Written by Today, it’s Gen Z. Yesterday, it was Millennials. Tomorrow, it’ll be Gen Alpha.
While as marketers we’re obsessed with being brand relevant with the latest cohort, we also take the stance of judge, jury, and executioner.
What is it that we have against young people?
This may seem like a facetious question, but when you look at any article from marketing’s industrial rags, you’ll see the fascination of trying to get to grips with the mindset of the latest generation. Why they’re ‘different’ from the previous generations, what we need to know, and why they’re not ‘motivated’.
The enigma that is the young person.
Agencies and thought regurgitators take to their platforms to inform us of the next generation, the future, the priority for our brand. Why? Because we need to be ‘dOwN wITh tHe YoUf’.
Forget those with disposable income, we need to focus on longevity, making our brands relevant to them. So that by the time they can actually afford to buy, we’ve already shifted focus onto the next group – Gen Alpha, Beta or whatever comes next in the Greek alphabet.
And this is what this rant is about.
We seem so focussed on commenting on the behaviour and actions of the current youth group, we’ve become ignorant to the fact that we’ve been here before…
The lazy Millennial
Remember when Millennials were lazy? Back in the day (2013, I hasten to add) we were the ‘me, me, me generation’. The most unmanageable, difficult, selfish bastards. Now we can’t even afford to own a home. How dare we!
I’ve ranted before about the life stages, and the impact these can have on the ‘red flag’ instances like job hopping. Can’t be the employers’ fault, personal lives don’t have an impact, that’s crazy talk. Remember to be your ‘authentic self’ but adjust it for whomever has the pedestal.
As the conveyer belt continues to role, the next batch of work freshers enter the fray to be put under the obtuse microscope for closer examination.
Now, it’s Gen Z’s turn
In amongst the endless echoes from ‘experts’ residing in their marketing agencies looking for a new hook to meet the latest sales targets, every now and again a video or post, gains traction.
You may recall a TikTok video of a Gen Z, questioning the commute and wasting of time as they travel to work. They pointed out how much time is being wasted and taken away from every other aspect of their lives. Not able to go to the gym or being too tired to see friends.
So, of course it was tainted with the ‘entitled’ commentary. Countless ‘insights’ being shared on why Gen Z are not prepared for the world of work. They’re ‘lazy’.
Déjà fucking vu.
Here we are, rebooting the narrative like the desperate Hollywood studios unable to come up with an original story.
Go back to 2016 and Simon Sinek went viral with his summary about the ‘Millennial worker’. TL:DR: It wasn’t our fault, we were a victim of circumstance.
As we continue with the clickbait culture, we’ve now entered a place where we’re switching out ‘Millennial’ for ‘Gen Z’ and rehashing the same stories to please our own relevancy in the game that we call ‘marketing’.
Control +H, <insert new generation name> and a new article for the LinkedIner is here.
Tomorrow, it’ll be Gen Alpha
So, could it be that it has nothing to do with it being a ‘generational’ thing, it’s more to do with ‘life stages’?
You know, life’s rich tapestry. Forming our perceptions, tolerances and understanding of the world?
Each experience changing our views and opinions. You know, as life does.
Because, whether you want to label the problem as a ‘Millennial’, ‘Gen Z’, ‘Gen Alpha’ or any other group thing, what these examples of hyperbole continue to demonstrate is the systematic and societal failures for young people.
I haven’t quite worked out when that point is, but there’s obviously a life stage where we forget what it was like to be young ourselves and therefore, young people become alien to us. Unrelatable, unrecognisable, and unworthy. After all, Millennials are tomorrow’s Boomers.
Social media captures life
When we talk about the youth, it’s like it’s a new phenomenon. Subcultures are formed and expressed and what this current generation is thinking and doing, has NEVER been experienced or witnessed before.
Really?
What about the Mods vs Rockers? The Goths vs Emos? The Skaters vs Gamers? Is it that through living our lives via our screens, our memories have become that of a goldfish (quite possibly), or is it because young people’s interactions and conversations are now captured for the whole world to see?
Why? Social media.
Social media has connected us all. Enabling us to document human history in real time. It’s also enabling us to record the development of the youth as they share their information and opinions further and faster. Something that wasn’t around with the previous culture wars. Yet, when you look at the archives ‘those darn kids’ sentiments seem to repeat.
