# data[].attributes.headline
The iGen Shift: Colleges Are Changing to Reach the Next Generation 

# data[].attributes.subject
The iGen Shift: Colleges Are Changing to Reach the Next Generation 

# data[].attributes.body
The classes in college are changing there courses based on technological advancement amplifying mental health and awareness issues.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Credit... Henning Wagenbreth

The newest students are transforming the way schools serve and educate them, including sending presidents and deans to Instagram and Twitter.

Credit... Henning Wagenbreth

They are, of course, super connected. But on their terms. Which is why college-bound iGens (Gen Zers, if you prefer) present a challenge to the grown-ups on campus eager to reach and teach them.

Consider orientation season. Katie Sermersheim, dean of students at Purdue University, has a mother lode of information and resources to share (including wellness initiatives and a new mindfulness room). But getting iGen's attention?

"It can be frustrating slash extra challenging to figure out how to get the word out, whatever that word is," Ms. Sermersheim said. "I do get discouraged."

A generation that rarely reads books or emails, breathes through social media, feels isolated and stressed but is crazy driven and wants to solve the world's problems (not just volunteer) is now on campus. Born from 1995 to 2012, its members are the most ethnically diverse generation in history, said Jean M. Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University.

They began arriving at colleges a few years ago, and now they are exerting their presence. They are driving shifts, subtle and not, in how colleges serve, guide and educate them, sending presidents and deans to Instagram and Twitter.

They are forcing course makeovers, spurring increased investments in mental health - from more counselors and wellness messages to campaigns drawing students to nature (hug a tree, take a break to look at insects) - and pushing academics to be more hands-on and job-relevant.

They are a frugal but ambitious lot, less excited by climbing walls and en suite kitchens than by career development.

Most critically, they expect to be treated as individuals. Students raised amid the tailored analytics of online retailers or college recruiters presume that anything put in front of them is customized for them, said Thomas C. Golden of Capture Higher Ed, a Lexington, Ky., data firm. He sees group designations evolving into "segments of one."

Image

Ingrid Koester, 19, center, and other Princeton University students shooting a video, based on the Taylor Swift song "22," that welcomes the class of 2022. Orientation leaders and staff members from the office of the dean of undergraduate students were extras in the video. Credit... Mark Makela for The New York Times

Students want to navigate campus life, getting food or help, when it is convenient for them. And, yes, on their mobile devices or phones. "It's not really technology to them," said Cory Tressler, associate director of learning programs at Ohio State University, noting that the iPhone came out when most were in grade school.

It is why Ohio State this year, rather than battle device use, issued iPads to 11,000 incoming students. The school designated 42 fall courses "iPad required" (21 more will be added in the spring) and is building an app that in addition to maps and bus routes has a course planner, grades, schedules and a Get Involved feature displaying student organizations.

In the works is more customization, so when students open the app it knows which campus they are enrolled at, their major and which student groups they belong to.

Speaking to students on their terms just makes sense, said Nicole Kraft, a journalism professor at Ohio State who takes attendance via Twitter (she has separate hashtags for each of her three courses). She posts assignments on Slack, an app used in many workplaces. And she holds office hours at 10 p.m. via the video conference site Zoom, "because that is when they have questions."

Dr. Kraft does not use email for class, except to teach students how to write a "proper" one. "That is a skill they need to have," she said.

While these students are called "digital natives," they still must be taught how to use devices and apps for academic purposes, Dr. Kraft said. She's had students not know that they could use Microsoft Word on an iPad. "We make a lot of assumptions about what they know how to do."

Campuses also have been slow to recognize that this age group is not millennials, version 2.0.

"IGen has a different flavor," said Dr. Twenge of San Diego State University and author of "iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy - and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood - and What That Means for the Rest of Us."

It is tricky to define a large part of the population. But Dr. Twenge said big data sets revealed broad psychological patterns shared by those coming of age amid defining social, cultural and economic events.

The difference between growing up in the prosperous 1990s versus seeing family members lose jobs and homes during the 2008 recession alters one's perspective, she said. It is why iGens are so focused on debt and insist that they get skills and experiences that will lead to a career.

The prevalence of school shootings and domestic terrorism has also shaped them.

"This generation defies the stereotypes of young adults," in terms of risk-taking, Dr. Twenge said. They are "more receptive to messages around safety" and less eager to get driver's licenses, and they come to college "with much less experience with sex and alcohol."

They are also more cautious when it comes to academics, fear failure and have learning preferences distinct from millennials, said Corey Seemiller, professor at Wright State University and co-author of "Generation Z Goes to College," who queried 1,200 students on 50 campuses.

"They do not like to learn in groups," favor videos over static content and like to think about information, then be walked through it to be certain they have it right.

"They want a model" and then to practice, said Dr. Seemiller, who posts samples when assigning a paper. "I'll say, 'Let's look through them and see what works.'" Having grown up with public successes and failures online, she said, students are hungry to have a big impact, yet "worry they will not live up to that expectation."

And despite their digital obsession, Dr. Seemiller's research shows this generation favors visual, face-to-face communication over texting. They are not always good at live social interaction, but they crave it. "They want authenticity and transparency," she said. "They like the idea of human beings being behind things."

As a generation that "has been sold a lot of stuff," said Dr. Seemiller, iGens are shrewd consumers of the tone and quality of communication. That's pushing colleges to focus not only on what they say, but also how they say it.

Which is what orientation leaders and staffers in Princeton's office of the dean of undergraduate students - known on social media as ODUS - have tried to master in the way they welcome the class of 2022.

Mayra Mateo of Columbus, Ohio, an incoming freshman at Ohio State University, working on the iPad given to her by the university, which issued the devices to 11,000 incoming students. The college designated many fall courses "iPad required." Credit... Jessica Phelps for The New York Times

A brainstorming session in March generated what became a Princetified cover of Taylor Swift's"22," a video with orientation leaders and ODUS staff members as extras, a cappella groups singing the score and Nicolas Chae, a sophomore, directing.

Cody Babineaux, an incoming freshman from Lafayette, La., whose video of his acceptance to Princeton has 4.6 million Twitter views, appreciated it, especially the Harvard shirt sniffed and tossed out in the first 20 seconds. "It was hilarious," he said. "It didn't try too hard."

Getting student attention and keeping it matters to administrators trying to build excitement for campus events, but also in prodding students about housing contracts and honor codes. "We are an office that enforces university standards. We can't be firing off," said Thomas Dunne, deputy dean of undergraduate students. "But you have to be animated and human-sounding. Our voice is very personal."

ODUS has become an active presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter with a vibe that winks, pokes, weaves in memes and slang terms like BAE (before anyone else) and on fleek (flawlessly styled), and applies hashtags with wit (a free ice cream for dropping by the ODUS office with dance moves worthy of Dean Dunne? #GetServed, #GameOfCones).

Mr. Dunne, whose Facebook page began as a student prank without his knowledge more than a decade ago, leans on staff members who include 20-somethings. One, Ian Deas, who favors Snapchat, identifies student "influencers," following them on Facebook and Instagram.

In posts, he looks for "those trendy phrases that help us stay in the conversation." When ODUS staff members respond to student posts, it amplifies their reach. "When we are being interactive, our stuff pops up in other people's feeds" and drives curiosity about "who is behind the voice."

Being social on social media attracts students who might tune out official communication. Mr. Babineaux said he and his friends noted when college posts sounded "goofy" or "like your grandfather trying to say swag."

He also notices that his generation is criticized "because we are always on our phones," which gets interpreted as being disconnected. In fact, he said, "we just have more connection with everyone all the time."

It is also how students like Mr. Babineaux learn and get information.

"Social media has helped me get a lot more prepared for Princeton," he said, adding that he has scrolled through old posts of campus ("I have never seen snow") and watched videos, including of graduation. "I thought, 'That will be on my Instagram page in four years.'"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The iGen Shift: Colleges Are Changing to Reach the Next Generation (Published 2018)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The newest students are transforming the way schools serve and educate them, including sending presidents and deans to Instagram and Twitter. Credit... Henning Wagenbreth They are, of course, super connected. But on their terms. Which is why college-bound iGens (Gen Zers, if you prefer) present a challenge to the grown-ups on campus eager to reach and teach them.

# data[].attributes.body
The Generation following the millennial's were asked to pick a name for themselves. A vast majority of the young respondents came up with many name.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Some people at a music festival who, our respondents suggested, belong to a generation you could call "memelords" or "dazers" or "the over anticipated cleanup crew." Credit... Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

When we asked readers last week to suggest new names for the generation after millennials, we received thousands of replies, both from those we had called on (22 and under) and those we hadn't (everyone else).

Hundreds wrote in only to ask why we had bothered. They argued that this was an empty exercise.

