There are some important micro-social factors that are really interesting to any technology stakeholders to take into consideration when they want to address the present market and the emerging market. The study on the demographic cohort is such an important area for any market research group. Detail studies and observation of the various demographic cohorts will help any strategists to design a more relevant and smart business plan to address the diversified clusters of the customers.
For example the generation ‘X’ born between the years of 1964 and 1985, which came after the ‘baby boomers’ born after the 2nd world war, have a common characteristic thinking pattern, preferences, way of doing and styles. As per various data analysis generation “ X’ has a common social behavior of taking risks and get into business ventures without much deeper thoughts due to reduced adult supervision compared to previous generations. The cohort has been credited with entrepreneurial tendencies. They are the technology leaders of the present time having abundant experience of floating many technology initiatives throughout the world.
Interestingly many of the current leading technology companies are their contribution to the world. Yes, indeed the largest ownerships of technology companies go to this demographic group. The usage of different internet applications has an important role in this analysis. The shares of Gen X, Boomers who use social media all have increased by at least 10 percentage points in a recent period and 84% of them use Facebook. In another study 55% of Gen Xers use tablets. Large shares of Gen Xers that are 91% and Boomers 85% use the internet. When it comes to smartphone-only internet users, 17% of Gen Xers go online primarily via a smartphone.
In the same time generation “Y” keeps another different trait which has been proved through many surveys and researches conducted by different agencies. This generation is widely known as “millennial” because the oldest became adults around the turn of the third millennium. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years, with 1981 to 1996 a widely accepted. Most of these millennials are the children of generation ‘X’ or even the children of “Baby Boomers”. This generation is generally marked by open exposure and extensive usage with the Internet, mobile devices, other gadgets, and social media, which is why they are addressed as digital natives in various social observations.
Historically this generation is the victims of high-level employments and unemployment too due to information technology, financial recession, and the world pandemic of 2020. Their adoption and use of technology largely hold true today. As the report shows more than nine-in-ten Millennials, 93% of those who turn 23 to 38 this year, own smartphones, compared with 90% of Gen Xers, those ages 39 to 54 this year, 68% of Baby Boomers ages 55 to 73 and 40% of the Silent Generation 74 to 91, the vast majority of Millennials that 86% use social media. The report shows that 74% of them use Facebook. Almost all Millennials, nearly 100% now use the internet, and 19% of them are smartphone-only internet users – that is, they own a smartphone but do not have broadband internet service at home even in well-developed countries. Majorities of Millennials across racial and ethnic groups report getting most of their political news from online sources.
Generation “Z’ is another significant cohort. Social researchers and many media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years for this demographic group. One of the leading research centers in the United States surveyed the various names for this cohort on ‘Google Trends’ in 2019 and found that the term “Generation Z” was the most popular, so much so that the Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries both have official entries for it. They started using digital technology since a young age and are comfortable with the internet and social media, but are not necessarily digitally literate as millennial. Realistically, the nomenclature “Generation Z” is a place-holder for the youngest generation on the planet. It is likely to morph as they leave childhood and mature into their adolescent and adult identities.
The various report explains that the average Gen Z received their first mobile phone at age 10 years. Most of them grew up playing with their parents’ mobile phones, tablets, or any other gadgets. They have grown up in a hyper-connected world and it is a popular truth that the smartphone is their preferred method of communication. On average, they spend 3 hours or more a day on their mobile device. Despite the assertion that interest spans towards any idea have dwindled to a goldfish proportions, Generation Z spends a lot of time on social media, especially on Instagram, and advertising on those platforms needs to be customized to fit the medium. They can sniff out canned or insincere messages in seconds — take the time to meet them and create purposeful conversations. They are more inclined to FinTech platform I don’t think they like to enter any bank or ATM for cash withdrawal rather they like to use only their parent’s debit or credit card or they are keener to open their own account.
Numerous studies have identified a strong entrepreneurial mindset in Generation Z. Fast Company unearthed more nuance in that trend; the majority are risk-averse, challenging, practical, and pragmatic. Their supposed entrepreneurialism is in fact more of a survival mechanism than an idealist reach for status or very systematic company or riches. They’re excellent team players. Many have cited that Command and control don’t work with them. Sharing the bigger picture of the future — and being transparent about motives and outcomes — does. Gen Z won’t blindly follow without a rational cause and justification, and that might be their biggest strength if a good manager can tap that properly. This cohort is a values-driven group, identifying with causes and supporting organizations that embrace them.
