Generation Z. Gen Z. Igeneration. Net generation. As the generation of kids born in 1995-2010, the oldest age of Gen Z being 23 and the youngest being 8, Gen Z follows Gen Y or more commonly known as the millennials. 

Our generation is under so much scrutiny, but why? You could say that every generation has been scrutinized when they were our age, but according to Mr. Schaper, “your generation is different in that you have to live your life under a lens, comparing yourself to everyone else.”  Making it easier to be judged and watched.

Generation Z was born into the beginning of social media, the younger half of Gen Z have never known a world without social media, so of course as members of Gen Z grow older social media is gonna stay by our side. Generation Z uses social media as way of communication and expression, which is a foreign idea to the older generations. Now of course in typical human behavior they judge us for this, also labeling the generation lazy and unequipped with social skills.

“Socialization has changed, it’s not normal conversation like we had…your attention span is so short,” Dr. Megan Malone said, regarding Gen Z’s socialization skills, or the lack of.

So how can we improve on this? In an ideal world, we would just put down our phones and magically have a deep and meaningful conversation with someone, but unfortunately that’s not how were brought up or how we function. Instead, we could get involved in after school activities, such as sports and clubs, both teach you great social skills and lifelong skills.

Our generation is considered the most accepting yet. We are fighting for other’s human rights even if we’ve gotten ours, we help and fight for others.

Many believe we need to have this state of mind but for all injustices, we get patronized for our confidence and our involvement in politics. Older generations will tell us to mind our own business and that we are too young to understand, but that’s the thing about our generation; we want to get things done, and make things better.

“How Republicans and Democrats fight, it’s awful, they’re teaching kids to be so mean,” Margret Folkerson, a 92-year-old woman who lives in Lake St. Louis, said. She said that she could see our generation changing that and being more civil towards each other.

When asked about how our generation will approach future challenges, Mr. Schaper talked about how he could see Generation Z prioritizing climate change and improving the health of the planet and accepting cultural differences. These would be things Gen Z is passionate about but we get knocked down when talking about it because “we wouldn’t understand.” However, we have been born into and raised in controversial times and we have been brought up in a world of opinions, so why is that when we, young adults and teenagers, have something to say it’s an uneducated statement. So I think Generation Z should keep speaking their minds but making sure they have the information to back it up, rendering the claim that what the generation has to say is an “uneducated” statement useless and untrue.

Generation Z is unlike any other, but that shouldn’t be a bad thing. We should embrace the things we have and not let the other generations tell us that were spoiled, bratty or lazy. We are just enjoying our generations trends, just like they did when they were our age.