Kiernan Majerus-Collins, the 22-year-old chairman of the Democratic Party in Lewiston, Me., wrote: "Don't call us anything. The whole notion of cohesive generations is nonsense."

It was the second-most popular comment on our Facebook post. He has a point. Malcolm Harris, the author I interviewed for the original reader callout, described those jostling to coin a lasting name as hacks and salesmen. (He's 29, a year older than I am.)

Mr. Harris, an editor for The New Inquiry, is more amenable in his book, " Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials," which makes a case that these labels help explain the political, economic and social trends that shape our lives.

"I do believe that it is useful, or can be useful, clearly," he said. "It can also be less than useless."

We'll get to some of the least useless suggestions below, but first here are some of the broad trends revealed by the approximately 3,000 responses submitted on Facebook, Twitter, our website and directly to my email.

There was plenty of support for widely publicized names already coined for the generation born, roughly, between 1995 and 2015: Generation Z, Homeland Generation, Post-Millennials and iGeneration.

A significant minority had grown comfortable with "Generation Z," including Raquel Glassner, 22, of Olympia, Wash.

"I've never heard iGeneration before, but that is really horrendous," she said. "Our whole generation shouldn't be branded by Apple. Gen Z is the final generation of the 1900s, and a generational title using the last letter in the alphabet seems fitting."

(It should be noted that iGeneration or iGen, a name coined by the social psychologist Jean Twenge, had plenty of fans. Dr. Twenge herself chimed in on Twitter: "You know my answer.")

The youngest respondent I tracked down was Mari Sobota, 8, a third-grader in Madison, Wis., who wrote in to say that her generation would be known for "girl power!"

Mari, 8, could identify an obvious generational difference between her and her 12-year-old sister Cassandra, and their mother, Carousel Bayrd. "We both like cotton candy, and my mom hates that," she said.

The oldest respondent to give her age was 91-year-old Annette Benedict, of the Bronx. "I figure you're not an ageist," she wrote, a gambit that all but ensured her inclusion. Her suggested name was The Thumbies, for the digit used to operate smartphones. "I think that suits them," she said, chuckling, when I called her.

A significant number rejected the age ranges we selected, especially 22-year-olds who consider themselves millennials, like Zach Witkin, of Providence, R.I., who said he could clearly recall Sept. 11, 2001, an unforgettable day for many older respondents. He was 6 then.

"Maybe we could make a firm cut-off just beyond 1995?" he suggested.

Others were glad to escape a generational label so tarnished by, yes, the media.

The most popular Facebook comment came from Alexandra Della Santina, 22, an engineer at Boeing in Philadelphia.

"I wouldn't mind being called Generation Scapegoat," she wrote. "It would be kind of the tongue-in-cheek dry humor that I see in this generation. And when baby boomers and Generation X or Y or whatever decide to start using us as punching bags instead of millennials, it's gonna be much harder to whine about us if they're forced to call us The Scapegoats."

Roshan Mueller, 11, was one of many to suggest the Meme Generation. "I think it goes with how our generation goes through life," he explained in a phone interview, with his mom listening in. "We go through life fast. And just like that, memes spread fast."

We also heard from multiple people suggesting Memelords, Memennials and Generation Snap. Also, the Hopeful Generation, the Anxious Generation, Generation Fix-It and The Cleaner-Uppers. Some simply wrote "Doomed." The Last Generation and the Final Generation were also popular.

Andrea Habiba, 15, of Houston, suggested the Sisu Generation. "Sisu is a Finnish word that roughly translate to determination in the face of adversity, and my generation will be facing many adversity such as fixing the economy, global warming, the threat of terrorism and so on," she wrote.

Benton Molina, 21, of Athens, Ohio, suggested we call the new youngs Spimes. The term, coined by the science fiction author Bruce Sterling, refers to an object hooked into the internet of things: aware of its environment, constantly documenting itself, its existence mirrored in the cloud.

"Post-millenials share these characteristics," Mr. Molina observed. "They are central units in small, personal clusters of technological nodes (made of both people and machines) who leave a data trail throughout their entire lives."

But we had a favorite. Four separate people suggested Deltas or the Delta Generation. Kelsy Hillesheim, a 22-year-old New Yorker, provided the most thoughtful explanation.

"Delta is used to denote change and uncertainty in mathematics and the sciences, and my generation was shaped by change and uncertainty," she explained, mentioning terror attacks, wars, the Great Recession and the 2016 election. "I do not have much memory of a sustained time of stability, and I'm on the older end of what you're looking for, though I imagine this is also the case for younger deltas."

"We take nothing for granted," she continued. "We were kids when our parents lost their jobs in the recession. We also are a generation of demographic shift - we are more diverse than any in American history. We generally see it as something to embrace, and welcome changes that could make for a more inclusive and just America."

Delta also implies members of this generation will be agents of change, not just people reacting to it, she said. "We are not passive products of circumstance, but active members of society with agency to affect the course of history, and will to build each other up to make things better," she added. "We know all too well that adults aren't doing so today."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
We Asked Generation Z to Pick a Name. It Wasn't Generation Z.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When we asked readers last week to suggest new names for the generation after millennials, we received thousands of replies, both from those we had called on (22 and under) and those we hadn't (everyone else). Hundreds wrote in only to ask why we had bothered. They argued that this was an empty exercise.

# data[].attributes.headline
What the 'Trumpification' of the presidency means to Generation Z 

# data[].attributes.subject
What the 'Trumpification' of the presidency means to Generation Z 

# data[].attributes.body
The younger the generation will now equate the Oval Office with the ability to send angry tweets and have everything publicized.We must wonder how younger generations will be impacted by the "Trumpification" of the American presidency. For Generation Z, the Americans born between 1995 and today, it is possible that the institution will not be held in the same esteem it once was.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
generation z will look at the presidency in a new way (opinion)  - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What the 'Trumpification' of the presidency means to Generation Z

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Trump has lowered the legitimacy of expertise and deep knowledge that it takes to run the country and replaced it with Twitter attacks, writes Julian Zelizer.

# data[].attributes.headline
Online Marketing As We Know It Is Changing With The Rise Of Generation Z

# data[].attributes.subject
Online Marketing As We Know It Is Changing With The Rise Of Generation Z

# data[].attributes.body
The beginning half of the article is referring to how the Melennials were the most talked about generation. Lately with the new arising of Gen Z  everyone is saying that we are the "First Digital generation''. Gen is very overlooked in the eyes of people today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It seems that on a regular basis, we hear about Millennials, their habits, likes and dislikes, and how businesses can best market to them. But believe it or not, it's time to start looking at the next generation. Generation Z , who were born approximately between 1995 and 2014, are the first truly digital generation. They have grown up with technology from day one, are very adept to communicating on social media, are tech savvy, and have always had high-speed internet (how lucky).

Whether you refer to them as iGeneration, Net Gen, Digital Natives, or simply Gen Z, their presence as consumers and in the workforce is changing online marketing as we know it.

Marketers are spending millions across all of the major social media platforms to gain followers and increase brand awareness. And just a couple of short years ago, that was the way to go because it worked. However, with Generation Z coming up economically, the old strategies just aren't cutting it. Or if they are still working, it's costing a lot more to make the same impact.

With an extremely saturated online marketplace, the competition is stiff, making it tougher to stand out.

So how can you grow your audience, increase brand awareness and turn online users into leads without spending a fortune in this new age of Gen Z digital native buying power?

Make it easy for the younger audience to engage.

On average, Gen Z spends between six and nine hours per day consuming media. And they use an average of five screens - smartphone, TV, laptop, desktop, and tablet - switching among them for different purposes. As a comparison, millennials use three screens on average.

This could be why they lose interest very quickly, no matter how good your content is. If it takes more than a step or two, you'll lose the attention of most younger people. And that means that they won't opt in, they won't share your post and they may not come back to visit your website. So, the goal is to make it easy for them to engage.

"Add social sharing buttons to everything, and add a bunch of them. Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram, Twitter, the list goes on. Give your Gen Z audience the option to share to any and all the platforms they may use, because that's what they are inclined to do. When it otherwise would take a lot of effort to share your content, these buttons only take two steps. Now everything from your blog posts to paid offers can be shared easily, which means they will be shared more often," says Vin Clancy, online entrepreneur and influencer who recently released a new eBook, Ace the Game . Hisbook includes online marketing strategies that entrepreneurs at all levels can digest and easily implement.

"Only add one strong call-to-action. If you add a bunch of links or ask more than one thing of your visitors, you will lose them. Make it simple and let your visitors know exactly what you want them to do, whether that is comment, reply, purchase or opt-in," adds Clancy.

Gen Zs are in a hurry and typically don't spend much time reading an entire email or article. That's why it's important to keep headlines, titles for blog posts or webinars, and offers, clear and catchy. They need to be attention-grabbing and let readers know exactly what they will get for investing their time.

