Learning by living with a Gen Z youngster during lockdown

I’m hooked on marketing, PR in particular, and I love psychology (as a hobby). I often find myself looking at the behaviour of others and gauging where my next PR campaign will go. And so my lockdown time with my daughter, son-in-law and two beautiful grandchildren has been a lot of fun and learning!

I had to smile the other day when Alec, my young Gen Z 12 year-old grandson said to his mom:

“I want to make ice-cream.”

“You what?,” she answered with surprise as he hasn’t shown a particular interest in being in the kitchen in 12 years!

“I saw this guy on TikTok making Oreo Ice-cream and I want to try,” said the youngster

To cut a long story short, the most delicious ice-cream was made (by Alec himself as he didn’t want help at all as it would then not be authentic) and that started his kitchen antics. More ice-cream has been made, bread has been baked and a couple of more interesting recipes attempted.

Alec only just slots into Generation Z by a year or two (depending on which continent you are on or report you are reading) Gen Zs were born in the digital revolution. From the age of three Alec was asking us to google topics that he found interesting (he knew more about sharks, dinosaurs, volcanoes and space than we did!).

When he was asked, at three or four, what he wanted to be when he grew up, he thought for a while and came back saying he wants to be on the team that discovers how to take oxygen to Mars! He didn’t want to go himself (this after his little brother was a little perturbed at his travelling there), he just wanted to help find out how to live there.

As a typical Gen Z kid, he will be viewed by marketers as being born in the most diverse generation. School teaches them how to think as opposed to what to think, to prepare them for jobs that haven’t been invented yet. 

Covid-19 has been a breeze for him. He has slotted into home schooling quickly and naturally (often quicker than his educators). He can work on multiple screens and do multiple activities at the same time. He is already on his cellphone while his educator is helping someone else who seems to have a problem.

Working on computers comes naturally to Alec. Prior to lockdown he would come to our office and sort out problems that staff were having with their computers

Gen Z’s do not enjoy fake news at all I have noticed, and when they discover it is fake, it’s discarded in a flash. YouTube and TikTok are their key source-gathering platforms and influencers play a massive role in their lives, they even see themselves as influencers. Attention span is short and I have to admit I rarely see him watching movies on TV, in fact the TV often doesn’t get switched on at all.

What I see a lot of is online gaming with friends. Raucous laughing and even fighting. Gaming also turns them into young entrepreneurs – there is a lot of buying and selling and negotiating! There is nothing more satisfying for them than making a great deal.

Getting back to the cooking, I see the digital revolution as of particular interest to the way the Gen Z’s are approaching life. There is less fear and more creativity and experimenting through watching multichannels. While peer pressure has been problematic in previous generations, there is less of this in Gen Z. They are very well aware of the trolls that can stalk and terrorise them on digital media and they have learnt to stand up for themselves.

According to research conducted by Fractl, every generation has an almost equal number of similarities and differences regarding the consumption habits and preferences for digital and online content. With the Gen X, Y(Millenialls) getting older it is now time for marketers to look at the Gen Z and the Gen Alphas that are still young but coming up behind them