Generation Z Will Save the World - With Our Help
If you’re to believe the sorties of criticism from older generations, today’s college students – Generation Z – are the enemy of progress. Visit any American university campus and you’ll see them mesmerized by their smartphones, connected with people and commerce primarily by digital proxy, distracted by carefully scheduled lives, short-fused about the state of the world. This leads many to depict Gen Z as oversaturated, impatient, and irascible.
Admittedly, it’s embarrassingly easy to SMH when I see someone succumb to their screen while colliding with people and doors. I feel the frustration of having to remind my students at the beginning of every class, every week, to power down.
But those same Gen Z behaviors can be used for good. It’s how they will save the world. And they’re going to need our help.
Ongoing intergenerational warfare will doom us from the start. (Read Aja Romano’s incisive analysis of that battlefield here.) As often happens between age cohorts, dialogue degrades as both sides of the generation gap shout into an abyss of smugness. Instead of being dismissive, however, what if we lay down arms and see the world through the eyes of Gen Z? What if we could parlay those purported liabilities into assets to help solve some of the most challenging crises of our time?
I see the bright side of their talents all the time. In my leadership class, undergrads work together on small but impactful projects for nonprofit organizations. Their savviness with modern platforms – crowd sourcing, digital applications, social networks – transforms traditional business models. Just this semester, their solutions will lead to cleaner streets, safer workplaces, healthier peers, and sustainable wages for entry-level employees, to give just a few examples.
Belying a reputation for being self-centered, they handle their clients’ challenges with great care. They delve into the details and gain a deep appreciation for social impact. They harness each team member’s best qualities for the good of the project. Achievement oriented and sensitive to inequities, my students are highly motivated to do well, not just for themselves but also for the community.
That’s not to say that they’re always on point. Yes, they are distracted by their devices. On average, young adults spend seven hours attending to some sort of electronic screen (though elder Americans are no less prone to technology addiction). It can be challenging to engage them in the here and now; though they are physically present, their minds are elsewhere. But, used prudently, those devices are powerful. Through smart tech, Gen Z accesses people and information far more rapidly than any generation before them. They know that intelligence is no longer about recalling facts, but instead about constructing the right search strategy in the right digital environment. So let’s teach them accordingly. Stop testing their memories; flip the classroom and immerse them in practical challenges. Design modules that let them use their devices to connect to a world wide web of answers. It’s not the only way they should learn, but it’s a comfortable one that allows for scaffolding to more demanding material.
Yes, they overplay the use of technology to solve problems and stand in for relationships. No app, in and of itself, can create enough efficiency and scalability to remove every obstacle. But Gen Z knows how to mobilize people to pay attention, buy products, support causes, and influence behaviors. Let’s give them a digital sandbox to play in, while we coax their creativity and collaboration. Teach critical thinking skills to help them evaluate the full scope and wickedness of a problem before they jump to a snazzy but impractical solution. Press them on the “why” as well as the “what.”
Yes, they want to be in several places at once. Gen Z is plagued by a “fear of missing out,” longing for something or somewhere else, unwilling to forfeit opportunities. They see open doors all around but don’t want any to close. What an asset, though, to entertain so many possible selves and futures. We can share with them our own successes and failures in prioritizing, organizing goals, making decisions, and balancing life. Advise them that narrowing their options leads to greater satisfaction, and show them how to do that. Welcome them wherever they ultimately decide to invest their considerable energies, even if only for a few moments of their harried lives.
And yes, they are overwhelmed and discouraged about the future. Gen Z is more stressed out than any cohort before, with every tweet exacerbating their distress. They endure a constant barrage of (often bad, unfiltered, and fake) news from every connected corner of the world, at the speed of 5G. They identify with the plight of most anyone whose talents and spirit are stifled. And being more diverse and education-minded than their predecessors, this only fuels their quest to close the gap between what is and what should be. We can help by hearing them out, acknowledging their experience, and joining them in the noble quest of improving our collective wellbeing. If we can’t offer empathy and resources, then at the very least let’s get out of their way. Undermining their efforts hurts us all.
Clearly, though, we have an important role to play with Gen Z, and we should choose to engage with them. Their values aren’t all that different than ours: accountability, equality, transparency, opportunity. They have the drive but need our wisdom of experience to change a world fraught with complexity. With less rhetoric and more humility, we can combine the strengths of each generation without losing face.
Young activists like Greta Thunberg (age 16), Cameron Kasky (19), Malala Yousafzai (22), and most recently Chlöe Swarbrick (25) exemplify why Gen Z should be taken seriously rather than mocked. They are perceptive, passionate, and participative. They are alarmed, but ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work on all the things. They see what our entrenched, decades-old biases may blind us to, and hold out hope for us nonetheless. They are in fact our bellwethers, in a world that we share, and we would all be wise to heed them – and guide them.