When social media strategies get popular, they also lose effectiveness.

While Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are among the social networks with the most users, they also have a lot more competition and aren't the only options out there.

The younger generation (and potential followers) are on other social media platforms and websites that aren't as well known. In fact, only 10% of Facebook users are under 24 years old. If you are trying to reach the Gen Z consumer, Facebook would not be your best option.

Pinterest users are not only slightly younger, but it's a great platform for marketing because one image can keep working for you time and time again.

You can also head over to Quora, a site where people ask questions about anything they want to know, and answer questions related to your industry. "Quora has proven to be a great way to not only gain followers but to also boost your credibility and brand," says Clancy.

The key is to analyze many different social networks to determine where your target customer spends their time and develop a strong marketing strategy for that platform.

Optimize your content the right way.

There is so much content pumped out on the internet these days, it's important to optimize that content so it gets widely read. In fact, you should spend 80% of your time promoting your content, and only 20% of your time actually creating it. There's no point in publishing content if no one ever comes across it. Make sure you are driving traffic to your site or blog through all available means.

"Most people are familiar with how to use Google, but few really understand how it works. You need to understand it and then optimize your content for it. In order to do that, you need to understand what your potential followers are looking for online," says Clancy.

Once you've analyzed what your target customers are searching for, use that search data to come up with long tail keywords, which are three or more highly targeted words, and optimize your site for those phrases. This will get you more web traffic, and as a result, more potential clients.

When marketing to this generation who are high on likes, were too young to actually remember 9/11, and who see no difference between friends they've met in real life or only know online, it's important to consider their unique upbringing and relationship with social media so you can deliver a marketing message that resonates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Online Marketing As We Know It Is Changing With The Rise Of Generation Z

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It seems that on a regular basis, we hear about Millennials, their habits, likes and dislikes, and how businesses can best market to them. But believe it or not, it's time to start looking at the next generation. Generation Z , who were born approximately between 1995 and 2014, are the first truly digital generation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Meet Generation Z, the 'millennials on steroids' who could lead the charge for change in the US

# data[].attributes.subject
Meet Generation Z, the 'millennials on steroids' who could lead the charge for change in the US

# data[].attributes.body
Business Insider comes on to say that we are the Generation that will fix the political havoc that we have. Having many technological advances to our side and social media awareness and so many young voices to be heard we are the change On the flip side we see today with our president how social media can sometimes be a disadvantage

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Generation Z is the youngest American generation.

In many ways, it reflects and amplifies the millennial generation that came before it.

It's the most diverse and inclusive generation yet.

Millennials are old news.

Generation Z is up next.

Gen Z was born between 1998 and 2016, meaning the oldest members are just 19.

That means they're the teenagers entering college, soon to join the workforce and spark their own round of why-young-people-are-the-worst think pieces on the internet.

But who are they, really? What can we expect from them? A new report from boutique research firm 747 insights, in partnership with consumer research platform Collaborata, sheds some light on the up-and-coming generation.

The study, called " Generation Nation," surveyed over 4,000 Americans from their late teens to their early 70s to find out how they feel about everything from work to friendships to brands, and analyzed their responses.

Michael Wood, a principal at 747 Insights, told Business Insider he's heard Gen Z called "millennials on steroids" because the generation tends to exhibit similar opinions and beliefs to the one before it - just more.

"In many ways, generational change is like the seasons," he said. "The changes are very gradual, and if we're looking at society as a whole, it's this millennial mindset that has influenced Gen X and the older generations, but also definitely has had a strong influence on Gen Z."

One of the standout findings of this report, he said, was the lack of patriotism among Gen Z. "I think it has strong implications for how supportive they're going to be with government moving forward," he said. "They may be even interested in going a different route altogether, one that does a better job of embracing their acceptance and their belief in being inclusive."

Wood also thinks the findings have strong implications for marketing. Gen Z "may not be as willing to accept those pro-America brands as perhaps previous generations did," he said. "Or think about something like the military - maybe they won't necessarily respond to the same messages in terms of recruiting. I think this is a generation we're going to see really demand things being done differently."

Scroll down to learn more about what we can expect from tomorrow's generation:

According to the research, there are three primary factors that influence a generation: age, societal norms, and technology.

Gen Z doesn't know a time without the internet, and it shows. They favor streaming content in snack-sized bites, like that offered through Youtube, and consume it mostly on their phones and computers. They largely eschew TV shows and movies, and are unused to live programming with advertising.

747 Insights also points out that because Gen Z has little experience consuming traditional broadcast news, it may be more susceptible to "fake news" than the generations that precede it.

When presented with the statement "I have one or more friends who are of a different race than me," here are the percentages of respondents who agreed, by generation:

* 81% Gen Z
* 69% Millennials
* 67% Gen X
* 71% Baby Boomers

As far as dating people of a different race, 35% of Gen Zers (who are age 19 at most) said they have; that's more than any other generation than millennials, 43% of whom said they have.

This may be because Gen Z is the most racially diverse generation in America. The Census Bureau found that 48% of Gen Z is non-Caucasian. The next most-diverse generation is the millennials, 44% of whom are non-Caucasian.

Members of Gen Z are also the most likely to say they have friends of a different sexual orientation (59%, versus 53% of millennials and smaller percentages of the older generations).

When asked which issues they support, Gen Z respondents stood out in two areas: marrying someone of a different race, and marriage equality.

On the issues of Social Security, healthcare for all, and protecting the environment, the percentage of Gen Zers in favor was roughly in line with those of other generations (although Boomers are especially concerned about Social Security).

But for marrying someone of a different race, 77% of Gen Zers were in favor - the next-highest generation was millennials, at 66%. For marriage equality, 66% favored - again, the next-highest generation was millennials, trailing them at 58%.

Less than half (48%) of Gen Z respondents agreed with the statement "My parents followed through with discipline if I broke the rules," and only 26% said they got parental help with homework.

Compare that to the 59% of millennials and 67% of Gen Xers who could trust their parents would follow through with discipline. More than 40% of older generations said they got homework help from their parents.

There's a key way in which Gen Z differs from millennials: optimism.

More Gen Zers than anyone else (68%) feel the US is headed in the wrong direction, and fewer Gen Zers than anyone else (32%) feel the country is headed in the right direction.

When asked how "things are going in the US," 44% said they were "worried" - similar to every generation but millennials, who were the least-worried at 39% - and 21% said they were "scared" - more than any other generation.

Only 12% said they were "optimistic." At least 23% of other generations felt that way.

Plus, 71% said they see their lives getting more challenging in the future, 10 more percentage points than the next group trailing them.

Executive Editor, Personal Finance Insider

Libby Kane, CFEI, is the Executive Editor for * * * * * Personal Finance Insider also rates, explains, and recommends financial products and services, whether that's the Outside of personal finance, she's written about everything from Personal Finance Insider, Insider's personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money Insider readers already know and love. She holds the Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI) certification issued by the National Financial Educators Council. For 2021 and 2022, she is a member of the Insider Committe, a cross-team focus group working on making Insider an even better place to work. Previously at Insider, she oversaw teams including Strategy, Careers, and Executive Life. Her team at Insider has tackled projects including: Women of Means, a series about women taking control of their finances Inside the Racial Wealth Gap, an exploration of the causes, effects, and potential solutions of the racial wealth gap in the US (finalist, Drum Award, "Editorial Campaign of the Year," 2021) Strings Attached, a series of essays from people who have left insulated communities and how that journey affected their relationship with money Master Your Money, a year-long guide for millennials on how to take control of their finances (first runner up, Drum Award, "Best Use of Social Media," 2022) The Road to Home, a comprehensive guide to buying your first house (silver award winner, National Association of Real Estate Editors, "Best Multi-Platform Package or Series - Real Estate," 2022) In September 2016, she helped launch Insider Netherlands in Amsterdam. best travel credit card, the best investment apps, or the why Chinese children are so good at math to the business of dogs to hard truths about adulthood. best homeowners insurance companies. She's always interested in research, charts, and people: new and interesting research, compelling charts and other visuals, and people who are willing to share the details of their impressive financial accomplishments and strategies. Before joining the company in March 2014, she was the associate editor at LearnVest, covering personal and behavioral finance. If you have something to share, please reach out to lkane@insider.com. Learn more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services "Sign up to get Personal Finance Insider's free email newsletter in your inbox "

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meet Generation Z, the 'millennials on steroids' who could lead the charge for change in the US

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Generation Z is the youngest American generation. In many ways, it reflects and amplifies the millennial generation that came before it. It's the most diverse and inclusive generation yet. Millennials are old news. Generation Z is up next. Gen Z was born between 1998 and 2016, meaning the oldest members are just 19.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Marketers Must Evolve to Remain Relevant in a 'Post-Millennial' World 

# data[].attributes.subject
How Marketers Must Evolve to Remain Relevant in a 'Post-Millennial' World 

# data[].attributes.body
Gen Z has arrived on the heels of the millennials as the first "digital native" generation that has never known an analog existence.They are products of an evolved world: influenced by the omnipresence of technology, splitting their attention across an average of five screens (smartphone, tablet, laptop, TV, desktop) at any given time. Gen Z regularly capitalizes on this technological revolution

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Image credit: Franek Strzeszewski | Getty Images

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Generation Z -- generally identified as those born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s -- is anticipated to make up almost 40 percent of the U.S. consumer base by 2020. For this reason, marketers are already tuning in to the way this demographic engages with the world and makes -- or is likely to make -- decisions as consumers.

