Are they better? Worse? More left wing? More right wing? More commercialised and superficial? More down to earth?

Do you have any views on them and their traits?

26 comments

  2. The oldest ones are 24, the youngest are 9. It’s impossible to judge that big of an age group, IMO. some are young adults and some are literal children.

  3. Millennial here – I have no beef with gen Z. As the saying goes, the kids are alright.

  4. I wish they’d learn that “vinyls” isn’t a word, but other than that they’re cool.

  5. Elder Millennial.

    I think Gen Z are more sensitive than we are. They are more open to mental health discussions. They are more open to gender identity. They are a smaller generation than Millennial. They spent their formative years in a period of extreme instability. They are far removed from life in the 80s and 90s, which was pre-internet but also much more stable than the 00s and especially after 2008. Growing up 2008-today is sort of like growing up in the great depression in terms of ‘weirdness’. That is going to really shape a generation.

    Of the few things I dislike about Gen Z. I dislike vaping. My generation grew up with this huge anti-smoking campaign and to see young people take on a new way to consume nicotine and embrace it as a cool thing I find to be disturbing. Smoking was drastically cut back between Gen X and Millennial.

    I am attracted to the idea that generations go through sort of a cycle. The Strauss–Howe generational theory I find to be very intriguing. If we go by this standard, Gen Z came around in the mid 2000s. Using the 4 generational cycle, generations are 20ish years long, not 15. So Millennial doesn’t go from 82 to 97, it goes from like mid 80s to mid 2000s. The oldest Gen Z were born in 2004-5ish and the oldest will be born in the mid 2020s.

    We will sort of go on repeat.

    Millennials will be a repeat of The GI generation. Gen Z will be a repeat of the Silent Generation. The generation that follows Gen Z will be a repeat of the Boomers. The generation that follows them will be a repeat of Gen X.

    Here is what I expect in the future.

    I expect Millennials to completely take over politically between now and the mid 2030s. Its going to hit big this decade and will be over by the 2030s. I expect this transition to mostly skip Gen X. It will be both Democrat and Republican, but I expect Democrat to take a much bigger share. I fully anticipate a Millennial president in 2032 and maybe even as soon as 2028, but not 2024. This person is going to have a very different attitude that older presidents, they might actually be a Republican but it will be nothing like the MAGA crowd and will probably be some sort of opposition to the MAGA crowd. But there is going to be a clear signalling of passing the political torch from the Baby Boomers to the Millennials. The Millennials will not be giving it back. I do not expect Gen Z to have much success (if you want a good comparison, we only had ONE Silent Generation president, it was Joe Biden.) It went straight from GI generation with George Bush to Boomer with Clinton.

    I think Gen Z will be an artist generation (not completely original on mypart, the guys I mentioned earlier took this stance. Artist generation follows a civic generation, Millennials are the civic generation). The great artworks that will be iconic of the 21st century will be dominated by Gen Z, and likely the younger kids of Gen Z. Gen Z will define what is cool 25 years from now. Millennials probably won’t like it, but as a generation we will be likely running the government and corporate world. The following generation of kids, Boomers 2.0 are going to absolutely love it though. “21st century classics” are going to be dominated by Gen Z. This is really going to be kicking in high gear starting in like the mid to late 2040s (keep in mind, with the 20 year generational blocks, there are still Gen Z being born).

    As far as Left-Wing or Right-wing. These two ideas are taking on less and less of meaning. There will be a left and right version of Gen Z, which will not be the same as the left an right version of say Gen Z or Boomers. Politics between generations can change drastically. As far as most collective generation, it was GI Generation, then Millennials. Millennials are going to prioritize taking over institutions in a big way. The people we will be taking them from will be mostly leaving due to retirement or will politically be ganged up on and voted out.

    As far as like commercialized or authentic. I don’t think its more or less different than anyone else, but I do think its changed a bit, but I have a hard time articulating how. I don’t see the popularity of huge brand names on clothing like I remember kids having in the 90s (I recall kids trying to wear everything visibly Tommy Hilfiger and would have their entire Tommy outfit. Not sure I see that today).

  6. I don’t think I’ve actually met one. Might have given one my order at a drive through but that’s about it. I have no concept of who they are as a group or individually.

  7. I’m a Millennial and teach Gen Z students. In general, they’re people like every other generation and differ from person to person. But some general trends:

    The Good:

    * They’re far more aware of mental health and don’t see asking for help or admitting to problems as being a weakness.
    * They’re generally very friendly to people quite different than themselves. Bullying still exists but it doesn’t take the same physical form that it used to. Gen Z sees diversity as a positive thing.
    * They value intelligence. Getting good grades used to be something only nerds aspired to but now any cool kid or student-athlete recognizes that without good grades their future paths are limited.

    The Bad:

    * They lack many shared experiences/culture. With the amount of options out there to consume (YouTube instead of TV, Spotify instead of the radio, UberEats any food you want, etc) it seems like there is less social glue that unites Gen Z.
    * They’re very nihilistic. It’s a good thing that they aren’t naïve to the problems of the world but not everything is doom and gloom.

  8. i’ve given up trying to keep track of all the arbitrary letters and numbers given to ever changing ranges of age groups. its mostly just used in clickbait shit to piss people off.

  10. I think the only thing I really know I like about them is their no bullshit approach to work and work environments.

  11. Elder millenial (‘84) here – anyone who says “kids these days” is full of shit and is echoing a trait satirized by fucking Socrates, that’s how long that shit’s been going on.

