Never before in the history of man have so many young people had so much access to information. Get ready Generation Z is here. We can’t be surprised that they don’t behave like other generations of teenagers, that’s for sure, but what does the future have in store for them? Will they miss out or will they have an incredible advantage? Or both? Should I be concerned? I want to learn everything I can so I can be better prepared to help guide our GRAND teens.
We are happy to see The Washington Post doing this study on Generation Z and think you will be too.
In a new series The Washington Post introduces readers to Generation Z, the generation born between 1998 and today–glued to their screens. The Post looks at members of the screen age and their relationship with technology through video footage of Gen Zers explaining why screens matter, a profile of a true Gen Zer, a focus group study attempting to figure out kids these days and a glossary of Gen Z terms. From the series:
Check out this VIDEO: Meet Generation Z
The whole world is at her fingertips and has been for years. This, Katherine offers as a theory one day, is why she doesn’t feel like she’s 13 years old at all. She’s probably, like, 16. “I don’t feel like a child anymore”, she says. “I’m not doing anything childish. At the end of sixth grade” — when all her friends got phones and downloaded Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter — “I just stopped doing everything I normally did. Playing games at recess, playing with toys, all of it, done.”
They are the true “digital natives,” a label that carries profound implications for their social lives and emotional health, not to mention their minds: Studies show that constant exposure to screens changes the neural circuitry of developing brains, leading to shorter attention spans, stunted social skills and a heightened ability to multitask.