Gen Z is the first generation to live their entire lives in the technology-driven world ushered in by its millennial predecessors. With more than 50 percent of Gen Z connected online for up to 10 hours a day, compared to an average of just under four hours for millennials, it is difficult to overstate how deeply and broadly technology touches their lives.

They are products of an evolved world: influenced by the omnipresence of technology, splitting their attention across an average of five screens (smartphone, tablet, laptop, TV, desktop) at any given time. As the first true "digital natives," Gen Z regularly capitalizes on this technological revolution to advance their quest for meaningful experiences fueled by a desire to live (and share) their best lives.
Related: What Steps Can You Take to Make Your Brand More 'Gen Z' Friendly? Actually, There Are 8.
Alternative styles of living and homeownership are becoming increasingly possible for the post-millennial generation, enabled by the proliferation and ever-increasing sophistication of technology that make flexible work environments possible. In fact, nearly half of Gen Z claims they would prioritize a job offer that provides the mobility, freedom and flexibility to work remotely from anywhere. Marketers looking to reach Gen Z need to do so early -- and on their go-to channels -- to engage them in the most impactful way.

The unique Gen Z mindset

Gen Z is not only influenced by their baby boomer and Gen X predecessors' learnings, but also actively involved in their forebears' conversations and decision-making processes from an early age. Abundant technology influences their lifestyle, engagement and decision-making. They are steadfastly mobile-first; they have an unprecedented amount of information at their fingertips, and they are able to digest and synthesize a tremendous amount of information with ease and speed.

The bar for personalization of service and speed of delivery is consequently higher for Gen Z than for even its millennial counterparts. While accustomed to speedy and tech-savvy delivery, a thoughtful approach that contributes to building a deeper relationship is key.

Engaging Gen Z

Gen Z's relationship with technology is unprecedented. While millennials pioneered this on-demand world of instantaneous information and perpetual interactions, Gen Z takes it a step further: It is the only world they've ever known. But at the same time, an unrelenting barrage of communication since birth has enabled Gen Z to develop incredibly effective filters. While their options are limitless, their time isn't, and Gen Z possesses a firm understanding of which ideas are worth their attention and energy.
Related: How to Use Authenticity to Capture the Attention of Generation Z
Passive marketing doesn't get very far with Gen Z. According to a recent Data & Targeting survey, 82 percent of Gen Z skip video advertisements "as fast as possible." For a message to connect, marketers must cater to what this demographic cares about most. Amid the barrage, they crave authenticity and content that mirrors their daily lives, which is reflected in their propensity for favoring the opinions of social media influencers over traditional celebrities. In a study commissioned by Deep Focus, 63 percent of Gen Z admitted relating better to "real" people and stories in advertisements. The success of online personalities has been built upon their ability to craft intimate and genuine experiences, while confidently tackling important social issues as the voices of a generation.

A strong digital presence is essential for marketers to engage Gen Z and develop organic connections. Regular interactions with Gen Z are the only way to stay abreast of rapidly shifting trends and provide the compelling and buzzworthy content they desire. They want to be involved in shaping the message. In fact, a Vision Critical study found that 72 percent of Gen Z appreciates brands that seek their feedback.

Gen Z's social values

Gen Z is also one of the most outspoken and socially active generations in history, with 76 percent voicing concern about humanity's impact on the future of the world. To influence Gen Z, marketers must promote interactions through messaging that is instantly recognizable as aligning with their values. Engaging Gen Z is a battle for attention split across as many as six screens (phone, wearables, tablet, laptop, TV, desktop) in quick-touch, micro-interactions barely lasting seconds at a time. If you don't hook them immediately, you lose them fast.
Related: 5 Ways to Catapult Your Company's Success With Gen Z
As Generation Z continues to grow and engage with the world, their go-to channels will likely evolve as well. Marketers will have the most long-term impact if they remain savvy to such changes, and reconnect at every authentic opportunity. By always understanding where "home" is, the conversation with Gen Z will naturally grow in mutually beneficial ways.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Marketers Must Evolve to Remain Relevant in a 'Post-Millennial' World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Generation Z -- generally identified as those born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s -- is anticipated to make up almost 40 percent of the U.S. consumer base by 2020.

# data[].attributes.headline
Have You Heard? Millennials Aren't the Only Ones Out There.

# data[].attributes.subject
Have You Heard? Millennials Aren't the Only Ones Out There.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is talking about how most of the times we always think of ourselves as the only generation. This makes us already put a label on ourselves.The Milenials also think we need to make way fo them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Millennials and "Nexters" (a.k.a. Generation Z, comprised of those born after 2000) are the fastest-growing demographics in the job market. Together, these two age cohorts will comprise almost 70 percent of employees globally by 2020, according to NAVEX Global.

This makes it understandable why entrepreneurs, business owners and other company leaders are creating environments that welcome this segment -- but that shouldn't occur at the expense of the other 30 percent: baby boomers and Gen Xers.

While the younger age groupings tend to value flexible work environments, opportunities to grow, transparency and a sense of purpose in what they do, the trendy image we so often see, of millennials working from home, doesn't tell the whole story.

Yes, 98 percent of millennials, 18 to 24, own smartphones, according to Nielsen, but they don't live online 24/7. In fact, the IBM Institute for Business Value found that the millennials it surveyed preferred to learn new work skills face-to-face and were less likely than baby boomers to prefer virtual meetings over real ones.
Related: Why CEOs Should Be Worried About the Generation Gap
Members of Generation X are typically independent, resourceful and self-sufficient. They value freedom and responsibility, dislike micromanagement and crave a reasonable work-life balance. Boomers, meanwhile, prefer to work longer hours in exchange for higher positions and better perks. They believe strongly in hierarchy and are suspicious of flexibility, but as they age, that perk may offer a broader appeal.

While each of these population groups has its own preferences when it comes to work, their members are all human. To create a sustainable culture that facilitates productivity and reduces turnover, look beyond what just milllennials want -- and start thinking about everyone.

Why an inclusive culture matters

According to Gallup's 2017 State of the American Workplace report, highly engaged employees help improve relationships with customers. This, in turn, helps their organizations achieve substantial organic growth, to the tune of an average 20 percent more sales and a 21 percent increase in profits.

Unhappy employees, no matter what their age group, are more likely to leave, costing you money in training expenses and lost productivity. Conversely, a strong culture with cross-generational appeal is bound to improve retention rates. Our company, Acceleration Partners, strives to build a culture inclusive of every generation's interests.
Related: Employees From All Generations Want This One Thing From Employers
The remote work options we offer appeal both to older employees raising families as well as younger ones who enjoy extracurricular activities. Moms and dads don't have to miss school plays because of work, and those who run for exercise can train for a marathon without missing deadlines. Our culture allows individuals to set a pace that works for them.

Building a culture for everyone

Our mission is to be performance-based, to change the work-life paradigm and empower our employees to do more both in the office and at home. We believe that engaged, happy employees are the foundation of a successful and sustainable growth business, and we stay true to our core values by prioritizing productivity over time cards.

Your company can do the same. The key is to demonstrate respect for employee preferences, rather than force multiple age groups to adhere to a model that works for only one. Follow these strategies to create an environment that appeals to members of every group.

1. Create a flexible work culture, even for the inflexible. Everyone, from millennials to boomers, loves having the flexibility to successfully juggle life's events when they overlap with work. So, take advantage of technology to empower people to work away from their desks. That way, boomers can extend their careers past retirement age, Gen Xers can spend more time with their growing families and millennials can do more of the social activities they love.

According to Global Workplace Analytics, between 80 and 90 percent of the U.S. workforce would like to work remotely on at least a part-time basis. Treat employees like adults and make positive assumptions about what they do away from the office. Not only will this boost overall productivity, but it will also reduce stress and lower turnover rates.

Companies everywhere are seeing the benefits of flexible schedules. We do, and so does Elite SEM, a digital marketing leader that offers its employees everything from unlimited vacation to limited oversight -- as long as their work gets done.

