Try to remember your first understanding of the concept of culture. It probably revolved around the notion of features of a group of people, demarcated by everything from religion, language, music, food, to social conducts and arts.
However, just recently, you should have noticed the turn of a culture that will impact the world as we know it from family patterns to organizational and political decisions. Although the Millennials are probably the most researched generation yet understanding Generation Z is critical to educational success.
While these Gen Zers have certain similarities with the previous generations, they have their own unique characteristics, wants, and needs, particularly in terms of communication. They are changing the playing fields as they represent the larger population group to impact the future of Nigeria because they are in their prime and are the next generation of parents, teachers, workers, politicians, executives, and leaders.
It is with this backdrop that this article examines who Generation Z is, and how you can teach culture to such a generation.
What does generation Z mean?
It’s only natural that we’ll try to explain the major concept in this article. So what does Generation Z actually mean? Generation Z, alternatively called iGen, Gen Z, post-Millennials, or centennials refers to a generation following Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Most researchers agree that Gen Z is the generation born between the mid-to-late and the early 2010s.
This generation has been raised on the internet and social media, with some graduating from the universities in 2020 and joining the workforce. Owing to the availability of technological advancements, Generation Z is growing up in a rather digitalized world and is considered the real digital natives.
They were born in an age colored with the internet, smartphones, smart computers, applications and software, laptops, online gaming platforms, social networks, and so on. Gen Zers have been connected to some unique traits that differentiate them from the generations before them and it’s no surprise that they have learning expectations that are out of the ordinary in the classroom settings.
What is the difference between Millennials and Gen Z?
There has been a common misconception that Millennials and Generation Z are essentially the same, but they can’t be more wrong. Sure, most millennials and post-millennials are still “young adults,” they are tech-savvy, and are connected through the internet. It might seem cost-effective to launch a campaign that targets both generations or try to implement the same educational strategy for both generations. However, it might not be the best move.
Let’s examine some researched backed data to analyze these differences. According to the Pew Research Center, Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, whereas Gen Zers were born between 1997 and 2012. So, in 2020, Millennials should be aged between 24 to 39years, while Gen Zers should be between seven and 22 years old. So when you look at it, the oldest Millennials are close to 40 and are married with kids or still planning to settle down (if they are men) and could be making large purchases like houses and cars.
The oldest people in Generation Z are about to graduate from universities and the youngest members are still in primary school, might be thrilled with kiddies shows, and are yet to start spending their own hard-earned money. Asides, this obvious difference, what are some of the factors that differentiate these two generations.
Attitudes toward technology
Essential to the DNA of the post-Millennials is the role of the internet and technology, which from time to time makes them stereotyped as the anti-social, tech-addicted, or social justice warriors. They have access to sophisticated gadgets like Wi-Fi, iPads, smartphones, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
On the other hand, Millennials were raised watching movies on DVD players, using cell phones with small screens, dial-up internet, huge desktop computers, and the likes. During those periods, people thought these gadgets were revolutionary.
Research has shown that the post-millennials are the loneliest generations even with all their internet connections, they deal with more visual images, cyberbullying, and other mental health issues than the previous generations.
Attitudes towards money
Likewise, these two generations have different attitudes towards money. Although both are concerned with making more morning, refining their financial habits, and investing in their education.
Members of Gen Z are more concerned with savings and practical products. They were born at the beginning of the economic downturn and research has shown that they are more likely to make practical financial decisions than the previous generations.
Whereas, Millennials invest in services and products that will give them a positive experience. The reason being that Millennials have had to build their fortunes after the great recession that ended in 2009. Likewise, they’ve endured periods of financial woes triggered by the poor economy, high unemployment rates, increasing residential costs. Notwithstanding, Millennials are still overly optimistic about their financial future.
Digital Transactions
Another research shows that members of Generation Z spend close to ten hours per day on the internet, while Millennials spend about 7.5 hours online daily. Although both Millennials and post-millennials go online using their mobile phones, the latter spends more time on the internet using their phones.
According to another research, Gen Zers spends more time on their mobile devices and this may impact the way they shop. Although millennials still make mobile purchases, Gen Z is twice as likely to purchase things online using their phones.
Social media platforms
Both generations spend time on social media platforms, but they use different platforms. While Generation Z thrived on video-centric social media platforms such as Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, Millennials used platforms such as Tumblr and MySpace and later began to appreciate platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Tips on how to teach culture to Generation Z
The current educational system in Nigeria has done little to meet the demands of these technological enlightened youngsters and this can hinder actual learning. With their tech-savviness, quality education will be a major driver for cultural integrity and globalization.
In spite of the unprecedented access to advanced technologies that can help Generation Z to achieve untold greatness, most of them are still hiding behind a misleading sense of security afforded by these tools and traits to spread hate, anger, cynicism, and negativity, both offline and online.
We need to teach Generation Z about our culture since this generation is poised to foster a world of peace and harmony by bringing ethnicities, nations, races, and different religions together in loving relations. The following are some of the points raised by Techpoint Africa.
Adopt Techy-savvy initiatives
Parents, instructors, and teachers alike must understand how tech-addicted members of Gen Z are and the advanced nature of their technological knowledge. If you hope to engage this generation in anything, you must be tech-savvy and be at ease with using modern-day technology.
Use More Visuals
It’s 2020 and the average attention span continues to decrease by the minute. If the content you want to share isn’t catchy, engaging, or mind-blowing, chances are it will be ignored. Members of Gen Z have demonstrated their preference for more visuals, so why not give them what they want?
What you can do as an educator, instructor, parent, guardian, or teacher, is to talk less and use more visuals to teach such as videos, pictures, infographics, games, rather than the traditional long and boring notes.
Exploit the available resources
By now you must have realized that post-millennials thrive on social media and interactive platforms. They can link up with one another, anywhere, and anytime through the internet. They are peer-driven and desire to work together and connect with other students and teachers.
This cannot happen through traditional classroom settings, where there are limited social interactions. Instructors are often at the center of learning, with students given their own space to respond to copious assignments and classwork.
You can engage Gen Z students better in a flipped classroom. Therein, learners are exposed to fresh materials and resources outside the typical classroom environment via technological applications and software without affecting the regular class time. Instructors can make use of Google classrooms, Google docs, and other online instruction platforms.
Less is more
Ever heard the saying less is more? Generation Z is highly intelligent, but they are not famous for their long attention span. That’s the strength of the Millennials, don’t confuse the two. With their level of technological advancements, they can switch between tasks and multi-task effectively.
Gen Z is going to have a hard time keeping up with long lectures and ginormous lecture notes. Because they can access a vast amount of information at their fingertips, they can easily spot the relevant from the irrelevant. If you want to really teach Gen Z, why not start with shorter lessons and more interactions.
Can You Reach Them All?
Honestly, no. The question is not about reaching all the members of Gen Z, the question you should ask yourself is if you can reach the right students. The strategy for communicating with post-millennials is to adopt specialized and personalized communication that recognizes the individual. While members of this generation may be more digitally-inclined, they appreciate personalized strategies better.
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