Kersten Brown Source 3

What names are best fitting for Generation Z? How might they impact the world? What big issues and hardships did they grow up with?

Looper, Lance. “How Generation Z Works.” HowStuffWorks. 22 May 2011. Web.

           There is much to talk about from this article so I will only pick the biggest ideas. This article talks about both sides of the debate over this generation and the impact Gen Z could have. From this article I could begin forming names for Gen Z like: The-State-Of-The-Art Generation, The High Tech Generation, The Transformation Generation, or The Divergent Generation. I don't think I have quite found the right name yet but this is a start.

·      “they have the resources and initiative to make positive changes where they see the need but may not have the experience with failure necessary to know what it takes to persevere.”
I disagree with this statement. I think Gen Z realizes that they do have the resources and that they want to do something with them. And Gen Z may not have experienced failure themselves but they witness much failure in the world and their goal is to fix it however possible.

·      “pursue speed instead of accuracy”
I can see where Looper is coming from when he says “pursue speed” because our generation is always moving and always wanting to get things done as quick as possible. But I have to say that I disagree with the accuracy part. I think we are pretty accurate when we want to be and we can be quick about it. For instance, I want this paper to be accurate. I need to finish it fast in order to get to all my other homework. And I could write a quick paper that was accurate. We rush through the things we don’t particularly like doing and those things may not be accurate but we are such an intelligent generation that even if we do rush through something, it will still turn out correct.

·      “today’s kids will have both the intelligence and sense of social responsibility to contribute in ways that will outlast their ridiculous haircuts”
Looper almost contradicts himself doesn’t he? In a different quote he says that we don’t have what it takes to persevere but in this quote he says that we will contribute to this world that will make a difference. I agree with this quote in particular because we are a very intelligent generation and the majority of Generation is very socially accepting. Hopefully we will make some changes that will impact the world hugely and stay that way for a while after we’ve died off.

·      “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.”
This is also very contradictive to my earlier quote, but that is beside the point. The point is that I agree with this quote. Gen Z has been shaped by many other factors, making them a more cautious and responsible generation.

·      “But if this makes Gen Z seem like an over-stimulated, impatient lot, then consider for a second the challenges they recognize in their future. For their entire lives, they've heard about the dangers of global warming, been subjected to terror alerts of varying colors and watched their parents weather the recent economic crisis. As a result, they're growing up fast and developing sensitivities beyond their years.”
This quote kind of helps to better explain the above quote and expands beyond it. Gen Z has seen many hardships and failure. They do not want to go this route so Gen Z pushes for excellence and are very efficient about it.

·      “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.”
I think this quote is true. Many of Gen Z is looking for something bigger than a desk job. They don’t want to do the same thing everyday for the rest of their lives so they move from project to project, job to job. But eventually they will need to settle somewhere. And some people will end up with desk jobs because there still needs to be people that work these jobs.

           I think there are some points in this article that both Williams (1^st source)

and Elmore (2^nd source) would disagree with as well. Williams and Elmore believe that our Generation is going to be pretty successful in “fixing” the country whereas Looper believes we will be successful in some areas but fail in others. Williams and Elmore may also believe that our generation, although fast-paced, is accurate in what we do. Looper disagrees. He believes that we get stuff done fast but it is not as accurate or thorough than if Gen Z had taken their time on the project that they were working on. I do think all three would agree that Gen Z has grown up seeing many hardships and issues needing to be fixed which makes them harder workers and more responsible because they don’t want to end up in the same place that their parents or grandparents were.

New Questions:

·      What will be the biggest impact that Generation Z will have on the United States?

·      What are more names that fit the persona of Generation Z?

·      What are some of the negatives that Gen Z might bring?

·      How might they be a good and bad addition to the workforce?

·      What are their political views?

I have looked at many economic and social views about this generation but I haven’t seen much in political views. My goal is to find out more about that and to continue to form new names for this generation until I find the perfect fit. I will also continue looking at previous generations to see how they may have impacted Gen Z.

Answers:

·      Although people may think we are self-centered and technology absorbed, we are also very intelligent.

·      We are a big group of socialists and shoot for all social equality.

·      We grew up in a world of hardships and failure making more responsible, cautious, and hard working.