2. Infuse work with purpose. Millennials famously want to work for a company with a purpose. Unsurprisingly, other generations like to work for more than a paycheck, too.

As the aforementioned IBM study found, different generations don't view work as differently as you might think. People want to work for organizations where everyone has a stake in success and understands the process. One recent study, by George LaRocque of #HRWINS, found that most employees prefer meaningful work over competitive pay. They want to see how their work contributes to the overall mission by connecting their efforts to measurable results.

Strong cultures integrate the purpose-driven mission the majority of employees crave. Create one by facilitating new relationships through team-building time, providing autonomy over tasks, offering opportunities for career development and socializing outside of work. Building purpose involves helping employees align their individual goals with company goals, so be sure managers connect regularly with all team members one-on-one so that they can better understand what drives them on a personal level.

At our company, we have a clear mission and vision, which is communicated on a regular basis with all employees. We set quarterly goals called "rocks," which align with the company's goals, and have quarterly check-ins to provide continuous feedback. We invest regularly in our employees' professional and personal development. Consequently, our employees are excited to work with motivated, talented team members who stretch their limits.

3. Promote transparency through engagement. Transparency in the workplace helps all employees understand their roles in connection to the overall mission. This goes a long way toward helping them align their efforts with the broader purpose they wish to be a part of. With more transparency, more employees can clearly see the value they add, which in turn encourages them to become more engaged and contribute more solutions to company problems.

HubSpot, which is famous for its strong culture, believes that transparency is essentia l for growing companies. HubSpot shares everything it possibly can to demonstrate trust in employees. It treats them like adults and expects them to use the information the right way.

To do the same at your company, use information-sharing tools to facilitate internal transparency. Provide employees with a social intranet or collaboration platform, then post easily digestible content for them to discuss. Don't pay lip service to transparency by dropping company financial reports on them with no explanation. Yes, provide the reports, but then walk employees through what the numbers actually mean. Employees truly appreciate being kept in the loop.
Related: 4 Ways Millennials and Baby Boomers Make the Dream Team
The upshot here: You can build a millennial-friendly workplace without sacrificing the needs of other generations. Flexible work options, purposeful work and transparency combine to offer something for everyone. Follow these strategies to create a work environment that welcomes all generations, reduces turnover rates and increases productivity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Have You Heard? Millennials Aren't the Only Ones Out There.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Millennials and "Nexters" (a.k.a. Generation Z, comprised of those born after 2000) are the fastest-growing demographics in the job market. Together, these two age cohorts will comprise almost 70 percent of employees globally by 2020, according to NAVEX Global.

# data[].attributes.headline
What You May Be Getting Wrong About New Gen Z Employees 

# data[].attributes.subject
What You May Be Getting Wrong About New Gen Z Employees 

# data[].attributes.body
Having being labeled the "Digital Technology" it is becoming more and more difficult for the members of Generation Z to find a job. When someone already has a pre image of you or in this case you Generation it is going to be very hard to try and change their mind.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Have you heard of the game Nomyx?

It's an online game you can play at any time with anyone. But, it's a bit different than any game you may have played in your past. Let me explain.

Nomyx is a game where you can change the rules while you play it.

In fact, changing the rules is the goal of the game.

Players can submit new rules or modify existing ones.

You win the game when five of your rules are accepted.

In many ways, this may be how life will feel as the newest generation of employees graces the halls of our workplaces. Now, Generation Z, is moving from backpacks to briefcases, and they bring a new vantage point and approach to their future careers.
Related: Generation Z: Are We Ready for the New Workforce?
In July, my organization, Growing Leaders, enlisted Harris Poll to survey more than 2,200 adults from various generations across the U.S. One stat stood out: 70 percent of adults say kids today will not be ready for adult life (i.e. life after grade school).

In short, we believe Gen Z will not be prepared for a job, at least the ones we have available for them now.

I believe we just may be unprepared for the new ways recent grads will approach the workplace. After all, they grew up in a different era than the millennials. While Gen Y grew up in an expanding economy during the '90s, Gen Z has never experienced a thriving economy. They are marked by a 21st-century culture of terrorism, recession, racial and political divides, corporate scandals, unemployment and global uncertainty.

So, let's examine some shifts Gen Z is making and learn about their generation. Understanding their psyche could enable us to recruit and onboard them more effectively.

1. Mainstream training is morphing into micro-learning.

Idea: Break down your onboarding time into short vignettes.

In 2000, adolescent attention spans were 12 seconds. Today, they are 6-8 seconds. Today's young adults have been distracted much of their lives. Herbert Simon said, "A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." What if you offered short vignettes for your onboarding process? These can be done in 15-20 minutes each, then take a break. Gen Z is able to digest content better this way and will retain it longer. Give them one big idea:a point for their head and a picture for their heart.
Related: The Top 10 Employers Gen Zers Dream of Working For
2. Explanations are morphing into experiences.
Idea: Stop merely talking and create an experience.
Verbal instruction -- the proverbial talking head -- is so yesterday. I've found using the EPIC Model, which was pioneered by Dr. Leonard Sweet, is more effective: Experiential, Participatory, Image-rich and Connected. Offer an experience, and let them participate in where it goes. Furnish an image that represents the principle you want them to learn and let them connect with each other in conversation to apply it. Gen Z isn't looking for a "sage on the stage" with a lecture, but a "guide on the side" with an experience.

3. Downloading is morphing into uploading and gamified learning.
Idea: Give them an opportunity tocreate during the onboarding process. Related: Bashing the Stereotypes: What You Need to Know About Gen Z
Millennials grew up watching Youtube as consumers. Gen Z wants to create or curate that content. A growing body of research tells us that gaming is their favorite pastime when they're bored. So, what if you gamified your onboarding process? Once again, the training is not passive on their part, but active. Let them create. Let them collaborate. While millennials worried about GPA, Gen Z may prefer on-the-job training.

3. The corporate ladder is morphing into the corporate lily pad.

We've entered the gig economy and many Gen Z professionals prefer taking on a short-term project over thinking about a long-term position. Many hop from one "lily pad" to another, so they won't get bored. What if your onboarding challenged them to think in "projects" not "positions." Break down a role into smaller bite-sized bits they can wrap their arms around. This allows you to watch them before signing on for more -- like dating before marriage. Ease them in to longer term roles.

4. Didactic messages are morphing into iconic messages.

Idea: Anchor your big ideas with images, metaphors or visuals on a screen.
Related: 4 Ways Gen Z Will Change Company Culture
Our data reveals that the younger the candidate, the more at home she is on a screen and the more she says she learns from a screen. What if you leveraged an onboarding model that includes learning online and spoke her native tongue by anchoring your ideas with icons or images? Futurists tell us "images are the language of the 21st century." Our brains think in pictures; we remember them longer and they're worth a thousand words.
Idea: Offer developmental relationships in the onboarding process.
5. The need for managers has morphed into a need for mentors.
Related Video: What Do Millennial and Gen Z Employees Want in the Workplace?
Those willing to go deep and genuinely coach Gen Z will earn their loyalty and retain them. The key is to manage by objective -- and to mentor more than manage. Mentor for both soft skills and business skills. Why is this significant? As a population, Gen Z is keenly interested in leadership, more so than the previous three generations. In a global study, Universum surveyed 18,000 members of Gen X, Y and Z, and discovered Gen Zers want to be "people leaders who serve the world around them." Our research reveals they want to do something that's "very important" and "almost impossible." Sounds like great people to have on board.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What You May Be Getting Wrong About New Gen Z Employees

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Have you heard of the game Nomyx? It's an online game you can play at any time with anyone. But, it's a bit different than any game you may have played in your past. Let me explain.

# data[].attributes.headline
Gen Z is the loneliest generation, and it's not just because of social media

# data[].attributes.subject
Gen Z is the loneliest generation, and it's not just because of social media

# data[].attributes.body
A new study finds that young people are reporting loneliness in increasing numbers and at a rate outpacing that of their elderly counterparts.  That would be Generation Z, defined in this survey as those 18 to 22. Their average loneliness score is nearly 10 points higher than the least lonely generation — the Greatest Generation, those 72 and older.And if Gen Z is using phones instead of in-person interactions, that could be contributing to these young adults’ loneliness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CLOSE

The loneliness of Generation Z reflects not just rising social media use but a broader decline in interactions with neighbors, co-workers and church friends.

At a time when we're supposedly more connected than ever, there are an awful lot of lonely people.

"Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone or left out," according to a new survey from health company Cigna. One out of five Americans has no person they can talk to.

And the loneliest generation? That would be Generation Z, defined in this survey as those 18 to 22. Their average loneliness score is nearly 10 points higher than the least lonely generation - the Greatest Generation, those 72 and older.

