Who are Generation Z?
Generation Z occurs after the millennials (who are called generation Y). Demographers often use from the mid-90s to the mid-2000s as the beginning of the years of birth. Generation Z does not see or feel a discernible distinction between their physical or digital lives.
That change has implications on two levels. On the one hand, it means that IT systems should be similar to humans. Should “simulate”, emulate and reflect human experiences in the real world to a much more precise and sophisticated degree. On the other hand, it means that experiences in the workplace must be more digital. You may have ordered a hamburger and a coffee at McDonalds using a touch screen. Or pay with a contactless bank payment card, they want a complete electronic life.
Six realities of life gen Z
According to a study emanating from The Center for Generation Kinetics and WP Engine there are six realities for the Z-life in the 21st century:
- Emotional factor: Gen Z only finds useful information if it involves emotions. 29% of the Gen Z prefer to entertain with the online content of a company.
- Openly honest: 79% of Z gene will trust more in a company if the images used by the brand are not Photoshopped. 84% of Generation Z relies more on a company if they use real customers in their ads.
- Social influence: Gen Z believes that success in human relationships will be determined by what others think you are. 47% of Gen Z believes that their online reputation will determine their dating options.
- Internet economics: politicians will no longer be the only political leaders. 46% of generation Z believes that people who build / manage the Internet are more important than political leaders around the world.
- Degrees of connectivity: economic access will not depend on formal education. 62% of generation Z would prefer to have unlimited access to the Internet and not a university degree, instead of a university degree and not having access to the Internet.
- Generation of concerts: Your career choices will be increasingly defined by economic independence. 63% of those in Generation Z said they would start or possibly start their own business.
What’s holding the future?
“Gen Z has grown with a fluency in technology long before any kind of biology. Consequently, they have very high expectations when it comes to digital experiences. This new digital standard can be summed up in three findings from our Gen Z study: (1) 67% of Gen Z believes in the next five years that websites will know what they are looking for before consulting them. (2) 40% of Gen Z says they will stop visiting a site if they do not anticipate what they need or want. Finally, (3) this generation, having grown up in a world of social networks, is almost twice as likely as Boomers. To provide data to receive a personalized experience. But they will hold all of us accountable for making sure it’s safe, “said Fabio Torlini, EMEA managing director at WP Engine.
Torlini says that building the next generation of software will require a bridge between marketing and technology as never before. He argues that we will have to create experiences that are not only entertaining, but that fulfill the promise of a more humane network with predictive personalization.