If today’s youth are ‘too idealistic’ for reality, then weren’t you once upon a time?
The real-life stages
Cast your mind back if you will to a simpler time. A time where you only needed to worry waking up in the morning. And the alarm gives out a warning. And you didn’t think you would make it on time. By the time you grabbed your books, and gave yourself a look, you’re at the corner just in time to see the bus fly by. It was alright, you were saved by the bell (#classic).
But as we get older the bell no longer saves us, it’s the MS Teams call tone that haunts our dreams.
As Professor Scott Galloway discussed in an episode of the Diary of a CEO, there are three main ‘stages’ of life. Paraphrasing:
- Ages 0 – 25: This is the fun time. Alcohol, films, music, making out, prom, sport, college, university etc.
- Ages 26 – 45: Shit gets real. You’re not gonna have a fragrance named after you. You have kids and economic stress. Someone you love gets sick and dies (parents/grandparents/friends). “Life gets very hard, very fast.”
- Ages 46+: You realise the finite nature of life. Maybe you have economic security, more established relationships. You realise life is short. You appreciate the small things.
This isn’t linear. Not everyone experiences the same things at the same time. I’ve ranted about how life’s curve balls can manifest and shape perceptions and priorities. Difficult for others to grasp until they catch-up.
Here we go again. History repeats
We all experience change. How we look, how we think, and sometimes, even the company we keep. And whether we want to trivialise people pivoting themselves or their careers, because of a ‘quarter-life crisis’, that’s us learning.
Learning about ourselves and learning the realities that face us. Individually, we all experience different things that shape how we approach life, work, and people.
While the constant need to fixate on the new generation will never disappear (those sales targets don’t go away), we do need to take a step back and think why these situations keep arising for young people.
We don’t give young people the support and education they need to prepare for the world that awaits them.
Our systems from education to work, are not catered to do an ‘introduction to adulthood’, they’re the blind corridor leading to the abyss.
Rather than berating them, we need to focus on giving the next generation the support they need.
Not because they’re an enigma, but because we know what it was like to be young once and what lies ahead. The successes, the losses, the barriers, the attitudes, the obstacles and the reality shock.
It’s not generational. It’s life stage-tional. That’s the context we should target.
Share your thoughts
What do you think about the noise around generations? Do you think there are differences? Let me know in the comments below, tweet me @CJPanteny, or get in touch.
References
British Newspaper Archives (2023) Chaos in Clacton – Mods and Rockers Clash in Essex, available at: https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2023/09/18/mods-and-rockers-clacton-1964/#:~:text=Originating%20in%20the%201950s%2C%20and,in%20the%20March%20of%201964. [Accessed March 2024]
Fortune (2023) Gen Z Rant About 10 Hour Day Required to Commute to Office Goes Viral, available at: https://fortune.com/2023/10/29/gen-z-rant-about-10-hour-day-required-to-commute-to-office-goes-viral/[Accessed March 2024]
Raising Children.net.au (2024) Youth Subcultures: Pre-teens and Teenagers, available at: https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/behaviour/peers-friends-trends/subcultures#:~:text=For%20example%2C%2021st%2Dcentury%20subcultures,social%20media%20or%20gaming%20platforms. [Accessed March 2024]
The Guardian (2023) The Great Divide: Even if Millennials Could Afford a Home, There Aren’t Enough To Buy, available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/15/the-great-divide-even-if-millennials-could-afford-a-home-there-arent-enough-to-buy [Accessed March 2024]
Time (2013) Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation, available at: https://time.com/247/millennials-the-me-me-me-generation/ [Accessed March 2024]
YouTube: Diary of a CEO Clips (2023) A Happiness Secret You Need to Know: Scott Galloway, available at: https://youtu.be/9yrP98Yio9o?si=FPNBaKmRw6OYAjID [Accessed March 2024]
YouTube: Peacock (2023) Saved by the Bell (Original Theme Tune), available at: https://youtu.be/bkL9eJWQH3Q?si=8XWVe2gsdSfOgDYP [Accessed March 2024]
YouTube: Simon Sinek (2016) The Millennial Question, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vudaAYx2IcE [Accessed March 2024]
Carl Panteny 