Generation Z

By: I. Koelle

Along with some people you may ask, what is Generation Z? Well, Generation Z is the demographic cohort named after the millennials. Demographers, along with researchers, typically use the mid-1990s to mid-2000s as starting birth years. Common characteristics associated with most of Generation Z are that they have been using the internet and interacting with technology since a very young age and are usually more comfortable using it than older generations. But they have more than that to it, so what exactly are the Gen Z characteristics, and what makes them different from other generations?

Something that differs Gen Z from older and even the millennials generation is their media consumption habits. A study exposes the changing media consumption habits of the younger consumers. While Gen Z may follow millennials closely, these two generations are extremely different when it comes to the social media platforms/networks they visit, the devices they use and the amount of TV content consumed by them. These are the most used devices by Generation Z: smartphones used for an average of 15.4 hours a week, the TV ,13.2 hours a week and laptops, 10.6 hours a week. Now let’s compare this to the millennials: desktop, 16.4 hours a week, smartphones, 14.8 hours a week, and the TV ,14.8 hours a week.

Another characteristic that differs Gen Z from older generations are their favourite apps. Well, the social media apps used daily by Gen Z are Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. In first place we have Facebook 55%, next we have a tie between Instagram and Snapchat at 52% and at last Twitter at 23%. Fun fact: did you know that Instagram is thinking of deactivating likes on posts due to the competition it creates between young users and sometimes causing depression?
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So, that’s a bit about Generation Z! I hope you learned some more about it!