01/25/2017

Will Gen Z be a Generation of Joiners?

Don't ignore future generations as you focus too heavily on Millennials

While most associations are plotting out recruitment strategies for Millennials, membership professionals need to be thinking about a younger generation entering the workforce this year. Generation Z, it’s said, will be even more digitally-savvy and globally focused.

This blog post marks the date on which I begin to feel old. Last week, I learned that my generation, which I thought was the young and cool one, is now old news. Apparently, Millennials, the demographic born roughly between the early 1980s and mid-1990s, is being eclipsed by the younger, even more digitally-savvy Generation Z, or Gen Z for short.

My joints began to ache after I read a study called “The Truth About Youth,” a survey of more than 33,000 teenagers, conducted last year by the global advertising agency McCann Erickson. The main takeaway: Members of Gen Z, born during or after 1995, are distinct in a number of ways. They have their own style, slang, social behaviors and digital consumption habits. And—long story short—this generation is all about Snapchat. (Here’s a primer from my colleague Alex Beall, if you’re behind the curve; ASAE log-in required.)

Please click here to read the complete article from The Scholarly Kitchen.