Being born in the digital age would be considered a very lucky chance by most but, it doesn’t always feel like that for Generation Z born between 1997 and 2002 that are best considered as the digital natives. The average Gen Z got their first smartphone just before their thirteenth birthday. Some people might consider that the gen Z were brought up on a silver platter because the world they were born in was very much interconnected in every aspect. However, from a different view point, this exposure to knowledge and information might also be somewhat overwhelming thus making it not the most ideal environment where almost everything can be understood by a click of a button on the internet.
The generation Z has shown other diverse characteristics than the generations before them including being more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation, and they are on track to be some of the most well-educated and having less validation expectations. With a better entrepreneurial mindset the Gen Z is able to conceptualize the world from a much better standpoint seeing how well interconnected the world is.
In a more concerning aspect, they don’t distinguish between friends they meet online and friends in the physical world which might be both a good thing and a worrying thing because as mama said, never mess around with strangers, it’s a dangerous world, but that’s a thing the Gen Z is not quite keen to hear. The Gen Z also has a high value for privacy and therefore, in as much as they are on social media sharing aspects of their private life like tours and other hobbies, they are also much aware of the need for privacy.
Diversity can be seen as one of their strongest attributes in the way they like to collaborate and approach the world as a global village. As a way of unlimited exposure to this open world, there are many factors that contribute to the mental health challenges of the Gen Z. Because of being so pragmatic an financially minded, the generation Z also wants to achieve success by a click and this has led to disillusionment. The desire for fast riches and wealth by a finger click has brought so much disappointment because Gen Z believes the world worlds in a fast way but truly not understanding the flow and process other generations before them had to take.
The risk of breach to privacy and the anxiety for quick success are some of the dominant factors that result to the world feeling quite Insafe and unpredictable at some point seeming the more they know, the less they understand as many are bombarded with truth and lies in equal measure.