While the public and media was focused on pitting Baby Boomers against Millennials over the last several years, a new generation was coming of age: Generation Z.
This month, Pew Research Center announced 1996 will be the official cutoff year for Millennials, with anyone born between 1997 and 2012 joining the ranks of “Gen Z.” The Pew Research Center explained that “by 2018, it became clear to us that it was time to determine a cutoff point between Millennials and the next generation. Turning 38 this year, the oldest Millennials are well into adulthood, and they first entered adulthood before today’s youngest adults were born.”
While the naming of this generation faced some contention (“iGeneration,” “Homelanders,” and “post-Millennials” were all considered), “Gen Z” has been adopted by the public and has entered the contemporary lexicon to a far greater degree than the others, making it the official name for those 7 to 22 years old. Pew Research Center admits that while “there is no scientific process for deciding when a name has stuck, the momentum is clearly behind Gen Z.”
Though the demarcation of the different generations is not an exact science, they are based on pivotal moments in contemporary history with significant technological, political and social changes taking place. While it is now clear which events shaped the collective thinking of, for example, Millennials, it is too early to pinpoint exactly what trends and events will shape the mindset of “Gen Z.”
Wakefield Research has been a leader in producing generational analyses that have influenced the national conversations about cultural trends across age groups, including newer research that includes Gen Zers.
If you would like to commission a survey examining generational viewpoints on a topic tailored specifically to your industry, contact Wakefield Research.