Gen Z: A Generation with Impact
Generation Z, definition: The group of people who were born in the US and Western Europe after 2001 (Cambridge English Dictionary)
Gen Z is the first generation to grow up entirely surrounded by what we perceive as modern technology. During their lives, there have always been computers, consoles, mobile phones, and some form of social media.
Because of this, and improving STEM education, Gen Z has a unique relationship with technology that perhaps eludes older generations. They accept technology as part of their day to day lives, but more than that, they carry forward into the future the knowledge that technology is now intrinsically woven into just about everything.
And Gen Z thinks technology developers could do better.
Gen Z Technology Consumption
If you’ve ever shouted at your teen to get off their phone, you’re not alone. According to Snapchat Business, 78% of Gen Z say that their mobile phone is the best way to access the internet. They also spend an average of four and a quarter hours per day on their phone — longer than any other generation.
But is this a bad thing? There’s sometimes a perception that this time is wasted. Yet 74% of Gen Z surveyed talked about their desire to strive for more out of life, and 65% expressed a career-orientated mindset. Hardly the mindset of a “lazy” kid.
Gen Z is without a doubt the most digitally-oriented generation and becoming more so with every year. So, how are technology companies adapting to provide for our most tech-hungry, internet-savvy young adults and children?
Technology in a Changing Cultural Landscape
Members of Generation Z are the first generation to be raised by Gen X and millennials, giving them a new outlook on life. As well as being pragmatic, realistic, and holding a strong sense of social justice, Gen Z treats technology as easily as breathing. With that in mind, they expect it to be accessible, easy to use, and simply work. Buffering times, faulty components, hardware that breaks after three months… No thank you. How are technology companies living up to these expectations?
Well, in some cases, they’re not. Social media platforms are consistently failing to protect the most vulnerable or filter out hate speech accurately. Image-based platforms fail to provide easy image tags for the partially sighted. Hard-of-hearing folks are often still stuck using archaic text-to-talk facilities in order to speak to a customer service department.
Clearly, there are solutions to all these issues, although nobody is saying they are easy. Some companies like Arm are taking the step of partnering with young, Gen Z ambassadors to get insight straight from their most prolific consumers.
What’s the Advice from Gen Z to Tech Developers?
Gen Z has some clear advice to tech companies, and most of it starts with the plea for them to really listen. If you’re in technology development right now, whether you’re working on apps, hardware, accessibility tools, social media — take note of the feedback you get from your younger audience. Their age should never be a deterrent to taking note of what they have to say. In fact, as time goes on, they will be your most prevalent and most savvy customers.
The second piece of key advice is to keep developing technology with diversity in mind. Key points that Gen Z want considered are:
· Does this piece of technology treat people fairly?
· Is it just, for example, can anyone access it or does it provide limitations to certain groups, for example, the hard of hearing or partially sighted? Does it improve life in some way?
· Is it representative? Will people of all cultures, backgrounds, and abilities find something to resonate with them whilst using this piece of technology, or viewing its advertisements or related media?
A great example is the number of women in tech and girls in tech education. Many technological advances lead to tools or apps that are often marketed mainly towards men. As recently as January 2020, two adverts were banned for portraying only men in roles such as coding, music production, and video games production. The company in question tried to argue that their audience was mainly male, and it’s that attitude from tech companies that needs to change. If you only ever tell men or boys about cool, exciting technological advances, then how can girls get a foot in the door? We get more girls in STEM and STEM education by showing them that they belong there.
Avye Couloute, founder of Girls Into Coding, has this to say to tech companies looking to stay relevant for the next generation of adults: “We want better, easier to use, affordable and accessible technology. We want to know what you are doing to address the global issues of poverty and hunger. We want technologies that work for everyone, so everyone can benefit from the next wave of tech at the same time, and no one gets left behind”.
In a recent article, technology giants HP suggested that Gen Z is “redefining their world through technology”. This might be true, but it’s so much more than that. Gen Z have a real opportunity to redefine the world for everyone, through the development of truly accessible, representative, and socially-just technologies for all.
I can’t wait to see what the future has in store thanks to Gen Z.
