What Defines Gen Z

A few answers spring to mind, none of them very optimistic: gun violence, environmental threats, degradation of women’s rights, assault on marginalised communities,…

And yet, what is remarkable about Gen Z is that, despite coming of age in politically fraught times, these troubles are not what define them. Instead of being defined by the world around it, Gen Z is comprised of people defining the world –– and its future. Gen Z is known for being idealistic, but it is not an abstract idealism. They know they need to put in the work. They have seen the dangers of apathy, they recognise the perils of a population that participates in its own silencing, and so they speak up.

Gen Z is about movement and action; it is full of self-starters and iconoclasts. It is no coincidence that Gen Z grew up seeing that the motto of the leader of the free world was: H-O-P-E

YouTubers are their teachers and they are:

1. destined to change the world
2. digital natives
3. very independent learners
4. immersed in multitasking
5. independent
6. demanding consumers
7. demanding with their future employers
8. preparing for professions that we don’t know about yet
9. friends without borders
10. altruistic

They:

1. have a short attention span
2. have entrepreneurial ambitions
3. were born, or raised, in the midst of an economic crisis
4. prefer images to words
5. have a higher IQ than previous generations