4/24/2016 2 Comments Generation z“All they care about is their electronics.”
“When they’re all grown up they will live in a terrible world.” “They have short attention spans and don’t care about the important issues that confront their generation and the nation.” “I’m glad I was a kid during my time, not today.” Generation Z is the age group born between 1994 and 2004. Over the course of the years, generations have been evolving. They have been evolving in such a way that if a group of people who were alive 100 years ago interacted with a group of people from today, it would be like a human trying to relate to a robot. Generation Z especially has captured the attention of all adults and older people. Why? Because we are apparently “stupid,” “lazy,” and “don't care about anything.” But before I go on a rant about why NONE OF THIS IS TRUE, let me give some background of Generation Z. As young as we are, we have already seen so many technologies become obsolete. Because of this, Generation Z has become the ultimate "self-educating,” generation. We are a group that wants to create our own businesses. Between 50 percent and 72 percent of us want to run our own company according to Business Insider. Generation Z young adults, teens, and even children have also been more involved in politics in the past years than ever, and, 60% of them want to have an impact on the world. We are children who are growing up in a crisis, and it shows in our outlook on life. Most of us say we are "stressed out" by what we see for the future, especially in terms of economy and environment. In summary, Generation Z is the generation that is fighting a war they did not start. What I mean by this is that having grown up amid major innovation and social change, we are inquisitive and globally aware, but we struggle to work through all the issues in this century. Given our entrepreneurial spirit, quick uptake of new technologies, and our willingness to engage in political processes, we are probably also in a good position to be able to address these major issues. For example, when people say that we are going to be adults in a terrible world…it's the fault of everyone that came before us, not ours. We are a generation that is actually trying to solve these problems, and are taking action. All the bad things happened prior to our birth. Like when I participated in the Global Issues Network conference, I was blown away by the amount of young people like me, taking action on a whole range of issues including; global climate change, food security, poverty, and education. These kids were trying to make a difference, working at local and global scales, there was no apathy there. Some well known Generation Z kids that are making a difference are Malala Yousafzai, Alexey, Amandla Stenberg, and Mary-Pat Hector. I realize that in the end, your generation isn't the most important thing, but keep in mind, that when people talk about trying to stop stereotypes, and break discrimination, why shouldn't this be considered? The number of times I have heard elderly people say “children these days are so brain dead,” is countless. Just because we choose to show who we are on the internet, or express ourselves with a different dialogue than the 1980’s, or even the way we dress, does not make us any less than all the generations before us. Humans are evolving, and whether the world likes it or not, we are the leaders of the future. So rather than calling us rude names and assuming we all could care less about everything, give us a chance. We have a sense of social justice, philanthropy and maturity that comes with growing up during one of the most severe economic recessions in history. We know more about technology than most adults do. We care about fixing the mistakes past generations have caused. We are not ashamed to be Generation Z.
2 Comments
Bon
4/25/2016 07:12:57 am
Dharma, this has always been a stereotype. Generation X (my generation) was also viewed in the same way. Maybe, it wasn't about technology but the phrase "the young these days..." has been around forever. It all keeps coming back. But, beyond the stereotype, there are many people who see the value your generation can bring. The whole debate about education, for instance, is about empowering your generation to thrive. The world needs you and, trust me, there are many of "us" who recognize it.
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Cristina
4/28/2016 06:09:57 am
Dharma, I liked how you discussed the stereotypes that generation z faces, specially since they aren't discussed against that much. Though I think this lacked depth since it was a bit superficial and you just said the facts didn't really analyze. Then you talk about breaking discrimination but just in one paragraph and then you go back it that was kind of confusing. Something that could help make your blog flow better is that when you are given the opportunity to merge to words do it. For example, when you say “When they’re all grown up they will live in a terrible world.” changed it to “When they’re all grown up THEY'LL live in a terrible world.”
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