Being part of something that has everybody else paying attention to, and not knowing how to explain it. Yes, that is me. Part of Generation Z but having no idea of how to explain who we are. A lot is said about us and a lot of curiosity is there in what we think or the way we see things. We are like an experiment for other generations before us. Which can be something exciting but a little stressful when you feel that they do not understand you and what they believe about us is completely contrary to what we really are. However, perhaps it is what we show without realising it.
Generation Z in higher education
The use of technologies in this generation is a challenge, a great challenge for teachers.
The education for this generation compared to the others is a digital age learning, where the traditional methods of education with which our parents grew are increasingly antiquated as opposed to how easy it is for us to “googling” something and get an answer from that in seconds. In the Digital Age, learning is not limited to a classroom, but connected through an app with people in different parts of the world can give and receive classes. With this, barriers, no longer exist, the contents remain accessible any day at anytime, anywhere, which optimizes the time spent on education.
To me personally, I like the old school teaching, where we go to a classroom, we listen to the teacher, we write in our notebooks and we participate in classes. Nevertheless, I understand that the generation to which I belong is not entirely so. Yes, we are more linked to technology and we were born when the internet and social networks were already. Many do not know life without social networks, but although it does not seem true, we also enjoy the space where we can all be like human beings looking at us and talking about interesting topics instead of looking at a screen. The problem may be that other generations before ours have had to adapt to technology “to understand us better” but they are more involved than we are and we all begin to ignore each other.
I consider my Generation as self-sufficient, competitive, more realistic, mature and independent.The fact that many young people from 17 years old, go to other countries alone, for studies makes us mature faster and take responsibility as an adult. Studying abroad gives us an opportunity to see things in a different way, to meet people with the same enthusiasm than us and it made us feel that we can eat the world.
Being part of this generation is:
Not be satisfied
We are not satisfied with a degree from college, while we are studying something we are thinking about what will be the next career or the next business to undertake. Yes, since littles we are already thinking about how to start a business and overall how to make money.
Be competitive
The Generation Z, born in an era where the labour market had been already quite competitive. This forces us to be competitive and for that reason, we have such a clear need to study, either by internet or at a school but want to be part of the competition and most of all we want to be the best in what we do.
Be aware
An analysis conducted by Grail Research shows that for this generation, global warming is more serious than drugs and violence. As an example, they mention Singapore, where seven out of 10 adolescent teenagers interviewed worry about consuming green products. In addition, two out of three consider it valuable to recycle and spend time to undertake a project linked to this end.This generation is more familiar with social responsibility and obviously technology. As a result of this, carriers like: Sustainability, Public Health Sector, Robotics, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Game Design and Cyber Security are in the top 10 of Best Careers for the Future.
Some characteristics that differentiate us from the Millennials, speaking of education, are:
Less concentration
Generation Z processes information faster than previous generations thanks to applications like Snapchat or Vine. As a result, our ability to concentrate on one thing is significantly less than that of Millennials.
Multi-Multitasking
Although our ability to concentrate is less than the Millennials, at school, we are able to create documents, perform searches on our cell phone or tablet, take notes, and then at home we can be in front of the TV with a laptop and make video calls with friends, all at the same time.
Precocious
Many employers predict that more and more adolescents between the ages of 16 and 18 will enter the labour market directly, moving away from the traditional route of higher education. Moreover, that, in any case, will complement their training through online courses. If we believe that we can learn something by ourselves, through the internet, you can be sure that we will do it.
Technology has arrived, it has evolved and will continue to do so, not only in education, but also in the workplace and it will surpass us. I believe that not only my generation should be Up-To-Date with this, but also the previous ones. I believe that technology and human beings make a good team and as such, we have no choice but to work together and keep innovating.
We were born in a world invaded by technologies. What once seemed like a great invention now seems normal to us and this digital age is now our comfort zone. This is for me what My Generation is. You may have a different opinion. Would you like to share it with us? Let me know with your comments and likes if you agree with me.
Author: Ms. Yamelin Flores, Hospitality Bachelor Student at Hotel Institute Montreux, from Panama.
Loved it💕.We are part of this generation and still confused about what do we really like and that is what makes us unsatisfied. Also, this confusion is an element that leads the anxiety that we have to discover all the life’s challenges