Gen z's during the Shujaaz Memorial concert held at Uhuru Park, Nairobi on 7th July 2024. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]
We all go through the youthful phase of wanting to do things differently from how our parents and previous generations did. The Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun. Every generation goes through this phase.
The big difference when it comes to Gen Z is the visibility; social media and technology is their stepping stone. However, we cannot overlook the impact this visibility is causing and resultant influence to current systems and structures. There is going to be an impact, if it’s not there already.
The question then is, is this a real paradigm and mental shift or is it a case of history just repeating itself, this time more visibly - with pie-in-the-sky idealism and facade, before reality check in?
I believe every generation has unique skill sets and culture that they carry with them, different from their parents. For Gen Z, they have the advantage of being born and brought up in a vibrant digital age.
This had its desired pros and cons. This should be used to their advantage, and not to make millennials and baby boomers feel archaic.
Comparatively, some Gen Zs have the advantage of having complex and sophisticated tech skills early on in their young lives. I say ‘some’ because there is also quite a number of Gen Zs who have complete access to social media, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok et al, but are complete novices and greenhorns in blockchain and AI.
They don’t know coding and they don’t know programming and they have never heard these terms.
But they throw the words ‘digital’ and ‘technology’ in our seemingly old faces. Unfortunately, the internet has given most people, not just Gen Zs, Dutch courage. By Christabel May Khamala, The Standard