1. THIS IS GEN Z.

2. This is your Gen Z primer. It’s designed to
help you understand what defines the members
of this new generation: family life, entertainment,
education, and everything in between. At the core
of their world is technology. They’ve never known
a life without constant access to search engines,
social media, and texting.
These kids are more than just digital natives. In The
Gen Z Effect, Tom Koulopoulos and Dan Keldsen call
them “hyperconnected junkies whose expectations
will radically change the face of business forever.”
The authors go on: “For Gen Z, technology is
invisible; it’s just part of the way the world behaves
toward and interacts with them.” Persistent digital
access to global information has expanded their
perspectives, creating knowledgeable, worldly,
diverse, and status-quo-challenging stances on
everything from social issues to finances.
This means that change is coming. We must explore
new ways of connecting with this cohort. They have a
diversity of perspectives and voices, and a readiness
to contribute and make a difference. To that end,
throughout this piece, we offer some suggestions for
how to engage tomorrow’s college students.
Ready to dive in?

3. We’re tomorrow’s
college students.

4. We’re called
Generation Z.

5. Like all
generations,
we’re defined
by time.
Born 1996 and after

6. Silent Generation
(70–85 years old)
Gen X
(36–50 years old)
Gen Z
(5–19 years old)
Millennials
(20–35 years old)
Baby Boomers
(51–69 years old)
Where do
we fit in?
2015

7. Millennials
(current largest)
Gen Z
(on the rise)
77mil
Between
2015–2025
68mil
We’re young,
powerful,
and big.

8. We will
change
the world.
We believe it’s up to us.
Identity/Technology/Family Life/
Social Issues/Careers/Education/
Privacy and Safety/Health/
Entertainment/Finances/Outlook

9. Identity
“We’re gonna
be weird adults.”

10. We defy and resent conventional
labels that don’t fully capture who we
really are. There is no “one size fits
all” in our world. Because we don’t
just accept differences in others—
we celebrate them.
We’re more open
than you were.
We discuss and challenge
gender roles and sexual
identity openly.
We’re blended.
Since 2000, the multiracial
youth population
has increased by 50%.
Our perspective
is global.
Technology opens the
window to international
issues, values, and cultures.
The world is smaller,
and our views are bigger.
We have a greater
appreciation of differing
views and perspectives than
ever before in history.
—
Bottom Line
Talk to us based on our mindset, not our demographic. This means spending
time to understand us and what it takes to get—and keep—our interest.
Identity

11. Technology
Go to your room!
“You mean where my laptop,
iPad, and phone are? OK.”

12. Sure, Millennials are tech-
savvy, but we are the
first true digital natives.
Technology is just a fluid, organic part
of our daily lives. But, this doesn’t mean
we’re analog-phobes. We love our
“unplugged” time, despite FOMO
(fear of missing out).
We communicate
constantly.
Social media is the
#1 reason we use the
Internet, and we send
more than 100 texts a day.
Digital connections
with the world are
essential.
73% of us are connected within
an hour of waking up. We would
give up new clothes, our allowance,
or eating out, rather than give up
our phones, texting, or WiFi.
Our digital world
is noisy.
Our attention span is 8
seconds, and we multi-
task across five screens.
We want a personal
experience.
72% of us want to connect
to personalized content
across all devices.
—
Bottom Line
Connect the dots between digital and offline communications. Keep in mind that
things like responsive websites are just table stakes now. We want to be wowed.
Technology

13. Family Life
“You think I’m crazy? Wait
until you meet my family!”

14. The idea of a “traditional”
family structure is obsolete.
(Think: Modern Family is the
new norm.)
Our families are just more diverse—we have
single parents and multiple generations in our
homes. We also happen to be super close to
our parents and feel comfortable talking about
what was once taboo (thanks to TV programs
like Glee).
Family structures
are changing.
One-third of us live in a
single-parent household.
My family’s different,
deal with it.
Our families are more
diverse—ethnically, racially,
and religiously—than half
a generation ago.
Our grandparents
live with us.
Multigenerational
family households have
doubled since 1980.
We have strong
family values that
mirror our parents’.
88% of us are extremely close
to our parents and even refer
to them as our best friends.
—
Bottom Line
Our support system helps us make big decisions, so engage us and them. Connect
with our parents, guidance counselors, and friends, being mindful of the channels
and messages that appeal most to each group.
Family Life