While it's tempting to blame Gen Z's reliance on smartphones and social media, the data don't bear that out: The survey didn't find a significant difference in loneliness levels between those who used social media often or infrequently.

More: Aziz Ansari lesson: Women should feel free to hurt the guy's feelings

More: Why Ruth Bader Ginsburg is right that Millennials are key to #MeToo

Given the worrying consequences, the loneliness of Gen Z - and other generations - should be taken seriously. In fact, Cigna, citing a 2010 Brigham Young University study, says "loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, making it even more dangerous than obesity."

One initiative to encourage Gen Z should be #WalkUpNotOut, a movement that urged high school students to reach out to students perceived as socially isolated after the tragic high school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Regardless of your position on gun control, it can only help to have students focus on being kind and welcoming to each other, particularly when the pervasiveness of social media has made it increasingly easy to bully both on and off campuses.

Plus, this encourages face-to-face interaction - and the Cigna survey found a huge difference in average loneliness scores between those who had daily meaningful in-person encounters and those who didn't. (Astonishingly, one of five Americans surveyed reported having such encounters less frequently than once a week.)

It's also important for Gen Z - and other Americans - to take "social capital" seriously. Thanks to the erosion of neighborhood communities, the fracturing of many families and the decline in church attendance, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for finding new friends or developing meaningful relationships. And that puts even more pressure on students. Imagine being unhappy at school and having no other community to turn to.

According to a 2017 report prepared for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, several factors show the decline in our interaction with each other:

► Monthly church attendance fell from the early 1970s to the present, with 50% to 57% attending in the past compared with 42% to 44% now.

► In 1974, a third of Americans spent time socially with their neighbors several times a week. Now, only 19% do.

► We're also spending less time schmoozing with our co-workers, going from an average of 2.5 hours a week in the mid 1970s to just under an hour in 2012.

► Families are also becoming smaller, and the percentage of children raised by a single parent or no parent has doubled, from 15% to 31%.

More: Liberals need to close the Millennials funding gap
POLICING THE USA: A look at race, justice, media
Given these declining numbers, it makes sense that more Americans are falling through the cracks, losing ways to get to know other people.

And if Gen Z is using phones instead of in-person interactions, that could be contributing to these young adults' loneliness. In an Atlantic article last year, psychology professor Jean Twenge highlighted how teens were less interested in driving and getting out of the house than past generations.

Describing one unnamed 13-year-old, Twenge wrote: "She spent much of her summer keeping up with friends, but nearly all of it was over text or Snapchat. 'I've been on my phone more than I've been with actual people,' she said. 'My bed has, like, an imprint of my body.' "

That's not healthy - and if these are the habits Gen Z is developing in these crucial years, it doesn't bode well for this generation becoming less lonely in the future.

The American writer Flannery O'Connor, a Catholic, was fond of a prayer that included these lines, "Raphael, lead us toward those we are waiting for, those who are waiting for us: Raphael, Angel of happy meeting, lead us by the hand toward those we are looking for."

You don't need to be religious to realize that we both need - and are needed by - others, and that our own lives grow in meaning through many of our interactions with others.

It's easy to toss out opinions on Facebook or on bumper stickers, but at the end of the day, one of the most powerful things many of us may do to change the world could be our "hello" to someone, our reaching out to that person who seems in danger of being on the fringe, making eye contact and sharing a smile with a homeless person even if we don't have change. Let's look up from our phones a little more often - and start acknowledging the people right in front of us.

Katrina Trinko, a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors, is managing editor for The Daily Signal. Her views do not necessarily represent The Heritage Foundation, her employer. Follow her on Twitter: @KatrinaTrinko

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2I9a6wO

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Gen Z is the loneliest generation, and it's not just because of social media

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLOSE The loneliness of Generation Z reflects not just rising social media use but a broader decline in interactions with neighbors, co-workers and church friends. At a time when we're supposedly more connected than ever, there are an awful lot of lonely people.

# data[].attributes.headline
Gen. Z is replacing face-to-face hanging out with 'live chilling'

# data[].attributes.subject
Gen. Z is replacing face-to-face hanging out with 'live chilling'

# data[].attributes.body
Forget going over to a friends house, Generation Z is all about the group video chat.Instead of going over to a friends house and doing face to face Gen z now has FaceTime. This may seem cool and all but raises question of mental health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Gen. Z is replacing face-to-face hanging out with 'live chilling'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Forget going over to a friends house, Generation Z is all about the group video chat. Buzz60's Emily Drooby (@emilydrooby) has the story.

# data[].attributes.body
As we can tell from the title we are labeled as  the generation that sleeps tooooo much.The article later goes on to say that the kids of Generation Z are lonely, adrift, and politically disengaged.Although we may be all of these things we are known from a recent poll to fix all of this political mess

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Forget the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. The latest generation to come under the media microscope is "Generation Z." Typical of mainstream coverage of Generation Z is a recent Washington Post opinion piece telling us, "Millennials disrupted the system. Gen Z is here to fix the mess."

I'm not so sure. Generation Z is the population cohort born from the mid-1990s to 2010,estimated to be larger than surviving Baby Boomers and comprising about a quarter of the population. Generation X is loosely defined as those born between 1965 and 1980. Millennials, next in line, are part of the 1981-1996 population tier. These designations, though, are flexible, overlapping, and sometimes contradictory.

On the basis of what information we have, however, Generation Z isn't likely to "fix" any political "mess." A recent Harvard poll of young Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 found that, while three quarters of them claimed to be registered to vote, a massive 70 percent said they were "not politically engaged or politically active." As for prospects of a Generation Z-led "Blue Wave" in this November's midterm elections, even billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer, who has committed $31 million to turn out the youth vote, concedes that recent history isn't on his side. In the last midterms (2014), only 15 percent of eligible 18- to 20-year-olds bothered to vote. When it comes to politics, Generation Z may be Generation Zzzz.

While Democratic politicians and left-wing activists still hope to exploit recent school shootings to energize this apathetic voting bloc, their efforts to date haven't been successful. Despite the use of cadres of paid organizers and free transport, the much-heralded "March for Our Lives" in Washington, D.C., on March 24 failed to live up to its own expectations. Organizers set a goal of half a million and afterwards claimed a turnout of 850,000. CBS News reported, however, that a digital imaging analysis using aerial photos revealed that the real peak attendance was only about 202,796.

And consider the findings of Professor Dana R. Fisher of the University of Maryland's Sociology Department. She headed a research team that attended the rally and interviewed a statistical sampling of marchers. Her findings? Less than 10 percent of the crowd was under 18, while "the average age of the adults participating was higher than at any other event that I have studied since the Resistance began after Donald Trump's Inauguration." And since only 16 percent of marchers identified themselves as "moderates," many more of them may have been aging Bernie Sanders fans rather than newly engaged members of Gen Z.

Part of the reason could be that the Z cohort is not all that into organized group activities and has spent too much time glued to electronic devices and too little time interacting with fellow humans. A Cigna Health study released this past May found that Generation Z represented the loneliest cohort of Americans. Interestingly, Americans over 72-including members of the so-called "Greatest Generation"-were the least lonely, despite the infirmities of age and the toll of mortality. Washington Times reporter Laura Kelly explains that the Americans of Generation Z have displayed "key social behavior patterns...predictive of increased feelings of loneliness." She adds that these include "less frequent and meaningful in-person interactions; spending less time with family and the feeling of having poor social skills or relationships."

Sadly, this could help explain much of the causation behind recent school shootings, almost always carried out by Generation Z killers targeting Generation Z victims. The same social deficiencies that make Generation Z lonely may, at a more chronic level, be one of the driving factors behind Generation Z mass killings, many if not most of which have been perpetrated by people from broken homes, often identified as alienated and potentially dangerous long before they turned violent. All of which leads us to the question of how Generation Z got to what most would agree is a rather bad place.

What's different now? It certainly isn't large classroom size, a favorite excuse used by the education lobby. In the public school classes I attended throughout the 1950s, there were always more than 30 students per class, and yet school discipline was never a problem. Why? For one thing, there were few if any feral students. From kindergarten on up, students entered the classroom with a modicum of self-control and basic social skills acquired at the hands of parents and siblings in stable families living in civilized neighborhoods.

Religion still played a positive role in most families, and divorce was a relative rarity, as was illegitimacy. Drug use was virtually unknown, and the pop culture as purveyed by Hollywood, television, and the music industry avoided the obscene, the morbid, the treasonous, and the blasphemous. Another big difference was the fact that most of the money was still in adult hands. Teen and pre-teen spending was only beginning to pick up with postwar affluence. The grown-ups were still in charge.

Less and less so today. We may have reached the point anticipated in the old Noël Coward song that asked, "What's going to happen to the children when there aren't any more grownups?"

