Haley Trecarichi
I was born in 1998 which puts me in the Generation Z. Generation Z refers to people born from 1996 to 2015. This means an age span of 4-24. A few character traits of Generation Z include independence, technologically advanced, and environmentally friendly. These are three positive characteristics of Generation Z. I think all three of these characteristics are truths. Members of Generation Z are independent because the internet allowed us to learn and research things all on our own from a very young age. According to a scholarly article on the future workforce, generation Z “prefer transparency, self-reliance, flexibility and personal freedom” (1). I think members of Generation Z are this way because we grew up with much freedom to learn on our own with technology. I am 21 years old which puts me at the beginning of Generation Z, but I still do not remember a time in my life without technology. When I was younger I would play on the computer and use AIM to communicate with my friends. My parents bought me a cell phone when I was 13 years old and ever since I have been using technology almost everyday. Therefore, I am very technologically advanced. Members of our generation are environmentally friendly because the value of the environment and laws/regulations to protect our environment became increasingly important while we were growing up. For example, while I was in high school a new class was created called Environmental Science. I took this course and learned about the value of our environment and important ways to protect it. Classes like this were not taught/offered in previous generations.
Many people also expressed challenges of generation Z. One of these challenges is “Generation Z will present profound challenges to leaders, managers, supervisors, HR leaders, and educators in every sector of the workforce” (2). People believe generation Z will present challenges in the workforce because they want the quick and easy way, not the hard working and difficult way. I think this is a myth of Generation Z because people only think this due to technology. Members of Generation Z, including myself, have had access to quick and easy information our whole lives. I think in the workforce, we are implementing our quick and easy methods into old methods of previous generations. This does not mean challenges to leaders of different generations. It might even mean advancing the workplace and making things easier on previous generations. Another myth of Generation Z is that we are the same as millennials. Generation Z and millennials have multiple differences. Generation Z is a much better multi talker and internet savvy than millennials. Although millennials grew up with technology, Generation Z are “the first true digital natives” (3). We do not know a time before social media and the iPhone.
Generation Z has been using social media their whole lives. We are “digital natives” meaning we don’t remember a time before social media. Social media has shaped our lives since the time we can remember. I grew up on myspace and AIM, and now today use Instagram and Snapchat everyday. Social Media and technology are the main way my generation communicates. We are used to texting, chatting, and instant messaging versus talking on the phone or writing or communicating person. I even remember as a child using the phone to ask my friends to hangout rather than walking over to their houses to ask. Social Media has shaped us to be lazy because it is such an easy way to communicate. Why would you walk when you could reach someone via technology without having to move?
“Since they live in digitalized platforms, millennials are often disconnected from the members of the previous generations. For the most part, rather than being community oriented, they are self-centered and self-absorbed. Perhaps, this why they are known as the “Generation Me” . (Jenkins). I believe this quote by Jenkins is a complete myth and untrue. I personally do not feel at all disconnected from other generations. There is nothing self-centered about being technologically savvy and being able to operate the internet. If anything, social media such as facebook and instagram have helped me to keep in touch with relatives of different generations. For example, I update my grandma and aunts and uncles via Facebook by posting photos and statuses of things I’m doing while at college. I use my phone to FaceTime my nana while I’m studying in Europe. My nana who is obviously in a previous generation has an iPhone and I have taught her how to use it. If anything, being technologically advanced due to the generation I grew up in has kept me more connected with my extended family of different generations. Sending a text, posting a photo, or updating my status is a much quicker and more efficient way to communicate with family rather than sending a postcard or writing a letter. I am personally thankful for my elite understanding of technology so that I can use it for my own benefit and share it with older generations so they can benefit from it too.
Work Cited
(1) “Understanding The Generation Z – The Future Workforce”, Dr. A.P. Singh, Jiangguanglung Dangmeir, accessed February 2020
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305280948
(2) “Challenges and Issues of Generation Z”, Anjali Singh, accessed February 2020 https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b109/73a5c6d11f37542adc34455bb0c7fbcbbb9d.pdf
(3) “Move Over, Millennials, Here Comes Generation Z”, Alex Williams, accessed February 2020 https://blogs.vsb.bc.ca/sjames/files/2012/10/Move-Over-Millennials-Here-Comes-Generation-Z-The-New-York-Times.pdf
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