Each generation has its own characteristics and events that have helped shaped them. Probably the most focused on and marketed generations in the past ten years are the infamous millennials. But what comes after millennials? People are starting to turn their heads to Generation Z. Generation Z was born from the mid-nineties until today.
Generation Z has grown up in the digital age. Teens can look anything up whenever and wherever they want, and that is a fantastic luxury that has never been an option for teens or students. But the same generation has been blamed for being technology addicted. When using their phones, many people don’t have the awareness that what they are doing is sending the message that they do not care or that they do not think something is important. This addiction is also not specific to Generation Z teens and tweens. Children now are given an iPad at restaurants, which is useful for parents, but what kind of message is that sending the kids about using technology around others? Schools are incorporating phones and devices more and more with programs like Kahoot and Remind101, so kids use their phones in school more. Since all of this tech is so new and changing and growing, boundaries have not been set to when it is appropriate and when it is not appropriate.
Though there are some that just are not aware of iManners, some are not using technology in the way it is perceived. Sometimes, when teens use their phones when around their families or during other inappropriate times, it is used as an escape. A lot of times teens take their phones out as a sign like “don’t talk to me”. Many times it is not the phone drawing them in, it is social anxiety or other issues. Not like this should be an excuse for under-socializing, but lots of times this is the same thing as reading a magazine in a waiting room, trying to look comfortable but not comfortable enough to want to have a conversation
The idea of connection is very interesting to Generation Z. Teens know how to use technology better than their elders most often. This power does not something that a minor often has. In a way, technology is an outlet where they feel they can do things that are off limits and not get caught for them. This idea has been highlighted over the recent murder of a thirteen year old girl who met a Virginia Tech student over the anonymous messaging app “Kik”. An escape, an addiction, a way to misbehave, or a way to learn; whichever is the truth about teens and technology, it will certainly have an impact on Generation Z going forward as adults.
Image Courtesy of entrepreneur.com