The answer, for better or worse, may be Generation Z.
Aram Bakshian Jr. is a former aide to presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. His writings on politics, history, gastronomy, and the arts have been widely published in the United States and abroad.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Forget the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. The latest generation to come under the media microscope is "Generation Z." Typical of mainstream coverage of Generation Z is a recent Washington Post opinion piece telling us, "Millennials disrupted the system. Gen Z is here to fix the mess."

# data[].attributes.headline
Did Juul Lure Teenagers and Get ‘Customers for Life’?

# data[].attributes.subject
Did Juul Lure Teenagers and Get ‘Customers for Life’?

# data[].attributes.body
The rise of a new e-cigarette has come up in San Francisco. The new cigarette is refereed to as a "Juul". It initially was targeted for adults but instead got the attention of teenagers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Image

Juul is under federal investigation for marketing its discreet, flash-drive-resembling e-cigarette product to youth. Credit Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times

The e-cigarette company says it never sought teenage users, but the F.D.A. is investigating whether Juul intentionally marketed its devices to youth.

Juul is under federal investigation for marketing its discreet, flash-drive-resembling e-cigarette product to youth. Credit Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO - The leaders of a small start-up, PAX Labs, gathered at a board meeting in early 2015 to review the marketing strategy for its sleek new electronic cigarette, called Juul. They watched video clips of hip young people, posed flirtatiously holding Juuls. And they talked about the name of the gadget, meant to suggest an object of beauty and to catch on as a verb - as in "to Juul."

While the campaign wasn't targeted specifically at teenagers, a former senior manager said that he and others in the company were well aware it could appeal to them. After Juuls went on sale in June 2015, he said, the company quickly realized that teenagers were, in fact, using them because they posted images of themselves vaping Juuls on social media.

The former manager said the company was careful to make sure the models in its original campaign were at least 21, but it wasn't until late 2016 or January 2017 that the company said it decided the models in all Juul ads should be over age 35 - to be "better aligned" with a mission of focusing on adult smokers. Only in June of this year did the company again change its policy, this time to using only real people who had switched from cigarettes to Juul.

The company recently modified the names of its flavors - using creme instead of crème brûlée and cucumber instead of cool cucumber. Juul said it "heard the criticism" that teenagers might be attracted to the flavors and "responded by simplifying the names and losing the descriptors."

The sales campaigns for Juuls - now hugely popular with teenagers across the nation - are at the heart of a federal investigation into whether the company intentionally marketed its devices to youth. The attorney general of Massachusetts, also investigating the company, contends that Juul has been luring teenagers to try the product and has introduced many to nicotine. Her investigation will examine Juul's efforts to audit its own website and other online retailers that sell its products to see how effective they are at preventing minors from accessing Juul or Juul-compatible products. (Federal law prohibits sales of e-cigarettes to anyone under 18.)

"From our perspective, this is not about getting adults to stop smoking," the Massachusetts attorney general, Maura Healey, said in an interview. "This is about getting kids to start vaping, and make money and have them as customers for life."

And Cult Collective, the marketing company that created the 2015 campaign, "Vaporized," claims on its website that the work "created ridiculous enthusiasm" for the campaign hashtag, part of a larger advertising effort that included music event sponsorships and retail marketing. A spokesman for Cult Collective declined to comment.

Image

Examples of Juul's advertising from 2015. The company's current marketing is far more sober-looking, with a less colorful, more adult design.

The company, now called Juul Labs, denies that it ever sought to attract teenagers. James Monsees, one of the company's co-founders, said selling Juuls to youth was "antithetical to the company's mission."

The original sales campaign was aimed at persuading adult smokers in their 20s and 30s to try an alternative to cigarettes, but it "failed to gain traction on social media and failed to gain sales" and was abandoned after five months, in the fall of 2015, said a company spokesman, Matt David.

Mr. David said sales didn't take off until 2017, after Juul had improved its sales and distribution expertise, and, by then, had a more sober online marketing campaign.

The former Juul manager, who spoke to The New York Times on the condition that his name not be used, saying he worried about facing the ire of the company, said that within months of Juul's 2015 introduction, it became evident that teenagers were either buying Juuls online or finding others who made the purchases for them. Some people bought more Juul kits on the company's website than they could individually use - sometimes 10 or more devices.

"First, they just knew it was being bought for resale," said the former senior manager, who was briefed on the company's business strategy. "Then, when they saw the social media, in fall and winter of 2015, they suspected it was teens."

The Food and Drug Administration announced it was investigating Juul's marketing efforts in April. Juuls and other e-cigarettes are regulated by the F.D.A. as tobacco products because nicotine derives from tobacco leaves. E-cigarette users inhale far fewer toxins than do smokers of traditional cigarettes. The nicotine inhaled while vaping is less a concern for adults than these toxins, but it remains a serious health issue for teenagers, whose brains are still developing.

The Juul story highlights a central dilemma in public health. Cigarettes remain the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 people a year. But will it be possible to get people who are addicted to cigarettes to switch to e-cigarettes, which are less harmful, without enticing a new generation or non-smokers to try them?

Juul, in a letter responding to the F.D.A.'s demand for documents, said it had converted one million smokers to Juul, but the company data is drawn from self-reported surveys on its website and is unverifiable.
[Here's how schools are dealing with the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes.]
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who heads the F.D.A., declined to comment on the agency's investigation of Juul. But he has long been hopeful that e-cigarettes or other similar devices, properly regulated, will prove a safer alternative to smoking and help people quit the deadly habit. Before becoming F.D.A. commissioner, he served on the board of directors of Kure, a retailer that sells e-cigarette products.

"Two-thirds of adult smokers have stated they want to quit," he said. "They know it's hard, and they've probably tried many times to quit. We must recognize the potential for innovation to lead to less harmful products."
[Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times newsletter.]
But Eric Lindblom, a former F.D.A. tobacco official who heads the tobacco control program at Georgetown Law, said Juul's internal concerns about teenage use demonstrate they are in some ways "no different than the cigarette industry."

"They are going to maximize their sales and profits any way they can," he said. "They are going to do that within the law, but they are going to press the gray areas as much as they can."

Over the last three years, Juul has had a meteoric rise. It has become the dominant seller of e-cigarettes, now controlling a remarkable 72 percent of the market, according to Nielsen data. In July, the company completed a round of fund-raising for $1.2 billion, putting it in rarefied air. From a virtual standing-start in 2015, it is now valued by investors at $16 billion.

Across the country, Juuls have become so popular that "Juuling" has indeed become a verb, and officials from several state governments have sent alerts to schools warning them about the problem.

A survey of adolescent drug use last year found that 11 percent of 12th graders, 8.2 percent of 10th graders and 3.5 percent of eighth graders had vaped nicotine in the previous 30 days.

Juul's other co-founder, Adam Bowen, said that he was aware early on of the risks e-cigarettes posed to teenagers, and that the company had tried to make the gadgets "as adult-oriented as possible," purposely choosing not to use cartoon characters or candy names for its flavors.

The F.D.A. has ordered Juul to turn over the company's research and marketing documents, including focus group data and toxicology reports, to determine whether it intentionally courted the youth market.

The day after receiving the F.D.A. letter, Juul announced it would spend $30 million to combat underage vaping and recruited Tom Miller, the attorney general of Iowa, who helped lead the multistate 1998 master settlement with tobacco companies, to run an advisory board to counsel Juul on its efforts. Mr. Miller said recommendations might include more controls on social media marketing and better surveillance of retail outlets, but the ultimate decision on how to spend the money remains with Juul.

Mr. Miller says he sees huge potential in e-cigarettes. He believes Juul and other e-cigarette companies have already helped lower the adult smoking rate to 13.9 percent in 2017 from 16.8 percent in 2014. "The only plausible explanation is e-cigarettes," he said.

A report from Citigroup, citing Nielsen data, said that sales of traditional cigarettes dropped 6 percent in the first quarter of this year and "it's impossible to say what has caused the change for sure but the most obvious case is Juul."

Juul recently deleted months of social media posts, including ones with images of cool-looking young people vaping Juuls. This spring it made major changes to its website, which had prominently displayed a Juul surrounded by luscious-looking images of fruit and the words "Mango, it's back." The site is now a more sober-looking affair, featuring video of adults vaping with a tagline "For smokers. By design." Across the top of the page, visitors are invited to "learn about our youth prevention efforts."

Mr. Bowen, 42, and Mr. Monsees, 38, the company's founders, met in 2003 in a graduate product-design program at Stanford University, bonding over brainstorming sessions and cigarettes. Both had been smokers since their teens, and both have since quit; Mr. Monsees regularly uses a Juul.

The culmination of the program was a masters thesis, and both had struggled to find a worthy subject. In 2004, about six months before the thesis was due, they got to talking about their smoking habits and, within days, were excitedly sending emails back and forth about developing an alternative to cigarettes.

