As Gen Z enters the realm of business, they are bringing a whole new set of non-traditional ideas about work and life both as employees and consumers- as well as entrepreneurs.
In comparison to millennials, Gen Z is far more digitally savvy. While millennials grew up with the internet, Gen Z cannot imagine a world without it. This has led to Gen Z developing a very positive relationship with technology.
Gen Zers also seem to have tougher skin than millennials, making them hyperaware of their entitlement and working hard to forge their own individual path.
A recent report by MTV indicates that 91% of surveyed Gen Zers use technology to gain perspective on people different from themselves, and they believe tech can help them manifest their big ideas to improve the world.
As a result, Gen Z is re-instilling that their fluency in the digital space is valuable. While other generations struggle to understand how to effectively reach the hundreds of millions of users on Snapchat and TikTok, Gen Z entrepreneurs see these platforms as an opportunity to use their comfort zone to their advantage.
This has led to Gen Z influencers taking the internet by storm, enabling them to build careers for themselves at an extremely young age.
Without a doubt, compared to their previous generations, Gen Z has a unique way of thinking about business and their future. Here are 3 reasons that set Gen Z apart from the others.
Smartphones trump televisions
Brands have slowly begun to realize that their advertising budget might be better spent on social media than big television campaigns. When you take a look at the data, it clearly indicates that the younger generations aren’t looking at the television nearly as much as at their mobile platforms.
According to a recent survey, consumers aged 13 to 24 watch 12.1 hours of video per week on YouTube, social media, and other free online sources, and another 8.8 hours weekly on Netflix (and other subscription video services). That’s 2.5 times more than what they spent watching television each week.
Perception of social media as a community
When millennials were first introduced to Myspace and Orkut, they used it as a way to broadcast their message. We can see the same trend when it comes to their usage of Facebook which is populated with posts akin to billboards and print advertisements.
Gen Z seems to have aced the formula for getting traction on social media platforms. How? Their approach is to perceive spreading their message as a means of contributing to the online community in a meaningful way.
In fact, because Gen Z sees social media this way, a majority of them believe they can turn their hobbies into full-time careers. Many consider becoming social media influencers to be a career path as realistic as going to college or working for an MNC.
Willing to walk the walk
Out of all the generations, millennials were the woke ones who spoke up about working with a purpose. For Gen Z this is non-negotiable.
As this shift in work mentality continues to move in a positive direction, more and more companies are going to need to start thinking differently. It’s not enough to simply talk about change or have a feel-good message because Gen Z can easily catch your bluff.
For the companies willing to embrace this shift, hiring Gen Zers can help significantly with the process. Gen Z knows when something resonates and when something is done for propaganda. That’s a huge reason big brands still struggle to attract the attention of young, socially conscious consumers.
If you truly want to make a difference and have a relevant impact on generations to come, consider hiring the next generation to enter the workforce.
