The recent conversations and explorations I come across in the newspapers and the social media about Generation Z brought me some insights about their identity and purposefulness, which they expect others to recive!
They have a collective identity of large numbers, shared strength, and collective opinion which they demonstrate in the streets in some countries, seeking for social or political or existential change !
They have an individual identity as digital natives, who thrive on self directed journey by exploring the expanse of the digital world of facts, opinions and ideas. They find the smartphone as a medium to stay in touch with the world around.
They also have a formative identity which they borrow from few opinion makers, who are actively present in the digital world with analytical and factual explorations of the social, educational and job contexts in which they live.
The third photo above brought a message for me to ponder upon. The one bud that has blossomed is just one of the four other buds, which are yet to blossom. When the other three blossom, they too will be like the one which has already blossomed, as seen in the second photo. Together they make an identical community, as in the cluster of flowers in the first photo.
Just as these flowers have their normal blossoming rhythm, the Generation Z too has its own rhythm of formation and presence! The urban generation Z born between 1997 and 2012 as it is proposed by social anthropologists, was born at a time when their parents have been well into pursuit of their prospects socially, financially and professionally. That was the time when the digital space and smart phones occupied a central place in most urban homes. The ambience of the homes they grew up stayed connected to a global social and philosophical influence. This global world which permeated into each home created a merging effect of diversities, contradictions, and variables which dissolved the distinctive features of the inherited cultural heritage of each home. The children growing up in such homes, where their formation was impacted by opinions in the digital space, transcended the micro-culture which parents would have tried to create to support the formative journey of the children. But I suspect the digital space of informations, ideas, possibilities, entertainment, gaming, and changing global social norms guided the journey path of this generation beyond the parenting influence. I have reasons to suspect from conversations with parents of this generation Z, that they felt the pressure to release the children to a global influence as it became the convention in many homes.
So the generation Z has arrived and now occupies the public space with questions, protests, demands and pressure for change!
Does generation Z see beyond the collective strength they represent to be able to guide the societal formation for a better altruistic purpose than what they currently come across in their cultural climate in each country? That is the decisive question. The Millennial and generation Alpha have been through similar imposing presence with their interests and preferences. But they too faded away without making a foundational change!
I wish the politicians, policy makers and those in governance would listen and engage the generation Z at a time when their energy is turned to peaceful public protests! Let me suggest that this generation of parents in their mid-life created the generation-Z. Therefore we owe to them to take responsibility to guide them through this season of envisioning a future in which they have a place to belong to. If the current unemployment state, a bleak future of economic and social prospects, and the burden of having to socially support an ageing population in most countries, continue to be the norm, they would weigh heavily on generation Z. So the rest of us have a responsibility to shelter them to feel secure.
We add injury to their hurt and uncertainty by using force to suppress them and conform them to our expectations !
In India, this generation fears if they would have voting rights as the current policy of the Election Commission of India eliminated about 130 million eligible voters from the voter's list ! This adds to their stress of being made voiceless for them to express their opinion!
I wonder if we fail to see each tree in the wood! The trees that form the wood are of many species, features and character! The Generation Z is such a wood of diverse opinions, interests and expectations!
I wonder if those in governance of each country would have a council of consultants to make sense of the aspirations of the Generation Z. The United States of America has a president in his eighties. We in India have a prime minister in his late seventies. So they are far distanced imaginatively, emotionally and pragmatically from the mood and values of generation Z.
It is only When I am able to behold and be surprised by the elegance of each Lily in our garden, I can rise up to see the richness in the cluster of Lilies as in the first photo!
I wish the parents, politicians, policy makers, social anthropologists and religious leaders would make a journey into the community of Generation Z and become partners with them for our common journey!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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