As the first truly tech-dependent generation, Generation Z brings new challenges, expectations, and attitudes to everything they do. This includes the classroom, their home life, and especially the workplace as the oldest among them are beginning their first jobs. Naturally, if you’ve never known a world without information and communication at your fingertips via the internet and smartphones, you’re going to have a whole different outlook than any other generation in history.
For Gen Z, “the age at which you get your first smartphone is more important than the age at which you get your driver’s license,” said Jason Dorsey in a recent article in Scouting Magazine.
Do you work with, teach, or market to Gen Z? Here are 3 things you need to know about their mobile phone use that will give you huge insight into their mindset.
- A phone is not just a phone; it’s a portal into Gen Z’s entire world. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a member of Gen Z that actually calls anyone anymore – they even text and Snapchat their parents! Many of them text, post on Instagram, play a variety of games, shop, and almost anything else you can imagine.
- Gen Z respects reasonable parameters. Understanding how much Gen Z uses their phones, and the AMOUNT of things they use it for is crucial to know when you ask them to “put their phones away.” This generation expects to use their phones in every aspect of their lives, including at the workplace. For example, they might think to text their coworkers or boss instead of emailing them. They might use their phone’s resources for work-related operations instead of their laptop just because it’s second nature to them.
Learn how your Gen Z employees prefer to work and understand how they use their phones. If you are reasonable in your parameters for phone use, they’ll respect your wishes. But you must also respect that their phones are much more than an accessory to them; it’s a way of life.
- Responsibility is key. As a generation, Gen Z tends to be naturally skeptical and doesn’t trust organizations or people easily. However, since they spend so much time online, it does make them somewhat vulnerable to the dangers of the internet, specifically social media. Our research uncovered that 42 percent of Generation Z say that social media has a direct impact on how they feel about themselves.
Curious about what else Gen Z brings to the table? Check out our original research study here!
