Gen Z: Facts versus Prejudice

What issues are Gen Z concerned with? What is important to them and what worries them? Psychologist Ines Imdahl dispels myths and instead looks at the facts.

An interview by Annette Mattgey – first published here on wuv.de.

No other age group has been researched and questioned as intensively as Gen Z. There are mountains of studies and statistics on this. And yet the question remains: Can a generation be pigeonholed at all? Are there typical characteristics or are transitions between age cohorts not fluid anyway and shaped by completely different circumstances, such as lifestyles and environment?

Why are there so many myths and prejudices about Gen Z?

There are many studies, actually most on this group, that deal with individual phenomena, such as media or purchasing behavior. Depending on the point of view, this can lead to completely contradictory statements about the generation. And of course, a generation is never completely uniform and without contradictions. Often the connecting or explanatory context is missing.

Based on all your studies that you have carried out on Gen Z, do you recognize a psychological structure that runs through all the apparently contradictory phenomena that characterize those born between 1997 and 2012?

A fundamental feeling of loss of control, which can also be found in the youth word "Lost", is the basis for a consistent psychological structure. Young people have the feeling that they are not in the driver's seat, either on a physical-personal or on a cultural-social level. On a physical level, this feeling is almost normal during puberty. Because hormones can really throw you off track. Especially on the second level, which is characterized by Corona, war and crises, the feeling of being unable to influence things has often developed. We hear more about fatalism surrounding the climate crisis than we actually have climate activists. These are more present in the media.

The feeling of powerlessness is so strong that it is almost unbearable. And therefore the feeling of powerlessness is turned into a feeling of omnipotence. Almost all people have very big ideas about life. 30 percent alone want to be famous. And it should all make you happy, preferably immediately, otherwise it can go away. Studies or careers are abandoned more quickly than before. In the media, ever shorter short-cuts to emotions are desired: after – even longer – YouTube videos, Reels appeared on Instagram with 60 and then 30 seconds, now TikTok serves the emotional world in just seven seconds. The short path to happiness and success should also be the case in real life.

Based on your research results, can you say whether there is anything that distinguishes Gen Z from all other age groups?

That's exactly what we were looking at in our studies. We conducted a total of five between 2016 and 2023 on this issue in order to understand what distinguishes this generation or cohort and what might not grow out of it simply because it is "typically youth". And you can say that dealing with the loss of control is also typical of Gen Z: They try to regain control, especially over their own bodies. Never before have more young people gone to the gym to shape their bodies according to their own ideas. Never before have young people worn more make-up and paid attention to their appearance. Never before have so many young people thought that they could create the body or face of their dreams themselves. Also with OPs – for which they are much more open than any other age group.

What distinguishes Gen Z the most from all other generations?

Because of the feeling of powerlessness, it sees the design and control of the exterior as existential. For them it is not superficial, but a real value. If you understand the background, parents may be able to classify it better.

Is it actually the case that age groups retain their typical behaviors when they outgrow the corresponding cohort, or does this change, for example when they enter the workforce or start a family?

In every generation there are characteristics and behaviors that grow out of and others that are more likely to remain "typical". What is typical is independent of age and is more shaped by the culture or society into which people were born. At the same time, this culture also influences other age groups, so it is quite complex to filter out what is "only" present in young people. But is that necessary? Strictly speaking, no, we should only ever ask ourselves whether we have understood people well enough, whether we have listened to them well enough.

Gen Z is one of the most researched target groups. In absolute numbers, however, this age cohort is a comparatively small target group. The German population is already the second oldest in the world. Shouldn't the media and advertising industry focus much more on older target groups and deal with how this target group ticks?

I never tire of emphasizing exactly that: at 50 we are just as far from 20 as we are from 80. An enormously important target group that we would like to understand better. Especially since there is a lot of money and purchasing power here. In addition, the young target group conversely does not like it at all when they are constantly pandered to - they influence society without wanting to influence it in the actual sense.