Understanding Generation Z Culture

Technology is one of the first aspects of the modern world that comes to mind when asking what major cultural events have shaped Millennials and Gen Z. During both generations’ lifetimes, the internet became a key part of everyday life. Social media followed in the early 2000s, which was in turn followed by the smartphone.

However, Gen Z is more influenced by devices than Millennials, with 40% of them saying they are “digital device addicts.” Gen Zers are 25% as likely to see themselves as device addicts as Millennials are. Unlike Gen Z, Millennials remember MySpace and were around when the iPod was new, trendy technology. They also tend to post more openly online. The defining device of Gen Z’s generation is most definitely the smartphone, and Gen Z grew up with social media and YouTube (literally, YouTube was created and grew up with them). Gen Zers tend to be much more private about their online activity compared to Millennials.

The times have unquestionably changed since the Silent Generation, when people (mainly men) tended to stick to one job for their whole lives. Both Millennials and Gen Zers expect to change jobs every few years for a variety of reasons.

But while many Millennials pursued higher education (which didn’t necessarily help them in their careers), Gen Zers are more likely to go right into jobs after high school. They’re entering the workforce sooner than Millennials did, and their careers and financial stability are a significant priority for them. As we said before, Gen Z has an entrepreneurial focus. They tend to stick with their jobs longer than Millennials do and are comfortable with pursuing non-traditional ways of developing skills (e.g., YouTube videos).

Neither Millennials nor Gen Zers are very concerned with traditional life milestones such as getting married or buying a house. Neither values company loyalty very highly, but both generations want their employers to invest in them. While Millennials tend to be idealistic, Gen Zers are more practical. Millennials tend to value teamwork, while Gen Z is more independent and competitive. Both want to make a difference in the world and to have purpose in their lives. Yet while Gen Z does want purpose in their jobs, they are unlikely to give up financial security to attain it.

Both value authenticity, but Gen Z values it even more. Both multitask, but Gen Z multitasks even more (or if you believe multitasking to be inherently impossible, switches from task to task more often). Millennials saw emotional maturity as a sign they’d arrived at adulthood, while Gen Z values financial independence. According to Barna, “6 out of the top 10 reasons teens look up to their role model are related to career or financial success.”

It seems likely there is a greater tendency in Gen Zers to struggle with their mental health. This is supported by one study, which found:
Fewer than half (47%) of Gen Zers say they’re content with their lives compared to 60% of Millennials. And, 67% of Millennials believe that their life is full of purpose compared to only 53% of Gen Z. In fact, this youngest cohort reports enduring more “extreme” stress than other generations, and, overall, 58% say they’re at least moderately stressed, which is a really telling number.

In the comments we saw under the “Generations” video cited above, a lot of those who identified as being in Gen Z said that they see both themselves and their peers struggling with anxiety and depression. It’s possible that the fear of missing out (FOMO), which is heightened by social media, is something that makes this stress worse.

A trend we can observe in Millennials that only grew with Gen Z is a less traditional view of sexuality: “A 2016 survey by the J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group found that only 48% of Generation Z identifies as ‘completely heterosexual’ compared to 65% of Millennials.”

It’s common now for young people to see gender as fluid and non-binary. Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose Depp (b. 1999), has said, “‘You don’t have to label your sexuality; so many kids these days are not labeling their sexuality and I think that’s so cool.’” Gen Zers are more likely than Millennials to support same-sex marriage, transgender rights, and interracial marriage.

Barna calls Gen Z the “first truly ‘post-Christian’ generation” and has found that most previous generations had a “basic education on the Bible and Christianity”—but not Gen Z. Gen Z is also more likely than other generations (apart from Millennials) to say that the problem of evil is what’s stopping them from believing in Christianity.

Gen Z typically sees truth as relative, but also cares about there being evidence to support claims. Even though they have a mostly favorable view of the Church, they don’t think attending church is that important.

Gen Zers tend to think that what’s right is what doesn’t hurt anyone. Why is that? According to Barna, the reasons are complex and include:

• the vast amount of information Gen Z has access to
• the level of diversity they’re around
• empathy for people who are different from them

There is, however, a notable difference in beliefs among Gen Zers when comparing Christians to non-Christians. Engaged Christian young people particularly have more traditional views of sexuality. They are more likely to believe that premarital sex and homosexuality are wrong compared to their non-Christian or only nominally Christian peers.