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Welcome to the latest edition of The Gen Zer. This week’s newsletter is a quick guide to the generations, including the newest entrants to the scene. We also take a look at the pros of partying, the rise of ‘neijuan,’ and Gen Z’s surprising changing attitudes to work.
Last week, the very first Gen Beta opened their eyes — at least, according to some estimations. There’s no centralised body that decides when each generation starts and ends, but a rough consensus sees Generation Alpha begin in 2010 and end in 2024, with Generation Beta following on as we reach the quarter century mark.
Generation Beta will continue being born until 2039, by which point they’ll make up 16% of the world’s population. Whilst Alphas grew up in a world of social media and increasingly smart technologies, Betas will only ever know a world where AI is increasingly sophisticated and commonplace. From education to healthcare to entertainment, AI will offer a more personalised, automated experience in almost every area of life.
As for the other defining characteristics of the next 15 years — it’s impossible to say. Whilst the naming of generations is now going through the Greek alphabet (with the previous three taking X, Y and Z, respectively), outside events often end up replacing the original name. Gen Y are more commonly known as Millennials. Gen Zers are sometimes called Zoomers (from the video platform that became ubiquitous in the pandemic) or Doomers (as a result of their general pessimism about the state of the world). Before Gen X, the Baby Boomers got their name from, you guessed it, the surging birth rate that followed World War II, whilst the ‘Silent Generation’ comes from an article in Time magazine in the 1950s, which alluded to how those children were taught to be seen and not heard. In twenty years time, Gen Beta might be known as something completely different.
If you’re confused by all the labels and various dates surrounding the generations, here’s a quick breakdown. (There’s some disagreement about the exact years, particularly with Gen Z, so these are all approximations.)
- Silent Generation: 1926 – 1945
- Baby Boomers: 1946 – 1964
- Gen X: 1965 – 1980
- Gen Y (Millennials): 1980 – 1995
- Gen Z: 1996 – 2010
- Gen Alpha: 2011 – 2024
- Gen Beta: 2025 – 2039
It’s a mistake to treat any generation as a monolith, of course. There’s very little you can say about any grouping of millions of people that will be true for all of them. However, with the generations there are some common factors that broadly shape the way they develop and act. For Gen Z, growing up amid things like the war on terror or the 2008 financial crash — and later, being an adolescent or a young adult during the pandemic — was a collective experience that had a wide-reaching impact. For Gen Alpha, existing in a world of social media and smartphones from the moment of birth will similarly continue to shape behaviour in a wide array of ways.
In the womb, a Boomer and a Gen Zer are no different to each other, but they are born into different worlds. Whilst there is nothing intrinsic to the people of each generation that makes them any different from someone older or younger, there are still external factors that will have some degree of impact. Global events, new technologies, societal changes, and so on. In many ways, a generation is merely a reflection of the world around them, which is why blaming Gen Zers for being lazy, or blaming Boomers for being out of touch, makes little sense. Instead, it would be more productive to critique the cultural and technological changes around them. If Gen Zers act differently in the workplace, for instance, then we might ask a) what societal changes happened around them as they entered the workforce, b) what opportunities might they need in order to better settle into a new world of work, or c) is the change of behaviour a bad thing?
So what kind of world might Gen Betas grow up in? Will the proliferation of AI result in an increasingly depersonalised world, or will soft skills and interpersonal relationships be valued more than ever as a result? Will the current run of conflicts and global crises eventually reach a peaceful resolution, or will human chaos continue as it always has? Will the economic difficulties — particularly the cost of living crisis — go on and on? And what will come after AI? What will the 2030s be known for? What about the new fashions, the wide-scale cultural changes, the shape of the working week?
It’s a very human thing to look back and remark how everything’s changed so much, then to look ahead and think that the future will still look pretty similar to the present. But as to what changes are actually going to come and affect us, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
See also:
Gen Z around the Web
Are Gen Z becoming more about crochet than clubbing? (thred.)
Post pandemic, there has seemingly been a trend towards Gen Zers ditching partying in favour of run clubs, crocheting and a good night’s sleep. The double whammy of enforced isolation and a rising cost of living means that fewer young people are spending their Friday nights necking pints and hitting the town with their mates. There are some positive sides to this, though it’s an interesting question whether it’s all for the best. Is hedonistic fun an important part of your twenties? Read more
Americans need to party more (the atlantic)
Along the same lines, could the humble house party be an answer to the isolation epidemic seen in the US, the UK and elsewhere? Ellen Cushing of the Atlantic argues that house parties are great and we need more of them:
What if there were a way to smush all your friends together in one place—maybe one with drinks and snacks and chairs? What if you could see your work friends and your childhood friends and the people you’ve chatted amiably with at school drop-off all at once instead of scheduling several different dates? What if you could introduce your pals and set them loose to flirt with one another, no apps required?
What is neijuan, and why is China worried about it? (the guardian)
The buzzword — which went viral after a student was filmed working on his laptop while riding his bicycle — reflects a mix of competitiveness and hopelessness amid China’s slowing economy. It joins other recent buzzwords like tangping, or “lying flat”, a term used to describe the young generation of Chinese who are choosing to chill out rather than hustle in China’s high-pressure economy, and runxue, or “run philosophy”, which refers to the determination of large numbers of people to emigrate. Read more
With an aging population and low birth rates, there’s a general shortage of skilled young workers in Japan, so firms are resorting to recruiting students before they’ve left college, creating some great opportunities for entry-level workers. Over 40% of Japanese pupils graduating in March this year have already had at least one job offer a full year before they’re set to wrap up school, for example. which is the highest percentage the country’s graduating talent has seen since 2016. Read more
Why are gen Z shunning ‘hustle culture’ in favour of long-term jobs? (the guardian)
Whilst Gen Z are known for leaving jobs in less time than older generations and generally idealising being their own boss and growing their own side hustle, recent research suggests the opposite trend may be rising. The research shows that workers under the age of 27 are eager to stay at a single company for seven years — twice as long as the average tenure for all generations — and revert to a life of comfort and security rather than the endless grind of competing in the employment marketplace. Read more
That’s all for this week! Make sure to subscribe for the latest on Gen Z and youth culture, and check out The Common Thred for a weekly roundup of the latest news, trends and thought pieces.