15. Social Issues
“I act like I don’t care,
but I do more than
you think.”

16. On-demand access to
information (thanks,
interwebs) and a greater
diversity all around us has
expanded our worldview.
We grew up hearing about and talking
about matters like marriage equality and
global warming. We care about human
rights, our impact on the planet, and helping
change what we don’t like about the world.
We believe marriage
equality is a
fundamental right.
80% of us supported
legalizing it long before the
government actually did.
We support
sustainability and
renewable energy.
76% are concerned about
human impact on the planet.
We grew up watching
international news.
78% worry about world
hunger.
We care deeply
about our world.
77% believe that businesses
should make “doing good”
central to their mission.
—
Bottom Line
Invite us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We jump at the chance to
speak up or join a social cause.
Social Issues

17. Careers
“I want to do something
today that my future
self will thank me for.”

18. Careers
We may be young, but we’re already fiercely
entrepreneurial and future focused. And we’re
very realistic when it comes to working hard
for success. A lot of our parents lost jobs
during the recession, which makes us more
inclined to consider self-employment.
Ultimately, we want what
we do to mean something.
We’re influenced to
work hard and pursue
a career early.
55% of us feel pressured
by our parents to get early
professional experience.
We have more access
to mentorships and
training programs.
50% attend middle or high
schools that offer classes in
how to start and run a business.
We’re future focused,
but we’re ready to
start taking steps now.
77% are extremely
interested in volunteering to
gain work experience.
Many of our parents
lost longstanding jobs
during our childhood.
We question loyalty to any
given employer, and 74%
would rather work for ourselves.
—
Bottom Line
Show us the tangible things we can achieve together. Job-oriented challenges—
like real-life training or working directly with companies—should be woven into the
fabric of our educational experiences.

19. Education
“Homework.
Because 7 hours of school
wasn’t enough.”

20. Education
We just Google it.
85% of us do research online
and 33% watch lessons
online to educate ourselves.
We’re under
enormous pressure.
46% are more worried about
our GPA than having friends,
fitting in, being popular, or
staying healthy.
Yes, we’re
entrepreneurial. But
we want the degree.
Half of us will be university
educated, compared to
one-third of Millennials.
We’re far savvier than
you give us credit for.
64% consider earning an
advanced degree as one
of our life goals.
—
Bottom Line
Help us apply what we’re learning in real time. Don’t just teach us what to think—
teach us how to think and how to make an impact.
Even though we’re already
career-oriented, we want
a college degree first.
We recognize that a college education is
important, but we want a global education.
Our learning experiences are no longer
confined to school buildings or campuses.
They’re increasingly self-directed and digital.

21. Privacy and Safety
“We always make sure we
know where the exit door
is in movie theaters.”

22. We take privacy
into our own hands.
Only 18% of us share “a lot”
online, and 1 in 4 left
Facebook in 2014 for more
private and controllable
networks like Snapchat.
We’re becoming
more guarded.
42% of us are now sharing less
than we did two years ago.
Oversharing is
overrated.
81% of us think our peers
share too much online.
In fact, we’re worried
about both online and
offline safety.
Among students aged 12 to
18, there were 615,600 victims
of theft and 749,200 victims
of violence last year. More
than 25% of us nationwide are
the targets of bullying.
—
Bottom Line
We take an active role in securing our safety and privacy. Show us what you do to make
your campus a comfortable and safe experience. (Our parents will appreciate this too.)
Although we do feel
compelled to post
constantly on social media,
we’re also increasingly
sensitive to oversharing.
We need to have control over exactly what we
share, and when, where, and with whom. This
goes hand in hand with our general safety—
at school, in our communities, and in public
places. We need to know that our worlds‚
online and off, are safe spaces for us.
Privacy and Safety

23. Health
“I enjoy long, romantic
walks to the fridge.”

24. Health
We spend the
majority of our
allowance on food.
We get about $17 per
week in allowance, or
$44 billion a year total.
We grew up in a
health-crazed world.
Awareness of animal cruelty
means we’re more likely to
try a vegetarian diet, and
we’ve been influenced by
nutrition-promoting public
figures like Michelle Obama.
We spend more
because we make
healthier food choices.
58% of us are willing to pay
more for organic and natural
products, and sodas like Pepsi
and Coke are down 40% in
the last decade among the
older part of our bracket.
Yet we’re sedentary.
We spend more than 7½ hours
a day in front of a screen.
—
Bottom Line
The experience in your dining and fitness facilities needs to be awesome. We’re
not gonna lie: this is a huge evaluation point for us with colleges and universities.
We want to feel supported in our healthy decision-making.
Look, we like to eat.
But we’re becoming
more aware of issues like
obesity and animal cruelty.
Because of these factors, we’re more likely
to try healthy options like a vegetarian
lifestyle. We naturally identify with brands
that advocate for organic, locally sourced, and
farm-to-table methods, because they make us
feel good, nutritionally and emotionally.

