Gen Z is the name given to the current generation of young people by many demographic researchers. According to the Pew Research Center, Generation Z consists of people born between 1997 and 2012.

As the first social generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and portable digital technology from a young age, members of Generation Z, even if not necessarily digitally literate, have been dubbed ”digital natives”.

Aside from the unique set of circumstances in which Gen Z is approaching adulthood, what do we know about this new generation? We know it’s different from previous generations in some important ways, but similar in many ways to the Millennial generation that came before it.

Technology, in particular the rapid evolution of how people communicate and interact, is another generation-shaping consideration. Baby Boomers grew up as television expanded dramatically, changing their lifestyles and connection to the world in fundamental ways. Generation X grew up as the computer revolution was taking hold, and Millennials came of age during the internet explosion.
 

In summary, a typical Gen Zer is a self-driver who deeply cares about others, strives for a diverse community, is highly collaborative and social, values flexibility, relevance, authenticity and non-hierarchical leadership, and, while dismayed about inherited issues like climate change, has a pragmatic attitude about the work that has to be done to address those issues.

Most gen­er­a­tions tend to be more left-lean­ing than the pre­vi­ous gen­er­a­tion, and Gen Z is no excep­tion. While Gen Zers look a lot like Mil­len­ni­als on many key issues, they are the most polit­i­cal­ly pro­gres­sive gen­er­a­tion yet. They are the gen­er­a­tion most like­ly to see the advance­ment of LGBTQ rights  as a pos­i­tive devel­op­ment. Even among Repub­li­cans,  Gen Zers take a more progressive stance on social issues:agree that Black Amer­i­cans are treat­ed more unfair­ly in this coun­try, they believe the gov­ern­ment should play a greater role in solv­ing prob­lems and they are more like­ly to attribute cli­mate change to human activ­i­ty, as opposed to nat­ur­al patterns.

Sure, Gen Z likes face-to-face interaction, but it doesn’t always have to take place in the same physical location. Regularly utilizing apps such as FaceTime or Skype, members of Gen Z will often have “face-to-face” conversations with thousands of miles separating the participants, utilizing technology of which they are so adept.

The main difference between Gen Z and older generations is the reduced amount of eye contact employed. The younger generation was born with a device in their hands and are simply used to looking down. It’s not meant to be a sign of disrespect or disinterest in the person speaking to them, although older generations may interpret their lack of eye contact as such.