What worries Generation Z?
We often talk about adolescence in its biological and psychological aspects, but it is important to remember that adolescence is also a social construct . Without understanding the historical and cultural context in which the adolescent develops, it is not possible to understand their experience in an integrative way.
When we talk about generation , we refer to a group of people who were born during the same period of time, who have received the same cultural influences and who have been exposed to the same historical events. The concept has some limitations, since realities can be very different depending on many sociological aspects. Defining generations and general characteristics, however, helps us understand the way in which this group of people constructs their identity. Thus, the cohort that teenagers currently comprise is the so-called generation z or centennials , and are those born between 1994 and 2010, approximately. Those who come after are called alpha and would be those born between 2013 and 2025. These concepts do not have scientific rigor, but they help us characterize this group of people, in a general way.
Defining generations and general characteristics helps us understand the way this group of people constructs their identity.
In the spotlight
It is not new that from adult-centric attitudes, various negative characteristics are attributed to today's adolescents, such as their supposed fragility - they have been called the glass generation - or their lack of a culture of effort , among others. In fact, prejudices towards adolescents or young people have always existed. "Today's young people have no control and are always in a bad mood. They have lost respect for their elders, they do not know what education is and they have no morals", said Aristotle. And the phrase is attributed to Socrates: "Our youth loves luxury, is poorly educated, mocks authority and has no respect for elders. Our children are tyrants, they do not stand up when an elderly person enters a room, they argue with their parents and are simply bad". So, as you can see, the tendency to think that our young people are worse than previous generations is not new, but it is not very constructive.
Some data, from surveys on attitudes, values and behaviours of this generation, dismantle these prejudices and draw a different reality . According to the Youth in Spain 2020 Report by the Youth Institute, 65% of today's young people regularly play sports, 50% read regularly, 20% do volunteer work and, in general, are more interested in politics than previous generations. Among the issues that interest them most are equality between women and men, climate change, animal rights and the rights of LGTBI+ groups, among others.
A vision of adolescence free from prejudice is needed, in order to understand them and help them develop the socio-emotional skills they need to be more resilient.
Therefore, we believe that in a world marked by complexity and individual and social challenges, a vision of adolescence free from prejudice is needed, in order to understand them and help them develop the socio-emotional skills they need to be more resilient and, therefore, less vulnerable to current crises.
What is resilience and why is it important in adolescence?
Characteristics of Generation Z
In order to understand their characteristics, we must consider that Generation Z is already born in a globalized world where digital technologies determine their behavior. It is a generation that has experienced one of the most important changes in history: the absolute digitalization that has irreversibly transformed the way we relate to each other. This digitalization is already in the DNA of Generation Z and subsequent generations and, therefore, one of their main characteristics is that they are digital natives.
Digital society is taking on a new dimension since the arrival of smartphones , so the main relationship with the digital world of Generation Z teenagers is through their mobile phones, and they are called mobile natives . Generation Z or GenZ spends at least three hours a day connected to their mobile phones, a significant part of which is on social networks, according to the Youth in Spain 2020 report | by the Instituto de la Juventud. Mobile natives prefer YouTube to television and applications such as WhatsApp, Line or Snapchat to email.
How they are informed and learn
Years ago, information and learning were basically through books, of linear and structured origin. Now, information is fragmented –streaming–, diffuse and heterogeneous . It is a generation that practices multitasking , which makes it very difficult to pay attention and concentrate and, consequently, to consolidate information. Recent studies maintain that the attention and concentration capacity of the youngest has been reduced to eight seconds .
It is a generation that practices multitasking, which makes attention and concentration and, consequently, the consolidation of information very difficult.
For some digital culture specialists, this brings with it a whole series of disadvantages, as it leads to instant gratification and a lack of reflective thinking , while others highlight that they are developing new capacities to adapt to the environment .
Generation Z has had to learn to quickly and effectively identify what is relevant to them from all the information at their fingertips. It is worth noting that if the content is valuable, Z users will spend the necessary time to enjoy it. This is understood by the most influential YouTubers and streamers who manage to keep their users' attention for hours. Social networks and streaming platforms are the favorite places for Z to hang out, where they spend about 5 hours a day, according to the study Radiography of Digital Consumption of Generation Z. Therefore, we are faced with a very connected generation, which does not necessarily mean that it is better informed.
We are facing a highly connected generation, which does not necessarily mean that it is better informed.
