From Digital Natives to Digital Captives
How the Internet Changed Gen Z
INTRODUCTION
Not too long ago, the internet was a novelty. Little did we think about what it would do to a generation born alongside it - and even less about what it would mean to grow up with its rapid change.
This is Gen Z — the first generation to be named ‘digital natives,’ a term coined in 2001 to describe the generation of people who grew up in this digital age. ‘Digital native’ typically highlights the positive aspects of growing up ‘plugged in’; exposure to digital tools, devices, and platforms makes Gen Z more savvy and literate in digital spaces. Millennials, in contrast, have been referred to as ‘digital immigrants’, whose technology and internet skills were more adaptive than inherent.
Yet the narrative portrayed by ‘digital native’ is not just incomplete - it is misleading. Being more ‘tech savvy’ does not help us understand what it truly meant for a generation to grow up in parallel with these rapid technological changes, with unprecedented access to virtual worlds, overloaded and overstimulated with content.
To paint this picture of what it means to be a ‘digital native’, we must look at how Gen Z got here, how they feel about it, and how they are navigating this ‘nativity’ today.
We must listen to the voices of Generation Z to tell this story - an untold story - the right way.
KEY STATS AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM SECTION 2
In section 2, we take a look inside the lives of Gen Z's habits, feelings, and behaviors related to their digital lives.
Robbing
3 in 4 active Gen Z TikTok users spend nearly 2 hours per day on the app, the equivalent of 1 month per year.
Gen Z’ers 2022 daily average screen time was 6 hours and 41 minutes on their mobile devices alone.
“This morning, I woke up at like, eight, and I was scrolling. And then next thing I knew it was nine, I'm like, oh, let me chill. That's enough for right now. Normally that's kind of how it goes. Like, I lose track of time...Saying all this stuff out loud, I'm starting to realize that maybe I should like set a timer or something. But that's just how it goes.” - M, 22, Hispanic
Habituating
9 in 10 Gen Z’ers will check their phone before they leave their bedrooms in the morning
“I hope most people - so it's not just me - wake up and, like, the daily scroll starts as soon as [they] open [their] eyes in the morning.” -M, 22, Hispanic
93% of Gen Z say they have lost sleep because they stayed up “past their bedtime” to view or participate in social media
“I’ll just scroll until my eyes get tired - until I fall asleep”. - F, 21, White
Numbing
After seeing their weekly screen time report, 50% of Gen Z report feeling “indifferent”
In a poll of 1,490 teenagers when asked how they feel about life, 48% said “no thoughts, just do”, compared to 16% who “feel hopeful and excited”, and 37% who “feel bad and want it to stop”
In a similar poll of 1,894 teenagers when asked if they are happy, 16% said yes, 28% said no, and 55% said “they’re not sure”
Shaping
44% of Gen Z agree “I’ve accepted having my behavior influenced by my algorithm as part of modern life
“It really is like a chicken or the egg kind of thing. Like sometimes I'm feeling a certain way and my algorithm will naturally mend to give me content to amuse that and then I see the content, and that makes me feel some type of way, it's like a loop. And so it's like, which comes first? Did the TikTok tell me how to feel or did I have this original thought and my algorithm just mended to it.” - 23, F, Black
50% of Gen Z’ers say their algorithm knows their tastes and preferences better than their parents
Pressuring
3 in 5 Gen Z’ers believe how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in person
In a poll of 1136 Gen Z’ers, 50% said if they deleted their social media it would negatively affect their ability to have IRL conversations
“I think life and internet and social, it just kind of goes hand in hand at this point. Like, if you're not on social or the internet or nothing it creeps in your interactions with other people. Like if somebody mentioned something and someone else doesn't know it's like a whole conversation you can’t really talk about.” -M, 22, Hispanic
Escaping
60% of Gen Z cannot go more than four hours without internet access before they feel uncomfortable
13% of Gen Z’ers say no amount of money would be enough to persuade them to permanently delete their most frequently used social media account.
If someone gave me the option of escaping social media would I do it?
No. I’m staying here even though I hate it here.” - F, 23, Black
BEHIND THE SCENES
Nearly two months ago, our team was drafting some revisions to our research on Gen Z and masculinity. Had to go back in and pull out the Slack receipts on this!!
There was something immediately clear to us about this notion of digital captivity. Beyond the similarities in syntax, digital nativity and digital captivity generate a powerful tension.
But native or captive aside, we had quite a few conversations internally around these terms as a whole. Would we be helping to further generational empathy?
One of the critiques we tend to get most often as a company is not about our work itself, but about our focus and segmentation of a generation. Critics of generational studies tend to write off this field as nothing more than clickbaity marketing. And in some cases, they are not wrong. A quick search on Gen Z or Millennials + the term of your choice will show you exactly what they mean.
Recently, the Pew Research Center shared their new approach to generational research, moving away from labels like Gen Z. They write:
A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations…
By choosing not to use the standard generational labels when they’re not appropriate, we can avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes or oversimplifying people’s complex lived experiences.
With these considerations in mind, our audiences should not expect to see a lot of new research coming out of Pew Research Center that uses the generational lens. We’ll only talk about generations when it adds value, advances important national debates and highlights meaningful societal trends.
And truthfully, we see this is a valid argument. There exists a tremendous amount of inner-generational differences particularly for Gen Z, in some cases even more than inter-generational differences. It is for that reason at dcdx we believe in the critical importance of listening to all the voices within the generation, not just the loudest. While Gen Z is a generation of advocates, entrepreneurs, influencers, and change-makers, it is also a generation of scrollers. Of gamers. Of athletes. Of writers and readers, of talkers and texters, and of artists and fans.
Yes, labels can oversimplify. Labels can enable heuristics that lead to stereotypes, conflict, and confrontation. Labels exist on both sides of the line between simple and oversimplified. Some harm, some help, and some do both.
Digital Captives floats in that gray area. It is an oversimplification and surely does not encompass the vastness of inner-generational differences in their entirety.
Yet it is also a critically simple lens that portrays the relationship of the majority of an entire generational cohort to technology.
It is a lens that enables us to feel, to empathize, and to inspire change.
It is for this reason we believe Digital Captives is a necessary generational label.
It is not meant to divide or depress.
It is meant to fuel a fire to fight one of the biggest challenges of our modern times.