By Leah Rodriguez
In today’s climate, the most talked about generation, that is building and forming the way social media trends, romanticizes the early 2000’s and has an unhealthy iced coffee obsession. Here is everything you need to know about Generation Z or, in short, Gen Z.
There is often confusion when it comes to the definite timeline of Gen Z babies and when the next generation starts. The timeline for Gen Z is from 1997 to 2012.
A few facts about Gen Z is that the nickname itself is an unofficial place holder as many titles have been used. Some examples are “iGeneration”, “Zoomers”, “Post Millennials”, and some other less catchy names. However, the population of the quick Gen Z has been used to help identify this young generation.
Additionally, Gen Z is a generation that grows along with emerging technology. It is the first generation to fully live in a world where cellphones, laptops, tablets, and apps are not a new concept but rather the only world they know. The internet is a shaping factor for many Gen Z youths as it is where music, fashion, memes, and trends are generated daily, shaping the ever-changing and fast-paced lifestyles of the young group.
With so much internet access and access to others through multiple social media apps, one would find it hard to believe that Gen Z is also one of the loneliest upcoming generations. A large number of Gen Z youths suffer from mental illnesses, with the largest one being depression. According to Sean McDowell, a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, 3 million adolescents from ages 12 to 17 have had a “major depressive episode” in the past year. There has also been an increase in anxiety and depression among high school students since 2012, and all range within rural, urban, and suburban areas. Along with being lonely, there is being overwhelmed with the demands of school, working, and keeping up with social media as well as being a more conscious generation reworking past habits and mistakes from older generations. People of Gen Z work to make their world different from those around them.
While there are many hardships that they’ve undergone, there is much to celebrate from this generation as well. It is the leading generation in diversity, having progressive ideology and principles, and having different experiences with family as nuclear families are no longer a leading reality.
While older generations may have negative or short-minded perspectives on Gen Z, they are taking their voices and screaming it loud to the masses that they will rewrite the wrongs of the past and change the ways of the future one step at a time.
Photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash