Who’s gen z?

My kids – 18 and 15 – often drop that gen z simply does it that way and that boomers can’t understand. There are boomer jokes and gen z memes. Gen z slang and probably also somehow a clear demarcation of gen z from gen x. Aha, I think as a boomer. Who’s gen z?
The other day I read an interesting study in which gen z – the generation Z – got a face for me. It looked at the living and working environments of 14-39 year-olds in Germany. As the mother of two generation representatives and a therapeutic companion of young people, I can only confirm the most important points that characterize an entire generation very well:

How gen z are you?

• Gen z is always online. Real life has merged with digital.
• Gen z has great difficulty making decisions. There are too many options, too much information and too little time to think about the decision in peace.
• It is under enormous pressure to perform. Because they constantly compare themselves via social media with the (supposedly) beautiful lives of others, feel bad and question decisions made again.
• Generation z is non-committal to the max. Whether it’s a date or a new job, a decision is just an interim until something better comes along.
• Gen z relies on the security of the family. Family support is more important today than ever before, as so many relationships of this generation are only maintained digitally and are not resilient in real life. Who gives you a hug when you’re feeling down and a ‘Like’ doesn’t help? (Young Germans Study, Simon Schnetzer, 2019 https://simon-schnetzer.com/blog/junge-deutsche-2019-mitgestalten/)
  
  

When the gen z of the family have found their way home, I’ll gently take the smartphone out of their hands and give them a hug that counts for a million likes.