Gen Z and the Technology Teens
Generation labels are complicated for many people. Personally, I am on the cusp between Millennial and Gen Z but always aligned more with Millennials because I grew up with all older siblings and feel that I share their cultural touch points more than those of Gen Z. As I have grown older, however, I think I am much more solidly in between these two controversial generations. I say controversial because it seems that these generations are always scapegoated by the older generations, with claims of laziness and ungratefulness being the most frequent, in my experience. The rapid advances in technology have completely altered how people interact with each other and how information is spread. It is a completely different world than the one of generations past and that is often a sticking point when it comes to intergenerational communication.
This generational gap is evident in the Pew Research Centers work centering on the belief that it is harder to be a teen today than in years past. Both teens and parents believe that it is harder to be a teen today than it was 20 years ago. 69% of parents say it is harder to be a teen today while 44% of teens say it is harder today than 20 years ago. What struck me about the parent’s perception, and I think it is safe to assume that these parents are primarily elder Millennial and Gen X, is that the first two reasons cited were social media and technology, with 65% of the respondents mentioning technology in some capacity in their answer. Comparatively 15% of parents think it is easier to be a teen today and 47% of those parents cite technology as the main thing that makes it easier to be a teen. For my part, as neither a parent nor a teen, I am certain that no matter what technology is developed, it will always be hard to be a teen. This report's finding did not surprise me that much. While there are amazing things that technology offers us in terms of education and ease of access, we cannot ignore the effect that social media and algorithm driven platforms can have on young and growing minds.
As a future librarian and information professional I was initially interested in McCrindle’s data (pictured below) about how and where Gen Z learn new skills which is primarily from social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. I have my reservations about those apps as information resources simply because the quality of information is not vetted, and content creators have a financial incentive to make something look easy and eye-catching to get clicks and views and sometimes backlash. There is good information out there, but it does require some information literacy to sift out the bad to find good and reputable teachers on these platforms. I enjoy watching Ann Reardon who debunks viral hacks and dangerous crafts on her YouTube channel How to Cook That.
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| Image Source: McCrindle.com |
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Hi Emma,
ReplyDeleteI am also someone who feels they fall between the Millennial and Gen Z generations, though I tend to lean more towards Gen Z compared to you. I think this may be because, also unlike you, I have all younger siblings and as the oldest am constantly learning about more things that are considered "Gen Z" traits and ideas. I unlike the younger Gen Zs and even Gen Alphas though still remember a time when technology was fairly limited and even my first phone was a Nokia flip, something that would seem antiquated to them. I do like your point on the range of information literacy levels in students of those younger, and how important it is as a librarian to be aware of this.
Hi Jo, I love the validation of my theory on generation cuspers. I should say that I feel like I still walk the line fairly evenly but have begun to feel more Gen Z than I did a few years ago. Maybe that's because I have more friends who identify as Gen Z or I have simply begun to participate in more Gen Z activities. I myself had a Pantech Matrix as my first phone and have a very clear memory of crying after it fell in the toilet during school.
DeleteHi Emma! Thanks for your post. I enjoyed reading your reflection on the challenges of being a teen in today's world. As a 6th grade teacher, I constantly think about how I'm glad that I grew up in the early to mid 2000s. While my students reap some benefits with technology being present in their lives, I find that they have a lot more drama to deal with because of social media. They are also definitely being exposed to things that are not age appropriate and it leads to different challenges with behavior when at school. I also agree with your point that students these days are learning a lot of things from Youtube, Tik Tok, and Instagram. Like you mention, it is important to be aware of and teach students about informational literacy so they can avoid consuming and spreading misinformation.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly, Thank you for your comment. I don't know how teachers and parents do it these days. I have trouble being on social media as an adult, I could not imagine being a kid and being exposed to the whole of social media with very little adult supervision or filtering. Your point about kids being exposed to things that are not age appropriate makes me think of all of those scandals with celebrities or YouTube personalities engaging with minors online. It is so scary and makes me glad to not be a young kid today. I wish there was more of a focus on educating kids about online interactions and how to stay safe. Maybe there is! Have you encountered anything like this with your age group?
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