Gen Z – Not So Different After All

Sixty years ago, Bob Dylan released a song about how the times were changin’ and it felt like he was right. We protested the war in Vietnam, we marched for equal rights, and we smoked a lot of something we called pot. In the sleepy college town of Bloomington, where I lived, a Black Panther was elected Student Body President of Indiana University. We thought nothing would ever be the same.

But the war finally ended. ?Most college kids managed to avoid the draft. Country western musicians let their hair grow long. Despite government warnings about LSD causing birth defects, former hippies had a record number of healthy babies. To support these kids, boomers landed jobs with 401Ks and bought homes with variable mortgages. ?They also elected a B-movie actor to be President of the United States - twice.

Did we really change anything? We invented the internet (with help from Al Gore), we legalized marijuana, and we sent most of our children to expensive colleges. But if we’re honest, we’d have to admit that most of the results produced by the post-WWII generation ended up being more depressing than inspiring. Today, our country has never been more polarized, experienced more mass shootings, or left so many people homeless.

As a USC Annenberg professor, I’ve often proclaimed my students would solve all the problems my generation thought we would — but never did. As global citizens, born into technology, raised with diversity, they would see the world differently and understand how to create real change. Gen Z was my last hope.

Their response to the 2018 shooting of 14 students and three teachers at Marjory Stone Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, confirmed that belief. March for Our Lives was more than a bunch of protesters taking to the streets. These tech-savvy young activists had a strategic plan — ?to motivate their generation to leverage the electoral process to oust politicians who supported the sale of automatic weapons.

I interviewed Brendan Duff, their young PR director, on my Annenberg podcast a couple of years ago. He was as pragmatic as he was passionate about his work. The movement’s articulate young leaders had a keen sense of how to reach adults through traditional press and how to mobilize their generation on social. In the weeks following the shooting, they became recognized “celebrities” in every media format. In fact, they were so convincing in their interviews and speeches that their fearful opponents claimed they were trained actors and not high school students. It was a hopeful sign for the future. The youth of America had finally figured out how to affect real change, where earlier generations had failed.

However, recent research that we conducted at the USC Center for Public Relations , in conjunction with creative communications firm Day One Agency , combined with findings from Pew Research and the latest election results point to a sobering insight — GenZ is not that different. In fact, they are a lot like their parents and grandparents.

In the Game of Life, most want the same things older generations did — a good job, a house and a family. The primary difference is timing. They aren’t in a hurry to do any of these things. Even if they are, most don’t earn enough money right now to afford them, which explains why one out of three still lives with their parents.

Like earlier generations, Gen Z is not monolithic. We found their values and beliefs fall into three distinct categories, representing about one-third of the overall demographic.

• Neo traditionalists — who prefer a high-paying job over a creative one. They dream of owning a home in the suburbs, driving their kids to private school in a gas-powered vehicle, and then heading to the gym. ?This group had a higher level of support for Trump in the election.
• Fluid pragmatists ?— who value their lifestyle more than a big paycheck and may rent forever. They are more focused on mental than physical health and are open to owning an electric vehicle someday. They are concerned about the environment and are more likely to vote Democratic.
• Internet-age wanderers — who prefer to dwell in the city and want to travel the world.? They balance work and life by working remotely. They operate on their own time and are less interested in a traditional career. They prefer podcasts over newscasts. They are also the least likely to vote. ?

In addition to these distinct psychographic differences, Gen Z also has a significant gender gap. Females are more likely to graduate from college and find a job than their male counterparts, even though they are still paid less. ?According to Pew, more young women than men say they are considering marriage without children. ?Some studies also cite that roughly one in five Gen Z males would consider being a stay-at-home dad.

?There is also a big political divide. Gen Z females significantly outnumbered males in the recent election at the polls, voting mainly for Democrats based on their positions on women’s rights, climate change, and social justice.? While fewer voted overall, twice as many young men expressed support for Trump than young women did.

As Billy Joel reminded us, “We didn’t start the fire.”? While these intra-generational differences may seem surprising, they are not unique to Gen Z. ?Every generation is shaped by people from diverse backgrounds, who often have opposing values. As the gap between these values widens, change becomes more challenging.

Academics, marketers and pundits make a living by highlighting these differences and attributing certain characteristics to entire generations. Baby boomers are selfish optimists. GenXers are resourceful cynics. Millennials are socially conscious narcissists.? GenZers are coddled activists. These are artificial distinctions that lead to unrealistic expectations of the Gen Z.? Fortunate or unfortunately, they’re more like us than we think.

It is unfair to saddle Gen Z with the responsibility to fix the litany of problems we’ve created. Instead, we should support them in finding answers to their own questions. ?Even though they have never listened to Bob Dylan, many have similar hopes for the future. Like his generation, Gen Z is not going to change the world. But, in their own time, they will leave their mark on it.

For Life Actually, A No BS Study on the Future Gen Z Wants from Day One Agency and the USC Center for Public Relations, we surveyed 1,022 Gen Zers across the country to understand their hopes and dreams. Turns out, they’re not so different from any other young person from any other generation. Find the study at https://d1a.com/perspective/genz-life-actually