Generation Z
Encyclopedia
Generation Z is a common name in the US and other Western nations for the group of people born from the early 1990s
through to the present.
The generation has grown up with the World Wide Web
, which became increasingly available after 1991. The youngest of the generation were born during a minor fertility boom around the time of the US Global financial crisis of the late 2000s decade, ending around the year 2010, with the next unnamed generation succeeding. They have been born and raised after the Cold war era and the fall of the Soviet Union
.
Members of Generation Z are typically the children of Generation X
; their parents may also include the youngest Baby Boomers as well as the oldest members of Generation Y
.
, instant messaging
, text messaging
, MP3 players, mobile phone
s and YouTube
, earning them the nickname "digital native
s". No longer limited to the home computer, the Internet is now increasingly carried in their pockets on mobile Internet devices such as mobile phone
s. A marked difference between Generation Y and Generation Z is that members of the former remember life before the takeoff of mass technology, while the latter have been born completely within it. This generation has also been born completely into an era of postmodernism
and globalization
.
Generation Z are known for curating online at a rapid pace: sharing thoughts and observations on a variety of media, topics and products.
Parents of Generation Z are working part time or becoming stay-at-home parents so that children are raised by them and other family members instead of a day care facility. However, Soccer moms and helicopter parents are just as common with these members as with children of the previous generation.
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
through to the present.
The generation has grown up with the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, which became increasingly available after 1991. The youngest of the generation were born during a minor fertility boom around the time of the US Global financial crisis of the late 2000s decade, ending around the year 2010, with the next unnamed generation succeeding. They have been born and raised after the Cold war era and the fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Members of Generation Z are typically the children of Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
; their parents may also include the youngest Baby Boomers as well as the oldest members of Generation Y
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
.
Other common terms
Due to media attention, a variety of terms are being used to describe Generation Z in the USA, including:- Generation M (for multitasking)
- Homeland Generation (from within the Strauss-Howe generational theoryStrauss-Howe generational theoryThe Strauss-Howe generational theory, created by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, identifies a recurring generational cycle in American history. Strauss and Howe lay the groundwork for the theory in their 1991 book Generations, which retells the history of America as a series of...
, similar in type to the Silent GenerationSilent GenerationSilent Generation is a label for the generation born from 1925–1945 notably during the Great Depression and World War II . While the label was originally applied to people in North America, it has also been applied to those in Western Europe and Australasia...
)
Observed traits and trends
Generation Z is highly connected, as many of this generation have had lifelong use of communications and media technologies such as the World Wide WebWorld Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, MP3 players, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, earning them the nickname "digital native
Digital native
A digital native is a person who was born during or after the general introduction of digital technology, and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its concepts...
s". No longer limited to the home computer, the Internet is now increasingly carried in their pockets on mobile Internet devices such as mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s. A marked difference between Generation Y and Generation Z is that members of the former remember life before the takeoff of mass technology, while the latter have been born completely within it. This generation has also been born completely into an era of postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
and globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
.
Generation Z are known for curating online at a rapid pace: sharing thoughts and observations on a variety of media, topics and products.
Parents of Generation Z are working part time or becoming stay-at-home parents so that children are raised by them and other family members instead of a day care facility. However, Soccer moms and helicopter parents are just as common with these members as with children of the previous generation.