Forget Millennials — Generation Z Is Taking Over

Millennials have made their mark on the America culture. Uber is here to stay, most of us now binge-watch our favorite shows (over streaming networks), and we’re only paying for things that we want to use vs. paying for the whole thing. Hence the bump in leasing vs. owning for homes and cars. They are also responsible for an increase in nose job procedure requests according to NYC Facial Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Philip J. Miller.

Enter Generation Z, which is now roughly anyone under 20 years old. There are a lot of Gen Z’ers and, according to U.S. Census, “There are more people in the U.S. under age 19 (26%) than there are of Millennials (25%) or Baby Boomers (24%), according to the U.S. Census”. Their spending is nothing to sneeze at with $44 billion in annual turnover.

Millennials may have started the selfie, but Kylie Jenner-centric Gen Z perfected it. They are real digital natives and most likely do not watch any network television, and their phone is everything. More so than Millennials. So as marketer, parent or observer, Generation Z’s takeover has been happening slowly but surely. As we’ve been so focused on Millenials, our younger siblings have been making a mark.

What’s the biggest difference between Millennials and Gen Z?

Think about like this: Facebook is a Gen X medium. Instagram is ruled by Millennials, as Snapchat is the Gen Z Social Media outlet of choice. They have even less attention span than millennials, but also make snap decisions based on this limited information. They respond to influencer marketing as a result.
Another stark difference is Millennials are more price sensitive vs. Gen Z. Remember, Millennials grew up during one of the worst recessions in our countries history.

Lastly, Gen Z is big on individuality as they were born into Social Media and most likely have 3-4 accounts for which they post almost everything. They are not shy about who they are, and their actions prove it. Gen Z will most likely produce more entrepreneurs than Gen Y as although Gen Y likes “gigs”, many of them do not hang their own shingle. Gen Z starts out young and hits the ground running with apps that make them money from eBay to Yeay.

I am not making predictions about Gen Z, as it has already happened as Millennials were to take the world by storm, and although influential it was similar to the Y2K phenomenon (now I’m dating myself as a a Gen Xer), which was more show than doe. Gen Z is shaping our digital media offerings, the way we shop (mobile) and starting businesses within their teen years. It’s time to recognize the power of Gen Z.