Next week, a “watershed” event is taking place and the news
media is not covering the story.
The first wave of
Generation Z or the Zoomers will be starting college classes as the Fall 2018
Semesters begin.
Generation Z officially started with those born in 2000 and
ended with those born in 2014.
These are the kids born primarily to Generation X parents.
Generation X parents made history, but very little news media paid
much attention to them. Shoot,
there are only 52 million of them vs. 76 million Baby Boomers and 78 million
Millennials. For many residing on
Madison Avenue and Wall Street, Generation X and Generation Z are way too
small to invest money and time.
Some quick background…
The leading edge of Generation X is turning 53 this year and
the trailing edge is turning 41.
Generation X was produced primarily by the Mature Generation
that preceded the more famous Baby Boomers.
The Mature Generation struggled through some very odd
times. The majority of the Mature
Generation came into the world during the Great Depression when one worked hard
just to survive.
While some of the Mature Generation fought WWII, it’s a
generation known for its survival instincts and playing hard too. As a result, the Mature Generation posted
more divorces than any other generation to-date… so nearly half its kids were
raised by parents who split up!
Where Millennials are known for being raised in a world of
mobile and social media, Generation X was a generation that grew up in the
world of Cable television with landmark shows that captured their growing up
like All in The Family and the Brady Bunch.
When Generation X got to a stage of coupling and forming
families, it was adamant that as married parents it would stay together and
give the kids a home-life that was stable and sane. For many sex was used to make kids and after they were
delivered, sex no longer was a production option for engagement… nor enjoyment!
While the Millennials were raised in households of idealism
and peace, love and harmony… Zoomers were nurtured in households of commitment, self initiative, entrepreneurship and realism… and even a tad of survival instinct nurtured by grandparents that are
outliving all past lifespans.
At the same time that Zoomers were growing up, the academic
circles shifted to embrace the Boomer and Millennial ideals related to social,
environmental and political ideals.
The cost of the four-year degree has exploded and student
debt reached new heights.
The impact of Zoomers now turning 18 will rattle the walls
of academic convention with an explosion of alternative pathways of pursuit and
a new configuration of ADHD – academic deficit hyperactivity disorder.
My bet is that before the end of the year, there will be
news of students resisting professors, others walking out of the classroom and
others tuning out the lectures with the content of their smartphones.
Just as the press has diverted on news that
Millennials are electing not to have many kids… which is an incorrect
assessment… the press will divert with stories of just how much the Internet has
overtaken the desire to focus on the classroom lectures and textbooks.
Given the explosion of information, media and global
exposure, Millennials see bunches of more options than simply a college
degree.
Technology and mechanical skills can be better cultivated in
the context of “trade skills” and models of “apprenticeships” vs. liberal arts
and pre-packaged graduate degrees.
About 10 years ago, I took on an intern who was going
directly from high school into a graphic design trade school based in
Atlanta. He was the son of a
regional ad agency creative director.
I was most struck by his commitment to “learn a skill”
versus the glamour of the ad agency job scene.
What is happening right now is the very beginning of a wave
of change that will disrupt a wide field of convention.
I could care less if its technology, housing, restaurants,
retail, healthcare and/or entertainment, many product categories are at a point
of market maturity and the brands at a point of revenue decline.
Here is my bet.
The 52 million Zoomers will impact the marketplace over the next 5-8 years more with new paradigms and models of
configuration than the 78 million Millennials have accomplished to date... more than 20 years since the first wave entered college.
The Millennials embrace the world as it exists, only they do
so through their smartphones and Apps.
The Zoomers use smartphones and Apps to create and fuel new
models that are more efficient, and better-engineered to work.
This mega-trend is getting started just as this blog gets posted!
Want to discuss more... call me at 404.245.9378 or Email me at mkooyman@experiencediscovery.com!
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