Gross is a voracious reader, a fan of novels like “ The Hate U Give” and “ To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” and she has a special place in her heart for the Harry Potter series. “I don’t know if she’d be allowed in if she was coming to this country today.” “It makes me scared for my mother,” she says, an immigrant from Taiwan. Kids in her class have been talking about the situation in Iran “and saying things like, ‘It’s going to be World War Three.’ ” She describes herself as “actually kind of scared.” She gets particularly nervous when she hears about the immigration crisis. “It’s like when you’re a little kid and you’re at a party and you’re trying to get people’s attention but nobody is listening to you and you’re like, ‘Pay attention! I’m trying to speak here!’ ” “One thing we all have in common is we don’t feel heard,” she says. “TikTok is just weird” - but she does identify with Gen-Z’s frustration. She doesn’t use the social-media platforms so popular with her peers - “I don’t have TikTok or Instagram,” she laughs. Gross describes her generation in just three words: “Phone and screen absorbed,” she says. Here, six Gen-Zers talk about their generation - and how they see themselves fitting into it. The suicide rate among people aged 10 to 24 has jumped 56 percent since 2007, according to the CDC, but this same cohort is more likely (27 percent) to report their mental-health struggles than millennials (15 percent) and Gen-Xers (13 percent), according to a report last year by the American Psychological Association.Īnd though Gen-Zers are less religious than any previous generation (about one third of them have no religious affiliation, and according to research by the Barna Group, 21 percent of Gen-Zers identify as atheist or agnostic, compared to 15 percent of millennials), they’re also more accommodating to religious minorities in the workplace than previous generations, according to a Becket Fund for Religious Liberty report. While a recent survey by condom company SKYN found they’re having sex younger (starting at age 16 compared to 18 for millennials) and they’re more sexually adventurous (42 percent would have a threesome compared to 30 percent of millennials), 65 percent of them take safe sex seriously, an upswing from 54 percent of millennials, and they’re also bringing back traditional values like marriage (80 percent of them plan on getting married someday, finds youth marketing firm YPulse). “Generation Z is both trendy and timeless, which is rare for youth generations in the last 50 years,” says Tim Elmore, co-author of “ Generation Z Unfiltered: Facing Nine Hidden Challenges of the Most Anxious Population.” They’re digital pioneers, boldly looking toward the future, but also surprisingly old-fashioned. “They’ve seen how an economic downturn can impact people’s lives,” says Grace. And they’re better at saving money (32 percent do it regularly compared to 23 percent of Gen-Xers when they were the same age), thanks to the ripple effects of the 2008 recession (when the oldest of them was just 13). They’re progressive but less partisan - a third decline to call themselves Democrats or Republicans. Most are pursuing college (59 percent compared to 32 percent of Gen-Xers at their age). “They see the world so differently than those who came before them,” says Meghan Grace, author of “ Generation Z: A Century in the Making.” According to Pew Research on American Gen-Zers, nearly half are ethnic minorities (48 percent) and a third know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns (35 percent). Last year, they became the largest generation, constituting 32 percent of the global population - or 2.47 billion of the 7.7 billion people on Earth - surpassing the millennials and Baby Boomers, respectively.īut their strength isn’t just in their numbers. The eldest member of Generation Z - the demographic born between 19 - is just 24, and yet the group’s dominance is already being felt. Gen Z is going crazy for cassette tapes as artists like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish fuel boombox-era comeback To restore Gen Z's love of country, make them pass a civics test to vote Gen Z workers blasted as ‘selfish’ for this work trend
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