What’s Generation Z? I’m just starting to hear that terminology being used. We’re all familiar with the Baby Boomers (I’m near the older end of that generation), and I grew up hearing about the preceding ones, the Silent Generation and the Greatest Generation — and then there has been endless talk about Gen X and about Millennials, but what comes next? Fortunately the Pew Research Center has the answer to this question, as it does to so many others:

So we see that Generation Z consists of those born from 1997 through 2012, a span that includes all of my current students, most of my recent ones, and a lot of my future ones.

One caveat here. — Pew points out the following:

Generational cutoff points aren’t an exact science. They should be viewed primarily as tools, allowing for the kinds of analyses detailed above. But their boundaries are not arbitrary. Generations are often considered by their span, but again there is no agreed-upon formula for how long that span should be.

With that caution in mind, you will want to know what Pew considers the most salient characteristics of Gen Z. We always look back to the previous generation when talking about the current one — “What’s the matter with kids today? Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way?” blah blah blah — so it is natural to compare and contrast Gen Z with the Millennials. Pew observes:

Millennials are the most racially and ethnically diverse adult generation in the nation’s history. Yet the next generation – Generation Z – is even more diverse.

This, of course, is why Trump has to build a wall. Ignore his pretext about security. We all know the truth there. He’s scared to death about the diversity of the new generation, which will keep him from Making America White Again. So read the article in the first link above.

Categories: Life