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Generation Z ^[1] is the generation of people living in Western or First World cultures that follows Generation Y. According to Phil Ruthven of IBISWorld, who provides market research analysis, Generation Z - typically the offspring of Generation X - are currently in grade school or younger. While Generation Z - or as Strauss and Howe defined them, The New Silent Generation - has yet to be defined, the generation begins sometime after 2000. ^[2]

Defining traits

A number of different traits have been ascribed to the generation by a variety of sources. However, since the generation is still very young, theories are still in a state of evolution, and few authoritative works have been produced on the topic. A wide variety of claims have been made by various sources: It is claimed that members of Generation Z are very active consumers, with a high degree of influence over their parents' purchasing decisions,^[3][4][5] They are highly connected, having had lifelong use of communications and media technologies such as DVDs, the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messaging, iPods and cellular phones, earning them the nickname "digital natives".^[6][7][8]

They have grown up in a world with widespread equality of the sexes at work and at home, and where single-parent or same-sex parent families are commonplace, as are two-income families.^[9][10][8]. Their lives are full of structured activities, and a number of social researchers anticipate members of Generation Z will have a strong social conscience and work ethic – though researcher Hugh Mackay disagrees, saying that Generation Z is more indulged and anti-social than Generation Y.^[8]

Other names

Due to the poorly defined "starting date" of Generation Z as well as its members having many traits in common with Generation Y, a number of names have been applied to both generations.

Authors Strauss and Howe have suggested the name "Millennials" to define a group born from 1982 to some time after 2000,^[11] with the name "New Silent Generation" proposed for the generation that follows it.^[12] "The Internet Generation" is another popular name for the youth culture, although it has also been applied to members of Generation Y.^[13][14] For similar reasons, another suggested name is "Generation @."^[15] "Generation Now" has been suggested to reflect the "culture of immediacy" the generation is exposed to.^[16]

The term "Generation C" has also been used, with the "C" having multiple, often simultaneous meanings: "click", "content", "connected", "computer"^[17] "community",^[18] and "celebrity"^[19] have all been suggested. The American Press Association's Media Center describes Gen C as "creating, producing and participating in news in a connected, informed society."^[20] Like the "Internet Generation", this term has been used in reference to both Generation Y and Generation Z.

In May 2006, New Zealand's Idealog magazine published an article "Meet Generation C", which brought together many of the already-identified characteristics of Generation C. The article compared Generation C to the archetypical Renaissance Man or Woman, positing that the rise in creative expression was due to the same conditions that led to the renaissance - namely trade and widespread peace.^[21]

References

^[1]http://www.firstglimpsemag.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/2006/y0303/12y03/12y03.asp&guid=

Further reading

• John Palfrey: Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, Basic Books, 2008, ISBN 978-0465005154
• Don Tapscott: Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World, McGraw-Hill, 2008, ISBN 978-0071508636

External links

• Generation Z McCrindle Research.
• Generation Z in Israel (in Hebrew). Research by Nimrod Kamer, Firma, Globes, July 2008.