Gen Z-They Clean Up Their Own Mess

Generation Z or also known as Zoomers, began in 1997 and runs through 2012, the oldest today being 26 and the youngest 11. Today, I am literally more than double, and as much as 5 times the age of most Zoomers. They look at me as “ancient and pre-historic”, sometimes “grandfatherly”, but at the same time, they often gaze upon my generation with a certain degree of reverence and adoration. My nieces, Simone (17) and Alivia (14) are Zoomers and, where I once felt very close to them when they were little kids, I think the teenage years, complicated by 3 years of the pandemic, has created some distance between us.

The oldest Zoomers are in the early stages of adulthood, and prior to the pandemic, enjoyed a decade of nothing but great prosperity, record-low unemployment as they entered the work place. When they graduated from college, they had their choice of jobs, salaries were high, in fact, bidding wars for their services were common place. Their parents had provided them with wonderful lifestyles, fun vacations multiple times a year, the best educations that money could buy, and made sure they wanted for nothing. But then, it all came crashing down in May 2020 when the pandemic hit. LIFO often took precedent, and the young, inexperienced Zoomers found themselves out of work or out of luck for the first time. This instability has left an indelible mark on the generation and may scar them for a long time

If we think about the things that might have had the biggest influences on Zoomers, social media and social networking would, without question, be at the top of the list. The advent of Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok have had a profound impact (most adverse) on the youth of today. Youths today literally cannot help themselves from comparing the quality of their lives with their friends and “influencers” that they follow in hopes of living up to a standard. Capturing “likes” was and still is the only validation a child needs to feel good about his or herself, and without it, they can fall into deep depression. Chip just shared with me a new phenomenon called “main character syndrome” where kids now feel compelled to portray their lives as if they are in the role of their own video game or movie. “Protagonist syndrome” is where we think our life is like a book, and we are the main character that the story revolves around. Apps like TikTok enable Zoomers to become the “stars in their show”, sometimes sharing events in their lives that are actually worth sharing, and at other times, sharing what we would all consider really mundane, all in an attempt to get “followers”. It all seems really desperate, but it is a bi-product of the tools at their fingertips, and the evolution of social media.

Unfortunately, the pandemic only served to accelerate this type of activity because of the idle time and isolation everyone had to endure. Starved for some sort of socialization, youths resorted to this type of activity which caught fire and was widely adopted over the past 3 years.

Primarily the children of Gen Xers, Zoomers have been raised to be fiercely independent and able to figure things out for themselves. Unlike Millennials, Zoomers typically don’t require a lot of positive reinforcement and are very self-motivated. Because they don’t seek out affirmation, they are also highly opinionated, vocal and will not be ignored, and damn the consequences. They don’t buy into typical hierarchical stereotypes, nor do they appreciate authority thru tenure. They expect a seat at the table and demand for their voices to be heard, whether they have earned it or not.

Gen Z is the true Global Generation, where the world is a shrinking place and everything is literally at their fingertips. Whether it’s travel, food, information, ethnic experience, diversity; if Generation Z can imagine it, they can do it, they can have it. This generation has also grown up amid unprecedented tolerance. Most cannot remember a time when there wasn’t an African-American president and a woman wasn’t a serious contender for the office. President Obama took office in 2009, when the oldest Zoomers were only 12. Gen Z has a completely different view about what diversity actually means: they don’t tolerate diversity or even accept it; rather they EXPECT it. Diversity is part of their life experience.

Conversely, this is also a generation that has had to suffer from global terrorism, unfathomable domestic violence and what seems like weekly mass shootings. It’s hard to imagine what must run through their minds when there is some new report every week about another shooting at a church, school or shopping mall on Main Street USA. How does Gen Z feel safe in their own home when gun violence is rampant? And then, on top of that, we’re in the early stages of another recession which will impact the first part of their earning years.

Perhaps due to the fact that they literally grew up with technology, and are so tech savvy, Zoomers are very impatient and in a rush to get things done. Nuance, finesse, thoroughness in execution and achievement and attention to detail seem to be lost on Zoomers because they are simply in a hurry to arrive at the destination. This, of course, can lead to frustration because, while older generations know and understand that there are no shortcuts and the conventional, tried and true methods work best, Zoomers won’t appreciate the effort.

Gen Z has also been characterized as being entitled, wanting and demanding everything without having earned anything. This self-imposed sense of entitlement limits them in putting effort into accomplishing things. They want to go thru shortcuts and skip complete cycles of doing things. Gen Z expects things to be done for them in totality all the time. They have been coddled and are easily discouraged at the first hint of any adversity, or when there is any extra duty required.

Discipline is an alien word to Zoomers. Don’t forget, Zoomers were the generation that received participation trophies for just showing up to athletic events. They never made the connection as children between hard work, results and achievements. Feeling good about themselves was the most important thing in their upbringing, and it wasn’t until college when these hard lessons had to be learned, and until work life when consequences were realized.

Zoomers are always going to be working a side hustle. They are highly entrepreneurial and secretly, many want to run their own business someday. Their goal is to convert their hobby or passion into their full time career. The pandemic actually gave many of them an opportunity to test their entrepreneurial spirit, as many as 5.4M new businesses were started in 2021, up from 4.4M in 2020, and nearly 20% of these were started by people under 24.

Stability and balance are the things that Zoomers value most in their lives, both at home and at work. This actually makes sense when you consider the fact that they were raised during the Great Recession of 2008 and they witnessed many of their parents endure many sleepless nights. What is interesting, though, is how conflict adverse this generation is. They would rather quit a job instead of asking a current employer for a raise, for risk of hearing an answer they might not like. Instead of being confrontational, they would rather just go find a new job and quit their job without giving their current employer a chance to have a conversation or match an offer. Zoomers are struggling with job stress and are the most disengaged group at work, leading to ambivalence and withdrawal in their professional lives.

Finally, they are very concerned about their future and their well-being, but on the same token, 50% don’t expect to be in their current job a year from now. Their happiness is directly tied to their sense of purpose and meaning. Their work needs to connected with colleagues (remember, they have been isolated for nearly 3 years). Zoomers simply haven’t been given the opportunity to build community at work the way previous generations did and took for granted. If you think about it, even the simple task of ordering coffee has been replaced by an app and now they don’t even interact with a barista. Human beings are social and Zoomers have been stripped of the opportunity of relating with people by “efficiency tools” like DoorDash, to the point where meals are simply left on the porch.

There are good reasons for optimism in considering the future for Gen Zs. They’ve survived a global pandemic and arguably some of the biggest historical struggles, but they have the opportunity to learn, develop their resilience and bond with others through hard times. Life hasn’t been easy for them and there will be challenges ahead, but with their own spirit and support from others, they can create a bright tomorrow. We need to encourage them to get out and interact with each other and with other generations.

Next week, I will start to compare, contrast and discuss how generations can co-exist and develop trust.