fits him.

- Jennifer says
  
  June 21, 2020 at 3:39 pm
  
  I’ve heard Zoomers, too. And, now with the global pandemic and all this online schooling – they’re Generation Zoom!
  
Alexandra says

June 19, 2017 at 7:12 pm

I’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 pm
  
  Hello, 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 pm

My 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 pm
  
  Dial-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 am

Couple 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 pm
  
  My 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.
  
  - Denise says
    
    June 20, 2020 at 7:24 am
    
    My oldest was born in 1996, and I think she is also a lot more Gen Z.
    
    - Jennifer says
      
      June 20, 2020 at 4:07 pm
      
      I think we have to see how things evolve before we firmly set the dates. My oldest was born in 1997. I think she is a hybrid Mizennial. LOL.

Who Is Generation Z? Homelanders

Who is Generation Z?

Homelanders, Zees, Digital Natives, Generation Edge,
Hookup Generation, Mobile Natives, Bubble-Wrap Kids iGen, Screenagers