What’s in a generation
What does it mean to be a member of a generation? Do generations even exist as such? Are these categorizations useful, harmful, or even devoid of any meaning entirely?
What does it mean to be a member of a generation? Do generations even exist as such? Are these categorizations useful, harmful, or even devoid of any meaning entirely?
First, a little about me: my name is Alexandra, I am from Chicago, I currently attend UW-Madison, and in high school, I won the senior superlative of "born in the wrong decade." In spite of the fact that I was born in 2005 – nearly the dead center of the "Generation Z" age range, I have never really been comfortable with my categorization as such. And clearly, my discomfort wasn’t merely a personal qualm. Something about that label does not capture myself or others’ view of me.
For all intents and purposes, I am by no means a stereotypical member of my generation. I created my first Instagram account as I was nearing the end of my senior year of high school (for reference, most people my age had theirs ~7- 8 years earlier). It has also been years since I deleted TikTok from my phone, and I consistently track and limit my screen time. Suffice to say I am not the most avid social media user. In fact, I’m not an avid user of really any type of technology – partially because I am ideologically against the obsessive over-optimization of society, but admittedly probably more so because I am astoundingly digitally illiterate for somebody my age. Generally speaking, it is me who calls my dad for instructions on how to reset the WiFi or fix the TV – not the other way around.
For somebody in the oft-called “iGeneration,” this can be interpreted as decidedly abnormal. The dissimilarities don’t stop there. Whether a fair characterization or not (I lean towards the latter), members of Gen Z are often thought of as lazy, overly informal, and with a general disregard for authority members. I see myself as exhibiting none of these traits. I have a virtually compulsive need to be seen as intelligent and successful, and have more respect for my teachers, especially my college professors, than (unfortunately) the vast majority of the world right now. I demonstrate a great deference to the way things “have always been done,” I have never asked for an extension or leeway due to mental health concerns – though I have had them – or used Gen Z “therapy speak” in any context.
I recycle because I know I am supposed to, not because I’m particularly passionate about sustainability. I have never posted an Instagram infographic, nor do I have any plans to, as I nearly always interpret them as purely performative. I do not want this to be mistaken for the manifestation of political conservatism, either, because I would not consider myself to lean that way by any measure. I just do not inhabit the mold that people from inside and outside of Gen Z have created to define it.
So, how did I end up here, at a start-up aimed at empowering Gen Z to celebrate their identities instead of attempting to conform them to the styles and preferences of older generations? The short answer: I didn’t choose this, I was placed here as part of an internship-based study abroad program. The longer answer: I think (or would at least like to think) that there was something about me – my experiences, my outlook, my disposition – as represented in my application that made both my program supervisors and my boss think that I would be well-suited for this. Believe it or not (yet), I think this thing is that I am, despite my best intentions otherwise, a representative of Gen Z.
As part of my work with the company, I have done (a lot of) writing, researching, marketing, and reflecting about what it means to be Gen Z, what we share in common, and what we don’t. Reductively defined, generations are groups of people born in around the same span of years, usually defined by major events and eras, with an arguably high degree of arbitrariness (as well as disagreement). When I think about the events that have marked the upbringing of Gen Z – the 2008 recession, the advents of the iPhone and iPad (and with them, modern social medias), the #MeToo and BLM (Black Lives Matter) movements, the pandemic, and more, I can’t help but feel that I have been profoundly shaped by these things.
My dad has always said (often at emotionally inopportune times) that the only thing you are in control of is your reaction. You can not control any of the people around you, the situation you are in or when you are in it, or really any other facet of your life. All you can do is adapt to the world around you, and do your best to make your way in it. I think of being a member of a generation as a clear demonstration of this.
There will always be things that dominate the cultural sphere. On a young, impressionable child, these things are, for better or for worse, going to make an impact. For many people my age, growing up with access to iPhones made them pro-technology and innovation. Growing up with parents who were trying to make ends meet throughout the recession made them hesitant to accept the narrative of the American Dream and the promise of a stable, sufficient income. Growing up in an era of extreme political polarization pushed many of them farther to one side of the spectrum or the other.
Just because I am, by nature, a contrarian, does not mean that I am exempt from being shaped by my experiences with these same phenomena, it just means I chose to respond to them differently. The way I chose to respond to them was by becoming anti-tech, resoundingly over-confident in my future job prospects (I have a real “everything will work out” mentality), and politically center-left. Still, I became these things because I was reacting to the world around me, whether I realized it at the time or not.
In this way, I am as much a representative of my generation as anybody could be (and is!). I have no choice but to be. Whether it be 1996, 1997, or some other seemingly random year, there is some shift that occurs (probably more gradually than any of these benchmarks allow for) between people who grew up in certain eras compared to others. To this extent, the answer to the question “What’s in a generation?” is: probably more than you thought.
About the author:
If you were wondering who wrote our blog today, her name is Alexandra! She has been working as a summer intern since June. She has one more month left in Ireland and is excited to enter her junior year studying Philosophy, Psychology, and Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A fun fact about her is that she loves Diet Coke & iced coffee, especially when consumed on audiobook-supported long walks. Click on our Instagram posts below to see more of her work!