Privacy concerns
Despite the widespread belief that teens are not concerned about privacy, the Center for the Generational Kinetics has conducted several studies that conclude that younger people are more concerned about online privacy than the older generation, millennials. It is worth noting that they are more concerned about protecting their identity when sending and receiving messages online: 38% of Gen Z compared to 29% of millennials . This perception of privacy occurs in different areas of their lives, including school.
They are also more concerned about managing their data when it comes to online shopping. Gen Z respondents were more concerned about privacy and security than millennials when making payments with credit or debit cards. However, Gen Z’s concern about their privacy decreases when it comes to mobile apps and social media, as they feel they have more control.
In addition, this generation prefers the use of private networks where users have more control over what is shared. Moreover, when platforms have tried to reduce the control that users enjoy, complaints from users have forced them to rethink their data and privacy policies. Therefore, this generation has contributed to making technology companies take privacy more into account.
How do they communicate?
The globalized and digitalized society has changed the ways we interact. According to research conducted by Pew Internet Research :
- 70% of teenagers say they feel better connected with their friends through social networks than, for example, face to face.
- What they like most are messaging applications that leave no trace , where content, videos, photos or gifs are sent and disappear quickly.
- 20% of teenagers say they have a worse perception of their own lives due to being unable to stop comparing themselves with the virtual lives of their friends.
Influenceable and influential
Social networks are training and shaping adolescents and young people who, in turn, through their use can modify or configure the functioning of their peer group. The model of how we receive influence has also changed, as has the role of influencers . Traditionally, influential or media people were generally part of the media industry. With social networks, individuals emerge who, thanks to platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, become generational references. These applications are the main ways in which they access information, which reaches them in a fragmented, passive and incidental way. So much so that knowing the keys to how younger generations get information and share content in order to be able to connect with them has become a key mission for the media.
The profile of GenZ
- They are digital natives.
- The information and models on social networks exert a lot of influence on them and they have influencers as references.
- They are hyperconnected, but not necessarily well-informed.
- They tend to self-report and multitask.
- They are more concerned about privacy than millennials.
- They tend to seek immediacy.
- They are social activists: they are concerned about climate change or LGTBI+ rights, among others.
- They are more tolerant of diversity and show concern for equality between women and men and immigration.
- They tend to seek experiences more than material goods.
- They have a greater entrepreneurial attitude than previous generations.
- They are worried about their future employment.
Skills they need to strengthen
The results of studies and surveys on GenZ , especially on trends in the way they relate, communicate, seek information and are influenced, make it key that they can reinforce and train certain skills that, although they are basic for people of all generations, in the case of this generation they are even more necessary.
The way Generation Z relates, communicates, seeks information and is influenced makes it more necessary than ever to reinforce and train skills to be more resilient.
Being digital natives gives them advantages on some levels, but harms them on others, such as relating to others only online, which creates a great void for them, which is the lack of training in the essential socio-emotional skills for life that are acquired, trained and practiced in face-to-face relationships. These are skills such as active listening , empathy , interpersonal conflict resolution strategies , among others. In this sense, practicing in-person training activities can make a difference in your emotional well-being.
Socio-emotional skills that promote resilience
On the other hand, these adolescents need to have spaces for debate and reflection. that help them generate critical thinking and that serve them to filter all this tide of information that comes to them through social networks. The importance of generating this critical thinking will be key to not absorbing the messages of influencers by inertia or taking them as a dogma of faith and a model to imitate.
The importance of generating this critical thinking will be key to not absorbing the messages of influencers by inertia or taking them as a dogma of faith and a model to imitate.
Furthermore, training in those skills that promote self-esteem and self-efficacy is key to counteracting the effects of this negative perception generated by the constant comparison with your digital peers, who in many cases are neither very real nor are they that equal.
On the other hand, hyperconnectivity, multitasking and the search for immediacy generate in GenZ a state of constant activation and little capacity to connect with the present moment and with oneself . That is why we are faced with a generation that can greatly benefit from practicing mindfulness to counteract all these effects of such a hyperstimulating society, which encourages the constant search for reinforcement and gratification and that lives for tomorrow.
Ten minutes of daily meditation to reduce stress and anxiety
Mindfulness has scientifically proven benefits for the emotional well-being of adolescents. It has been shown that the practice of mindfulness promotes emotional regulation, improves attention and reduces stress levels , among others. It can be practiced in educational centers formally, through guided meditations, or informally, simply trying to maintain focus on the present, observing the experience, describing it with words and letting yourself be carried away, without judging it, doing what is effective for us at each moment. This would in turn help to avoid impulsiveness when acting or making decisions.
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