    Gen Z in my opinion is either at the point or going to grow up to be incrementally more lefty overall in philosophy but unable to grasp the complexities of the way the world works until they’re older, perhaps at a later age than my generation did. The issue in my opinion is not that they’re coddled or infantilized or some bullshit like that but rather they are dealing with an exponentially greater volume of information readily available to them than was available to previous generations, and it takes a long time to develop the right skills to analyze and synthesize a worldview.

    It just makes me sad. I have kids and I worry constantly about the future they will grow up in. I don’t worry about them as people, I worry about them having the same opportunities. About climate change, financial stability, the economy, education. I don’t doubt they’ll power through whatever problems we’re leaving them. I just feel sad about how much they’re going to suffer.

  13. I want to slap everyone who generalizes about people based on their birth year.

  14. I’m not quite old enough to sit on my front porch shouting “get off my lawn,” so in the meantime I settle for treating young people like people and they mostly return the favor.

    I don’t know a lot of young people well, but the ones I do know are
    pretty alright. Love the idea of a fair world, see the unfairness and want to fix it better than previous generations, can barely imagine growing up without cell phones and internet. I’ve heard they’re a bit more cynical than my generation, but I know I was a lot more cynical at 18 than I am at 40. A lot like I remember being, except that I could barely imagine a world without landlines and TV and absolutely couldn’t imagine what the internet would become.

  15. I like em. Kids will always be kids. I feel like they’re more creative because they grew up making so much content for Instagram, Youtube, and Tiktok.

    Anyone who thinks this generation is more stupid or naive than the previous one is looking at the past through rose-tinted glasses.

    If anything, I’m worried that they’re not hanging out and goofing off with each other enough. Digital communication has a placebo effect of togetherness, but it’s not as intimate as being with someone in person.

  16. I scarcely interact with people that young. A lot of youth culture memes and trends seem strange and impenetrable to me, but I’m getting older so that makes sense. I’m not a youth, why should youth culture stay with me?

  18. My daughter is middle of the road Gen Z. They’re are pretty intelligent and understanding about social acceptance, environment, technology, and mental health. I see that they care more about others, than other generations. They’re not a “me” generation. They’ll make a positive impact in the future. Ok, yes…they ate Tide Pods but we all did dumb things as kids; it’s just they’re stupid moves are not private.

  19. There’s a Gen Z in my household who is very culturally plugged into her cohort. Not sure to what extent this is anecdotal, but from her stories:

    1. They’re very woke, both the good and bad. They are understanding of LGBT people, racial minorities, religious groups, disabilities, etc. People don’t get taunted for who they are. At the same time, they’re also more authoritarian when discussing social issues. More prone to perceive micro-aggressions (even when none was intended) or to quickly label someone a bigot/racist for fairly innocuous things.

    2. Very cynical and unpatriotic. Not even in the “I love my country and that’s why I criticize it” kind of way. They’re just extremely sullen and dejected about everything. “Why bother if global warming’s going to kill us all anyway” types. I think it’s social media (Tik Tok) where they’re constantly propagandized into self-hatred. It’s become cool to “hate yourself” and your country. Some kind of bizarre cultural bloodletting. I’m a Democrat and I find it bizarre.

    3. Socially awkward. It feels like Gen Z is a bit stunted socially. My Gen Z speaks perfect English, is intelligent, and charismatic. Yet she can’t ask the cashier a basic question without getting flummoxed or shy. They definitely seem less Type A than Millennials.

    4. They’re still growing into who they are. #1-3 may have been said about Millennials as well, so it goes without saying that the ones above are just moments in time. Gen Z will grow into their cohort with time. They’re still very young.

  20. I am not sure I have an opinion about *them* because how would I know? I am not sure how young people are going to do it, seriously, talk about roadblocks and challenges being thrown in front of young people like a gauntlet! Pay is too low, school is too expensive, rent is too damn high, and no one seems to care.

    Good luck! Seriously, we haven’t made it easy on them.

  22. Nope. I think about people as individuals, not as a generalized demographic.

    While age and stage of life influence people, there are hundreds of other factors that are far more influential in shaping people that a broad, marketing based generation label.

    It’s a label, not a destiny

  23. I have immense hope for Gen-Z. You’re so progressive and forward thinking. I think the world is a better place with you in it and I cannot wait until you’re old enough to take on civic roles and change the world as we know it. However, you all seriously have to learn how to act at live shows lol

    Never in my life have I experienced so much disrespect for the artist on stage until I started attending shows that had TikTok musicians headlining… The artists have been great, the crowd they bring in though… Utterly terrible.

  24. They’re children. I teach them and I’m worried about the amount of them who hand in no work and still pass year after year. Other than that, I love their confidence and sense of humor

  25. I don’t have a ton of exposure, tbh.

    The biggest thing I notice is a clear split on humor that currently happens around 25, with those under that line being more absurdist than those over.

  26. Overall I feel kinda bad for GenZ. They are growing up in a very weird and difficult time that is complicated by having too much information via social media and smart phones and pressures associated with that. So many of these kids have commented to me that they wish they could have grown up in the 80s or 90s. Yet they say that as they mindlessly scroll through text messages or watch tiktok.

    GenZ seems disillusioned to the world and superficial and idealistic – with ideals that I don’t understand at all.

    There are some really great kids in this generation. Those who are adaptable and innovative and who I think will do really great things. But the generation as a whole seems to have forced the world to lower the bar, so to speak. That’s not their fault – it’s the fault of parents and society that raised them.

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