25. Entertainment
“Finishing a good movie,
then having to face the
reality of my boring life.”

26. Misfit is the new
superhero.
We connect with characters
from Scott Pilgrim vs. the
World, Guardians of the
Galaxy, Glee, The Maze
Runner, The Hobbit, and
many more.
We gravitate
toward escapism.
We’re into gaming, television,
movies, books, music, role-
playing games, and more.
We’re drawn to
doomsday themes.
We like movies that show
youth rising above—
The Hunger Games,
Divergent, War of the
Worlds, World War Z, and
The Day After Tomorrow.
We escape the
world out of worry
or boredom, but
we believe in our
own power.
9 out of 10 of us feel
optimistic about our
own future.
—
Bottom Line
Our entertainment choices reflect our belief that an ordinary person can make a difference.
Allow us—the ordinary individuals—to play an active role in your storytelling.
When it comes to
entertainment, we’re
especially drawn to
underdog characters that
change the world against all
odds. An everyday person
overcoming adversity starts
to feel like our own lives.
(Lookin’ at you, Katniss.)
Entertainment

27. Finances
“It’s pretty annoying
that all the things
I want cost money.”

28. We feel the residual
emotional effects of
the recession.
65% of us worry about the
economy in general.
We’re in control of
our spending.
One-third of us have an app
for finance, budgeting, or
banking on our smartphone.
We grew up hearing
about college debt.
57% of us would rather
save money than spend it
immediately.
We’re concerned about
employability.
We need to know that our
investment in a four-year
degree will begin to pay off
immediately.
—
Bottom Line
We’re already working on being responsible with our money. So help us understand how
we’ll be better off by investing in our education.
Our biggest worry about
college is graduating with
tons of debt. So we’re
gonna grill you about the
long-term value of your
four-year degree.
Finances

29. Outlook
“What do you
stand for? Because
it matters to me.”

30. We’re sick of
manufactured
advertising.
$40 billion was spent
on advertising and
marketing in 2014.
We’re done with fake
everything, really.
Give us natural, organic,
and authentic; brands like
Zappos and Chipotle have
won our hearts.
We’re done with
fake people.
We speak out against
photoshopped models.
We are idealistic.
We believe it’s up to
us to make the world
a better place.
—
Bottom Line
For us, #nofilter says it all. We prize transparency and authenticity. So be real. Be
approachable. Have clear values that we can get behind, and then listen to what we
have to say.
Yes, we’re realistic and
cautious, but we’re also
optimistic about how we
can shape the future.
Older generations can learn a lot from us,
and they should take us more seriously. So
should brands. Carefully crafted marketing
messages may get our attention, but they
won’t necessarily win our loyalty.
Outlook

31. What do the next five
years look like?

32. The Next Five Years
Technology will
remain a dominant
force in education.

33. Crowd-sourced lesson plans,
information fluency, and
digital citizenship behavior.
Lectures and the one-size-fits-all
approach to learning are out. New norms
of appropriate, responsible behavior with
regard to technology use are in.
Increased scrutiny of student
data across social media,
digital browsing, and other
online touchpoints.
Top ed-tech companies boast that
they’re collecting millions of unique
data points on each child daily, and
there’s no end in sight.
Data in exchange for
ultra-personalized content
and experiences.
Students’ walls around privacy will
begin to crumble when they realize
the value of exchanging their online
behaviors for a more focused and
relevant experience.
Digital’s role in physical
environments and the
convergence of a truly
integrated experience.
Imagine campus tours and visitor’s
centers where devices and online
content can enhance the experience.
The evolution and adoption
of wearable technology.
Wearables can be important learning aids
in and out of the classroom. They could also
be a relevant part of the mobile campus
ecosystem to provide students with ready
access to campus information and services.
The Next Five Years

34. The Next Five Years
Population and enrollment will grow and diversify.
Both public and private institutions will
see an 8% increase in enrollment.
PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE RACE AND ETHNICITY
The West Coast and Southwest should see the
largest increases overall.
8%
27%
A growing number of college attendees
will be first-generation minority students.
Enrollment of
Hispanic U.S. residents
will increase
Over one-third of us
will be bilingual,
speaking Spanish
and English.
Minority students already
account for
nearly 40% of
high-school graduates.
By 2023, it will be about half.
Enrollment of
full-time students
will increase
12%
Enrollment of
18- to 24-year-olds
will increase
9%
Enrollment of
male students
will increase
9%
Enrollment of
female students
will increase
18%
The traditional student population will grow, but in new ways.
STATUS

35. This generation will
change our world—
for good.

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38. Building brands. With purpose.
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