Tag Archive for: millennials

What You Need to Know About Generation Z

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Nela & Boris at Lighthouse Point complex - Collingwood, Ontario (August 2nd, 2008)

As Millennials are making their impact on today’s work force, employers are turning to see what they can expect from Generation Z as they prepare themselves for today’s economy. Described as people born from the mid 90’s to mid 2000’s, Generation Z is just now starting to make its impact. Make no mistake: marketers are scrambling to be the first ones to figure out this generation. Fickle, smart, and diverse, Generation Z is quite different from the entitled Millennials, and are predicted to be more like their great grandparents rather than their older siblings. Here are a few key things you need to know about Generation Z’ers:

  • They Are Diverse: With birth rates for Hispanic and Mixed children soaring between the years of 2000 and 2010, this diverse generation sees their African-American president as normal, not a breakthrough.
  • They Move On Quick: With Vine, the social media platform built exclusively on 6-second videos, as the prevalent form of Social Media among Generation Z’ers, you can count on a generation that will forget about your product just as quickly as they saw it.
  • They Are Risk Averse, Safe: Having grown up during tumultuous times, Gen Z’ers are subjected to their parents, the Gen X’ers, will to provide safety where there was none before. Products featuring extra safety features, promoting sustainability, or that promise to be free of toxins are a selling point to these kids and their parents.

Most of all, it is a generation that values the long term. After seeing how Millennials are bearing the weight of the baby boomers, Generation Z’ers are pragmatic and are not looking for a quick fix. Once you can understand the above characteristics, you can begin to understand Generation Z. Marketers will have to be able to understand minds that have short attention spans, but are still looking for the long term. Though it may be confusing and contradictory at first, the first to master their market will have large rewards to reap.

Read the full article here in The New York Times.

Understanding Generation Z

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Get ready for Generation Z, born starting in the mid-90’s into the early 2000’s, its members are eager to be unleashed upon the world and enter the work force.  Alexandra Levit lets you know what to expect out of the coming generation that is characterized by maturity, independence and preparedness in her New York Times article Make Way for Generation Z. Here are some of her observations about Generation Z:

  • They aren’t clinging on to their parents: “They tend to be independent. While a 2015 Census Bureau report found that nearly a third of millennials are still living with their parents, Gen Zers are growing up in a healthier economy and appear eager to be cut loose. They don’t wait for their parents to teach them things or tell them how to make decisions.”
  • Diversity: “My 15 year old next door neighbor is a quarter Hispanic, a quarter African-American, a quarter Taiwanese, and a quarter white. That’s Gen Z – they are often a mix of ethnicities.”
  • Self-motivated: “When she was 14, Sejal founded the Elevator Project, an organization that aims to lift people out of poverty through apprenticeship, vocational training and job placement…she says that her parents did not push her to register for the Gen Z event, nor do they help her with her nonprofit organization.”
  • They’ll talk to you outside social media: “Despite their obvious technology proficiency, Gen Zers seem to prefer in-person to online interaction and are being schooled in emotional intelligence from a young age.”
  • It’s never too early to reach out to them: “Even well-known organizations will have to rethink their recruiting practices to attract this group, and now is the time to start. Those who want to take advantage of Gen Z talent in the future need to develop relationships today with teenagers in grades seven through 12. Get into their schools, provide mentorship and education and put yourself in a position to help shape their career decisions.”

Click here to read the full story on The New York Times.

The Self(ie) Generation

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We seem to be experiencing a wave of liberal-minded detach-ees, a generation in which institutions are subordinate to the individual. Read the full article via the New York Times bellow.

“Although half of millennials describe themselves as independent, 57 percent say their views on social issues “have become more liberal” over the course of their lives.”

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