Generation Z; Native Online Users / Roshanak Mehrayin

Peace Line Monthly – The emergence of the internet, aside from changing the way people live, also created gaps between different generations; a generation that encountered this phenomenon at an older age, a generation that became acquainted with it in their youth, and a generation that was born with it. Each of these generations has its own specific approach to dealing with technology and even social and economic conditions.

The first social generation that encountered the internet and portable digital technology from birth was given the title Generation Z or “digital natives”; although these individuals do not necessarily have digital literacy. Nevertheless, researchers and public media define this generation as those born between 1995 and 2010. By this calculation, these people are currently between twelve and twenty-seven years old, and most of them are children of Generation X; however, recent research by the Pew Center has declared the birth period of this generation to be from 1997 to 2012. Pew is an American think tank based in Washington that provides various information and statistics about Americans’ approaches to the internet.

Since Generation Z opened their eyes to the world, they have been surrounded by advanced technologies such as the web, social networks, instant messengers, short message services, MP3 players, mobile phones, and YouTube. All of Generation Z was born during the post-modern period, cultural plurality, and globalization.

Characteristics of Generation Z

One of the most prominent characteristics of these individuals is the extensive use of digital and smart tools. This generation has been intertwined with the internet and digital space since they opened their eyes, receiving their first smartphone around the age of twelve, and primarily maintaining contact with others through social media and text messages. They spend time with their phones to the same extent that older generations spend time in front of television. Most of them receive the content they need in fractions of a second on their phones or computers, and for this reason, some sometimes perceive them as technology addicts, antisocial, or “social justice warriors.” However, some specialists and experts call this generation uncommitted or irresponsible individuals, and sometimes describe them as maladjusted, ill-behaved, and risk-taking.

From a social and economic perspective, this generation grew up in families with higher divorce rates and dual-income households; consequently, they generally spent their childhood and adolescence without parental presence and generally have high entrepreneurial spirit.

Generation Z differs from older generations because they are the first consumers who grew up entirely in the digital age and have high standards for how they spend their time online. For this reason, online stores and brands in recent decades have tried to keep pace with and sometimes stay ahead of this generation’s interests to ensure they meet their digital expectations.

Psychology of Generation Z

Dr. Ross E. O’Hara is a behavioral researcher who completed his doctoral and postdoctoral studies at the University of Missouri and the University of Connecticut and has been studying student behavior in different countries for years. He recently published an article in the reputable American journal “Psychology Today” discussing the psychological conditions of Generation Z.

According to O’Hara, perhaps Generation Z members wouldn’t admit it themselves, but they are intensely motivated to become wealthy. They were between six and thirteen years old during the Great Recession and experienced or witnessed financial difficulties, and overall their worldview has been shaped around financial issues. They lived through a period of income inequality and have seen their parents constantly struggling with debt and installment payments, postponing important life milestones such as marriage and having children.

Generation Z students typically begin financial planning from age thirteen, and two-thirds of them believe financial stability is more important than a job that makes them happy.

However, Generation Z students have a strange motivation to change the world, and while money is a priority for them, they prefer security to luxury; in fact, they can be imagined as placing themselves in a safe bubble while watching a world full of social and political challenges that they are eager to address. They value diversity and want a more just society, but perhaps more than anything else, they desire to save and protect the environment. They generally tend to act for the benefit of others, and sometimes even speak against their own interests to prevent others from falling into despair.

Strategic Use of Social Media

According to O’Hara, Generation Z students have never seen the world without the internet. They spend more than three hours a day on the internet and another three hours on social media; but what’s interesting here is that they use these media very strategically; for example, they use Facebook only to communicate with family, other apps like TikTok for networking with peers, and apps like Instagram for communicating with people outside their age group.

One cannot call this generation smartphone zombies, as eighty-three percent of them prefer face-to-face communication to texting, phone calls, or email; although many of them feel they haven’t been trained enough for socialization and face-to-face conversation. They keep their conversations short, and hiding behind their phones is a process they resort to when they feel fear of a situation.

Based on an article published in 2009, communication with peers is their most important motivation for using social media, and for this reason, they tend to connect with a large number of users and use social media as a place to display an image of themselves and create an identity.

Behavioral Style on Social Networks

American researchers in a study conducted in 2016 using big data extracted from Instagram showed that adolescents post less compared to adults and engage more with likes, tags, and comments. Based on this research, adolescents receive more likes and sometimes delete posts that received few likes; the results also show that adolescents have less variety in their posts and their posts are often emotional.

Most of Generation Z’s Instagram posts fall into eight categories: posts with friends, food, tools, posts with short text, pets, activities, selfies, and fashion. There is a meaningful relationship between personality and characteristics of shared photos such as filters; through this, one can discern individuals’ personalities.

More Than One Way to Success in Their Pocket

Generation Z students value education more than previous generations, and more of them are enrolling in universities than ever before. They see a connection between financial goals, personal goals, and their education and are eager to increase their knowledge as much as possible, and it seems they are not satisfied with listening to lectures and reading textbooks, but there are some caveats:

They do not see a bachelor’s degree as their only option for building a future, as they are risk-takers and want to earn income as soon as possible. Many of them want a shorter and more direct path to employment and prefer job-based training to university education. As we mentioned before, these individuals are very entrepreneurial and want to start their own ventures.

Prefer Technology-Based Jobs

Generation Z loves technology and finding it difficult and tedious to work in a place that still uses traditional and old methods for interactions. They want their interactions with employees and organizational systems to be facilitated through technology; for example, things such as app-based human resource management systems that have modules for attendance, e-learning, and gamified onboarding make them happy.

Mental Health Problems

According to psychologists, Generation Z experiences higher levels of anxiety, stress, and depression compared to previous generations. They are incredibly afraid of failure, and despite loving learning, they prefer to do it individually to avoid judgment. As mentioned before, they put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed and not disappoint others, which in the worst case can lead them to quit work before any conflict. They fear decision-making; is university better or work? Which field is best? Is an internship better or studying? These internal struggles sometimes lead them not to make decisions. For this reason, these individuals need significant support to enter and continue university to feel secure and maintain mental health.

Based on a 2017 report by the American Psychological Association, Generation Z grapples with concerning issues ranging from immigration to sexual assault, and these issues cause significant stress in them, with mass shootings at the top of the list of stressful events among American Generation Z. In the American Psychological Association survey, they cited stress factors such as negative news, parental separation, deportation of immigrant families, and reports of sexual harassment and assault.

This survey also shows that this generation significantly (27%) reports their mental health as average or poor compared to other generations, and fewer of them are embarrassed to say they are undergoing psychological treatment, and according to the director of the American Psychological Association, this may indicate their greater awareness and acceptance of mental health issues. Their openness of mind to mental health topics indicates that they give themselves the opportunity to start discussions about stress management.

This study states that more than nine out of ten adults in Generation Z reported experiencing at least one physical or emotional symptom due to stress; such as feeling depressed or sad (58%) or lack of interest, motivation, or energy (55%). Only half of them feel they have made enough effort to manage their stress.

Generation Z in Iran

Based on a report by the Iran Statistics Center in 2016, the digital native generation included 45,897,230 people in the country.

Based on a scientific article from the Ministry of Science (authored by Datis Khajeh-Yayan, Siavash Selevatan, Shaghayegh Kali, Amirhossein Yazdani), Iran’s Generation Z consists of those born between 1374-1391 in the Persian calendar. Data mining and analysis of the activities of 534 Generation Z users on Instagram by these authors shows that users of this generation use single images more than other forms such as videos and photo albums, and their commenting and liking behaviors also follow specific patterns.

Source: Hrana