WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM GENERATION Z?

PEOPLE TEND TO USE ‘MILLENNIAL’ AS SHORTHAND FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT THE YOUNGEST MILLENNIALS ARE NOW 25 YEARS OLD. A NEWER GENERATION, ‘GEN Z’, ARE STARTING TO MAKE THEIR PRESENCE KNOWN, AND THEY HAVE A LOT TO OFFER

- CAITLIN GENG

The first crop of millennials are about to enter their forties, and despite the many (many) articles you’ll find online about how they’re ruining this and that industry, are layabouts sponging off their parents and have ushered in a new obsession with avocado toast, they’re actually old news. Gen Z makes up about 46% of the population of South Africa; about 27.5 million people. Loosely defined as those born between 1996 and 2014, they’re a genuine phenomenon: born into a world ruled by the internet and a constant influx of information, never having known a time without selfies and social media, their reality is unique, something no other generation has experienced.

While we often think of parenting as a lifelong journey of imparting our knowledge and experience to our kids (and grandkids), learning can be a twoway street. So what can we learn from the teenaged and young adult members of Gen Z in our families, if we take the time to listen?

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