page_title: Generation Z
section_title: Arts and culture
hierarchical_section_title: Generation Z / Arts and culture
caption_attribution_description: English: The City of London viewed from the balcony at City Hall.
context_page_description: Generation Z, or Gen Z for short, are the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Most members of Generation Z are the children of Generation X and sometimes millennials.
  Most members of Generation Z have used digital technology since a young age and are comfortable with the Internet and social media, but are not necessarily digitally literate. Generation Z tends to be abstemious and risk-averse compared to millennials, and has a tendency to be more flexible in workplaces. However, even though it has lower rates of teenage pregnancies and alcohol and drug consumption compared to previous generations, the generation has also been characterized in the media as anxious and depressed. Some commentators attribute these effects to the generation having grown up in a time of social media, smartphones, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession.
context_section_description: Both the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Great Recession have greatly influenced the attitudes of this generation in the United States. However, unlike the older Millennials, Generation Z typically have little to no memories of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since the oldest members were not yet cognizant when the 9/11 attacks occurred (or had not yet been born at that time), there is no generational memory of a time the United States has not been at war with the loosely defined forces of global terrorism. Psychologist Anthony Turner suggests it is likely that both events have resulted in a feeling of unsettlement and insecurity among the people of Generation Z with the environment in which they were being raised. The economic recession of 2008 is particularly important to historical events that have shaped Generation Z, due to the ways in which their childhoods may have been affected by the recession's financial stresses felt by their parents. A 2013 survey by Ameritrade found that 47% in the United States (considered here to be those between the ages of 14 and 23) were concerned about student debt, while 36% were worried about being able to afford a college education at all. This generation is faced with a growing income gap and a shrinking middle-class, which all have led to increasing stress levels in families. According to Public Relations Society of America, the Great Recession has taught Generation Z to be independent, and has led to an entrepreneurial desire, after seeing their parents and older siblings struggle in the workforce.
  A 2014 study Generation Z Goes to College found that Generation Z students self-identify as being loyal, compassionate, thoughtful, open-minded, responsible, and determined. How they see their Generation Z peers is quite different from their own self-identity. They view their peers as competitive, spontaneous, adventuresome, and curious—all characteristics that they do not see readily in themselves. In addition, some authors consider that some of their competencies, such as reading competence, are being transformed due to their familiarity with digital devices, platforms and texts.
  
  In 2016, the Varkey Foundation and Populus conducted an international study examining the attitudes of over 20,000 people aged 15 to 21 in twenty countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They found that most important personal values to these people were helping their families and themselves get ahead in life (both 27%), followed by honesty (26%). Looking beyond their local communities came last at 6%. Familial values were especially strong in South America (34%) while individualism and the entrepreneurial spirit proved popular in Africa (37%). People who influenced youths the most were parents (89%), friends (79%), and teachers (70%). Celebrities (30%) and politicians (17%) came last. In general, young men were more likely to be influenced by athletes and politicians than young women, who preferred books and fictional characters. Celebrity culture was especially influential in China (60%) and Nigeria (71%) and particularly irrelevant in Argentina and Turkey (both 19%). For young people, the most important factors for their current or future careers were the possibility of honing their skills (24%), and income (23%) while the most unimportant factors were fame (3%) and whether or not the organization they worked for made a positive impact on the world (13%). The most important factors for young people when thinking about their futures were their families (47%) and their health (21%); the welfare of world at large (4%) and their local communities (1%) bottomed the list. 
  The Economist has described Generation Z as a more educated, well-behaved, stressed and depressed generation in comparison to previous ones. In September 2018, Jean Twenge saw smartphones and social media as raising an unhappy, compliant "iGen", which she descri
caption: London is considered one of the best places to live for Generation Z.
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