They are your sons and daughters. They populate your neighborhoods, their thumbs spastically banging out two-way conversations composed entirely of over-punctuated and under-constructed sentences. They may even work for you. Eventually, you will work for them.
This is Generation Z, and they have never known a world without the Internet, cell phones or iPods.
Experts disagree on when exactly Gen Z begins. Some argue that the inaugural members were born as early as 1991 and as late as 2001 [sources: Hawkins, Schmidt], while others contend that anyone born after 1995 is part of Gen Z [source: Walliker]. What is not in dispute, however, is what sets this generation apart from any that came before, and that's the unique era in which they are being raised. This group, which today ranges from 11 to 20 years old, has lived their entire life with instant access to mountains of data on any topic that flutters through their imaginations. They've never known the frustration or sheer physical effort of rifling through the M-O volume of the encyclopedia to find out about the Magna Carta. They're technologically savvy and just as likely to spend their time writing and programming video games as simply playing them.
But they're also coming up in a world shaped by 9/11, Columbine and the War on Terror. They have a sense of social justice, philanthropy and maturity that comes with growing up during one of the most severe economic recessions in history.
Things change faster than anyone realizes, and they rarely go back. Educators are on the front lines of the Gen Z migration into adolescence, and they recognize that this group is different. One of the challenges the constant flow of information presents is that when tasked with solving a problem, today's students look for the quick answer rather than work toward solving the problem on their own. Their instinct is to pursue speed instead of accuracy [source: Hawkins].
Maybe the biggest hurdle facing teachers is that they're not on their home turf. They've had to learn technology as it was developed, experiencing these advancements as they happen while their students are "digital natives," meaning they've been raised in an environment where every piece of technology is intuitive, logical and mature.
Kids today have little need to await direction. They can access whatever information they need relatively freely and that information is usually enough to base a decision on. Where previous generations had to rely on a parent or teacher or supervisor to explain something, Gen Z isn't bound by those constraints and can access the info they need when they need it and get to work.
In the workplace, they're going to expect flexibility. When baby boomers entered the workforce, working for the same company their entire career was a barometer of success. Gen Z is going to have little interest in being a desk jockey for 40 hours a week [source: Page]. Instead, they'll view themselves as professional, permanent freelancers. They will swoop in with their particular expertise (they'll all be an expert in something), collect their bones and be off to the next project. At least that's how they see themselves.
Finally, they're going to be smart -- smarter even than previous generations, argue some. Their ability to process massive amounts of information quickly is actually preparing them to perform more mentally demanding jobs. In effect, an entire generation is training itself to handle more complicated tasks [source:Trunk].
So take heart. While they may seem like self-centered prima donnas now, there is reason to believe that today's kids will have both the intelligence and sense of social responsibility to contribute in ways that will outlast their ridiculous haircuts.
*Today's K - 2 students: The Alpha Generation
According to social researcher Mark McCrindle, the name was selected because, just as in science, once the Latin alphabet was exhausted they moved on to Greek letters. “This generation is likely to be the most formally educated in history. They will begin schooling earlier and study for longer.” Brought up in an era of information overload, they are expected to be even more tech-savvy and materialistic than their predecessors, Gen Z.
*Excerpt from: http://www.readersdigest.co.nz/the-next-generation