Big tobacco companies were experimenting with e-cigarettes, but there was no real market for them until around 2010, when NJoy, an Arizona company, became the industry's first darling. By 2013, e-cigarettes were a $1.7-billion-a-year business, still only a small fraction of the $90 billion cigarette business.

But then NJoy gambled on an e-cigarette that looked virtually identical to a cigarette. It was a mistake, said Craig Weiss, the chief executive who pushed the so-called cigalike strategy and now consults for Juul. As NJoy's fortuned flagged, he said he realized that people didn't want a product that looked so much like a cigarette that it still left them with the stigma of being a smoker. NJoy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016, later re-emerging.

Juul initially developed a product in 2010 that looked like a fountain pen and distributed it in specialty vape shops. Its sales grew to a modest $30 million by 2015.

Then the company found its current design, a sleek stick that looks like a flash drive, and largely stumbled onto a new way of delivering nicotine: it mixes nicotine with a chemical called benzoic acid. The result is that when Juul users inhale, they get a very quick and powerful burst of nicotine. This gives smokers a more cigarette-like experience, but medical researchers say it also makes the product more addictive for youth.

The company launched its new product in June 2015, with starter kits costing $35, and packs of four nicotine refill cartridges selling for $16 - each roughly the equivalent of the cost of a pack of cigarettes. According to Nielsen, sales in the first month were roughly $1,500 and reached over $1 million that December. It began a steady climb, and then experienced explosive growth in the beginning of 2017, with sales rising 627 percent in the four weeks ending June 17, 2017, according to Nielsen and Wells Fargo Securities.

The company said that toward the end of 2016 and around the beginning of 2017, it changed its social marketing campaign and guidelines to require all models to be over the age of 35.

In the last two months, Juul has removed the flavor focus and now uses only "real people" who have used Juul to switch from smoking cigarettes, the company said.

Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said that he was prepared to be a fan of a product like Juul if it is responsibly marketed and shown to help adults quit smoking. But he cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in 2017 2.1 million high schoolers and middle schoolers used e-cigarettes - "and the reports about high school students using Juul are rampant," he said.

Mr. Myers observed that Juul "delivers nicotine so much better than any comparable product on the market," and so its popularity means that "both the hopes of the e-cig fans, and fears of those concerned about e-cigs and kids, rise exponentially."

On Jan. 23, The Boulder Daily Camera published a front-page story about the growing concerns of local educators in Colorado about student use of Juuls.

Five days later, Carrie Yantzer, the principal at Nederland Middle-Senior High School, received an email that immediately struck her as suspicious. The writer introduced himself as Bruce Harter, a former educator working with Juul to develop an anti-vaping curriculum for schools.

[Here's why public health experts believe vaping may lure teenagers into smoking.]
"I read about the challenges you're having with Juul," Mr. Harter wrote. He offered a free, three-hour curriculum provided by Juul to discourage teens from using e-cigarettes by teaching them about their brains and giving them mindfulness exercises.

"What we've found from focus groups with teenage Juul users is that young people don't understand the dangers of nicotine addiction," the letter read. "They sometimes feel 'pushed' by friends to use e-cigarettes. We also found that they don't have operative ways to deal with stress and the emotional ups and downs of their lives right now."

Ms. Yantzer was angry. "It sounded preposterous," she said, and the company "deceptive."

She wasn't the only school administrator to get such a letter. The Boulder school district and, ultimately, the state of Colorado condemned the offer as a brand-building exercise that was tone-deaf at the very least.

"The way we see this is a fox guarding the henhouse," said Alison Reidmohr, tobacco communications specialist for the Colorado Department of Public Health. "A company that stands to profit from, and currently profit off, youth using a product can't be trusted to prevent use of this product."

Ashley Gould, Juul's chief administrative officer, said the company, because it has not built management around former tobacco-industry employees, was unaware the tactic had been used by cigarette companies. However, Juul's board of directors includes experienced investors, including Nicholas Pritzker, a billionaire whose family controlled one of the country's largest chewing tobacco companies, Conwood, which was acquired in 2006 by Reynolds American for $3.5 billion.

For its part, Juul said it was still deciding what to do with that school program. Ms. Gould said the company did not realize the curriculum would offend or that the idea harked to a tactic big tobacco companies used decades ago. "We didn't know," she said. "We should've known."

Juul has a new innovation in the works, a Bluetooth-enabled version of its e-cigarette that it hopes could push more smokers to switch without risking youth uptake. Mr. Monsees called it a "smart" e-cigarette.

The Bluetooth-equipped Juul might provide a way for adult vapers to measure their nicotine use. It also might discourage teen use by disabling the device unless it's in the presence of its adult buyer, perhaps by linking it to the buyer's cellphone. The solution would still require effective controls on sales to minors at brick-and-mortar stores and online retail outlets.

Juul officials contend their ability to offer such innovations is hamstrung by regulatory policies. The company is building a high-powered operation in Washington to help it navigate such issues. It's run by Tevi Troy, a political strategist who worked with Dr. Gottlieb, the F.D.A. commissioner, at the Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush and who wrote an opinion article with him for The Wall Street Journal.

The company has also hired Jim Esquea, who was an assistant secretary at the health department during the Obama administration, and Gerald Masoudi, a former F.D.A. chief counsel.

The company is also ratcheting up its lobbying efforts. It has reported spending $450,000 on lobbying so far in 2018 - substantially more than the $120,000 reported spent for all of 2017. It also recently started a political action committee, although no donations have yet been reported. In June, Kevin Burns, Juul's chief executive, gave $50,000 to the Republican congressional leadership fund.

The centerpiece of Dr. Gottlieb's tobacco control strategy is a plan that would potentially greatly benefit e-cigarette companies, including Juul. It would require tobacco companies to reduce nicotine levels in traditional cigarettes so much that they were no longer addictive. The proposal is still in the early discussion phase, with the tobacco industry strongly opposed. But it would potentially make Juul, a potent nicotine delivery device, far more appealing to smokers.

Mr. Monsees, a Juul co-founder, says he believes that e-cigarettes are a key to reducing smoking, and can be profitable without sales to teenagers.

"Yes, I want to make money," he said. "I'm on the board with a fiduciary duty that obligates me to make money."

But he added, "The best investor return in the long term comes from more adults turning away from combustible cigarettes."

Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Investigators Ask if Vaping Ads Tried to Hook Teenagers for Life. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Did Juul Lure Teenagers and Get 'Customers for Life'?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The e-cigarette company says it never sought teenage users, but the F.D.A. is investigating whether Juul intentionally marketed its devices to youth. Juul is under federal investigation for marketing its discreet, flash-drive-resembling e-cigarette product to youth.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Foolish Take: Generation Z Americans Love These 3 Mobile Apps

# data[].attributes.subject
A Foolish Take: Generation Z Americans Love These 3 Mobile Apps

# data[].attributes.body
Generation Z (16- to 24-year-olds) is considered America's first "digitally native" generation. These younger Americans frequently use mobile apps and social networks, but they mostly avoid Facebook , which is more popular with millennials.A large number of Gen Zers are also devoted to Alphabet's YouTube, which is technically a social network. Last year, an AdWeek survey by Defy Media found that 50% of Gen Zers couldn't "live without" YouTube. A more recent survey by VidMob revealed that more than half of Gen Zers had increased their usage of YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram over the past year

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Generation Z (16- to 24-year-olds) is considered America's first "digitally native" generation. These younger Americans frequently use mobile apps and social networks, but they mostly avoid ( Facebook NASDAQ:FB), which is more popular with millennials.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun owns shares of Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Facebook. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Last year, a Piper Jaffray survey found that only 9% of teens considered Facebook their preferred social media platform. The vast majority preferred ( Snap's NYSE:SNAP) Snapchat, as well as Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

A large number of Gen Zers are also devoted to (( Alphabet's NASDAQ:GOOG) NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube, which is technically a social network. Last year, an AdWeek survey by Defy Media found that 50% of Gen Zers couldn't "live without" YouTube. A more recent survey by VidMob revealed that more than half of Gen Zers had increased their usage of YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram over the past year.

These numbers indicate that Facebook and Google should retain their duopoly on digital ads in America . That's why eMarketer expects those two companies to control 57.7% of the U.S. digital advertising market this year. However, the figures also suggest that Snap -- which has been struggling with slowing user growth -- isn't down for the count just yet.

Oct 1, 2018 at 12:00PM

Technology and Telecom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Foolish Take: Generation Z Americans Love These 3 Mobile Apps -- The Motley Fool

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Generation Z (16- to 24-year-olds) is considered America's first "digitally native" generation. These younger Americans frequently use mobile apps and social networks, but they mostly avoid ( Facebook NASDAQ:FB), which is more popular with millennials. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.