Make way for tech-savvy but dependent Generation Z

21 May 2017 - 02:00 By Rea Khoabane
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Technology has given Generation Z a global voice.
Technology has given Generation Z a global voice.
Image: iStock

This tech-savvy breed takes its cue from the internet, not parents, but is still loath to fly the nest, writes Rea Khoabane

Generations are moulded by seismic social events that occur during their formative years. So as Generation Z reach adulthood, how do they differ from the groups that came before them?

Dr Jean Twenge, the author of Generation Me, defines a generation as people born around the same time who experience a similar culture growing up. They're individuals with shared historical and cultural environments and also shape culture in their own way.

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"For example, millennials were born between 1980 and 1994, and grew up in a time of self-focus, optimism and tolerance. The generation after the millennials, born between 1995 and 2012, were the first generation to grow up with smartphones."

Dr Sethulego Matebesi, head of the sociology department at the University of the Free State, says: "They're the hashtag generation and in South Africa we also call them the 'born frees'. They were born after 1994 and the notion of this generation is that they've got a total view of life."

Matebesi says the key difference between millennials and Generation Z is that the interaction millennials experienced with technology was monitored, whereas Generation Z have been immersed in it right from the start.

"While millennials could talk to their parents or friends about sex, Gen Z don't talk about it because either way they'll find out themselves," he says.

Technology has also given them a global voice.

"While there was only one parent working in the past, Generation Z grew up with both parents working and that has left them depending on the internet for information."

As social media reach has spread, this generation is more exposed to global movements such as feminism, whereas before this was just an abstract ideology for many.

"Most of them, however, also have psychological problems because they've had to raise themselves and find their way in social spaces," says Matebesi.

There is a perception that they are very entrepreneurial, but the opposite is true. Twenge believes Generation Z are very cautious.

"We found that this generation is less likely to say they want to own their own business."

block_quotes_start Being part of a different or new generation doesn't make much of a difference if you're the product of a segregated society block_quotes_end

Twenge says they take it for granted that they will interact with their friends through their phones instead of in person, reinforcing their skills at screen communication to the detriment of personal communication. Generation Z is also known as the iGen.

"Our generation is not as powerful as the past generation but we're trendsetters and we choose what we want, and that's what the world knows about us," says 21-year-old marketing student Chwayita Mdekana from the East Rand.

She says that, ironically, if it wasn't for apartheid, her generation wouldn't know how to do things differently.

"I believe even though apartheid affected us indirectly, we're benefiting from the impact it made because we're consciously aware of the possibilities of what happens when you can't use your voice to the best of its ability."

Mdekana is well aware of her generation's dependence on technology.

"The older generation will know how to survive without technology, but because our generation was born and raised with it, we don't know life without it."

Matebesi says studies have proved that younger generations have a tendency to relax and try out many careers while staying in their parents' homes.

Among Generation Z, particularly in South Africa, some young people find comfort in a dependent society, he says.

"Our country has a big problem because it has created a dependent society with grants," he says.

"We are dealing with major issues such as equality, poverty and unemployment, and if we can find a way to break the culture of dependence, then we'll work towards economic freedom."

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Sibusiso Radebe, 20, is trying his luck at forex trading, buying and selling currencies as a retail trader.

"Even though my parents can afford to send me to varsity, I was fortunate that I came across trading in high school because it gave me the opportunity to decide if I wanted to go to varsity," he says.

"If trading doesn't work, I'm going back to varsity. I'm glad I have parents who allowed me to decide to make my own decisions with my future."

Radebe, who is also an evangelist, says doing God's work has shown him how poor some black people are.

"I want to make money so that I can give back. When we go and pray at people's homes after church, it hurts me to see people suffering and [me] not being able to assist. I want to be a millionaire so that I can be of help to other people."

He hopes not to repeat the mistakes of his parents.

"Our parents were raised during apartheid, but even now they don't think they can change their lives. They've settled and accepted life as it is."

For Conor Jenkins, 21, who studies at the University of Cape Town, growing up under the Generation Z banner has left its scars. He lost his best friend from high school during the #FeesMustFall protest due to social and political differences.

"We moved to Cape Town from Johannesburg together and we've been friends since high school.

"We were very involved in #FeesMustFall meetings and pushing the movement at UCT, and then one day he told me we cannot be friends any more.

"I was confused because at school we never saw colour; we visited each other's homes and again in varsity we supported each other.

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"I remember him saying to me: 'We can no longer be friends, I'm with my people and you'll never understand - you are white.'"

Jenkins says the moment opened his eyes to the fact that, as a privileged white boy, his black friend could no longer relate to him.

"What I told myself from that moment on is to never take a job because my skin colour and gender puts me at a higher advantage, and I hope white boys of my generation will start to think this way."

Dineo Matjila, 21, a third-year BCom student at the University of Pretoria, has her doubts about generational labels.

"Being part of a different or new generation doesn't make much of a difference if you're the product of a segregated society," she says. "We are told how we are democracy kids, but I don't feel like I can move freely when we have areas that still question a black person's intentions when they enter certain suburbs.

"A black child living in an urban area or suburb can't relate to the problems of a black child in the township.

"Studying finance has made me aware of the status of our economy and how it doesn't benefit a vast majority of our people," says Matjila.

Her mother, who works as an administrator for the Sunday Times, "raised me by herself and she pays for my fees".

"I don't have a bursary and being the only child, I'm aware of all she has invested in," says Matjila.

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