Generation Z or iGen
(~1995 – 2014~)

1. Generation Z is growing up in a new century where the 1980’s and 90’s are deep history.
2. Generation Z are not millenials.
3.  Generation Z is on track to be more diverse than any previous generation.
4.  Generation Z is more educated than experienced.
   
5. Generation Z is growing up with smartphones and technology personally attached.
6. Generation Z is growing up with two unique presidencies: first minority president and an outsider president.
7. Generation Z is growing up in an instant world with Google, Siri, and Alexa that are on-demand.
8. Generation Z is growing up facing mental health issues as early as elementary school.
9. Generation Z is growing up watching adults who foster polarization more than collaboration.
10. Generation Z is growing up never knowing a day without social media – with billions of users on thousands of sites. They are “communaholics” needing to dialogue with their peers and the world.
11. Generation Z is growing up narrating their life online and with technology, often through filtered images that do not tell the whole story or accurate perspectives. They don’t just have FOMO (fear of missing out) but FOLO (fear of living off-line). Many of these teens put technology in the same category as air and water.
12. Generation Z is growing up when it’s typical to know someone who committed suicide. (Students 15 to 24 have a higher suicide rate than the prior three generations.)
13.  Generation Z has grown up marked not by a Columbine High School massacre but by a world averaging more than one mass shooting per day this year. This is not to mention cyber and physical bullying and global terror threats.
14.  Generation Z is growing up more cynical, seemingly jaded from terrorism, tough economic prospects, and the complexities of life.
15.  Generation Z is growing up more private and not wanting to be tracked. Apps like Snapchat and Whisper are growing more than Facebook in the last few years.
16.  Generation Z is likely to be more entrepreneurial. They feel like hackers not slackers, and plan to be pioneers of innovation. They are accustomed to DIY projects having seen them on television and having ability to search “how to” for anything and everything. Further, they want to create media and not just view it.
17.  Generation Z are multi-taskers on steroids. They prefer multiple screens at once and communication is typically not eye to eye or face to face as their minds are streaming in multiple directions. This also means they are consistently distracted.
18.  Generation Z is spiritual but not religious. They have no denomination or institution affiliation and are highly suspicious of Christianity as it is often portrayed in public.
19.  Generation Z can be confusing. They have blurred boundaries and mixed messages as they are growing up in a world challenging truth, traditions, and rapidly changing technology and culture with different views on self-identity, gender, family, behavior, beliefs, etc.
20. Generation Z needs the grace of Jesus Christ found in the gospel, the truth of God found in the Scriptures, and the community of the saints found in the local church.

Information adapted from

• https://growingleaders.com/blog/category/generation-z/ 
• https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/meet-generation-z/ 
• https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2019/spring/what-should-pastors-know-about-generation-z.html
• https://www.nobts.edu/geauxtherefore/articles/2018/ReachingGenerationZ.html
• https://religionnews.com/2017/05/01/forget-millennials-how-will-churches-reach-generation-z/ 
• https://www.josh.org/9-important-insights-generation-z/
• http://mainaspeaks.com/generation-z/
• https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/maina-mwaura/pastor-shares-six-ways-to-tap-into-millennials-potential.html