Studies have shown that Gen Z is interested in maximum diversification in the workforce, racial, gender, and income equality, as well as environmental issues and social cause. Standing up for these values is becoming a differentiator for brands. Rather than vision and mission, they are more attracted to the value system. For them, the ‘What and the ‘How’ are in second or third position compare to the ‘Why”. So companies and products are compelled to redesign their strategy in a different color and fragrance when they need to attract this cohort. These interests can play very well into the ethos of most community financial institutions, our commitment to the people and neighborhoods we serve is a major advantage. We have to look into ways to clarify our value system and weave them into everything we practice, including our marketing and sales communications. Give Gen Z a powerful reason to care about what we exercise and we find them more than willing to engage with any mission we put forward, as account holders and employees.
Generational demographic cohorts give us a common petameter to analyze changes in views, interests, trends, opinions on society, market, life, and moreover time. They can provide a way to understand how different formative experiences, such as world events and technological, economic, and social shifts interact with the life-cycle and aging process to shape trans generational views of the world. While younger and older adults may keep different ideas in their views at a given moment, generational cohorts allow us to examine how contemporary older adults felt about a given issue when they themselves were at a younger age, as well as to narrate how the trajectory of views might vary across generations.
Demographic cohort time cutoff points aren’t an exact commonly approved science but it should be viewed primarily as a matrix to analyze certain social behavior, it is evident that various reports show that there are certain wonderful characteristics in the grouping process allowing for the kinds of analyses detailed above. Still, their boundaries are not arbitrary. Generations are often considered by their span, but again there is no agreed-upon formula for how long that span should be.
A wonderful fact identified that at 16 years 1981 to 1996, certain research groups definition of Millennials is equivalent in age span to their preceding generation, Generation X born between 1965 and 1980. Let us observe closely the different cohort age group and the socio-political incidents happened in their time then we can come to many conclusion why each group gathered certain common characteristics. The cohort ‘Silent’ reaches in the age between 74-91 by the year 2020, ‘Boomers’ in the age group of 55 – 73, ‘Generation X’ in 39 – 54, ‘Millennial’ or ‘Generation Y’ in between 23 – 38, and the ‘Generation Z’ in 7 – 22 year old. Many data shows it is interestingly a well-structured demographic grouping to understand their mind sets and thinking trends.
Unlike the Baby Boomers, there are no comparably well-defined thresholds by which later demographic cohort boundaries are defined. But for analytical purposes, many agencies believe that 1996 is a meaningful cutoff between Millennials and Gen Z for various reasons, including key political, economic, technological, cultural and social factors that define the millennial generation’s formative years.
Beyond politics and critical cultural chaos most Millennials came of age and entered the workforce facing the crucial state of an economic recession. 2007 and 2008 gave a masterstroke many international job markets like the Middle East and America didn’t come out of those stroke till this time. Due to this crisis across the countries and organizations, nobody made a remarkable change in the wages of the employees. In reverse to this effect in many countries, a reverse migration surge also happened during this time. This badly affected the economy of those countries and deeply damaged the confidence of human resources too in countries like India. Millennials are the direct victims of this bad destiny. As it is well documented, many Millennials’ life choices, future earnings, and entrance to adulthood have been shaped by this recession in a way that may not be the case for their younger counterparts. The pandemic of the year 2020 is another thunder bursting hit hence the millennials are waiting to face serial job loss thanks to the wide robotic automation.
The iPhone launched in 2007 when the oldest Gen Zers were 10. By the time they were in their teens, the primary means by which young generation connected with the web was through mobile devices, WiFi and high-bandwidth cellular service. The multiple platforms of Social media, constant connectivity of internet and on-demand entertainment like Netflix and communication are innovations Millennials adapted to as they came of time. For those born after 1996, these are largely assumed the big tech fortunes and blessings.
The complex implications of growing up in a 24/7 in the technological environment are now coming into zoom in and focus. Research has shown dramatic shifts in youth preferences behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles both positive and concerning. What we don’t know is whether these are lasting generational imprints or characteristics of adolescence that will become more muted over the course of their adulthood. Beginning to line up this new generation over time will be of significant importance.
Perhaps, as more data are collected over the years, a clear, singular delineation will emerge. But more than the historical, cultural, technological, behavioral, emotional, and attitudinal data will show more of a continuum across demographic groups than a threshold. As has been the case in the previous time, the variations within generations can be just as great as the differences across generations and the youngest and oldest within a uniformly defined cohort may feel more in common with bordering generations than the one to which they are assigned. This is an indicator that generations themselves are inherently deeply diverse and complex clusters, not simple sketch.
To be sure, the views of these generations are not fully coming in the social data frame and could change considerably as they age. Even so, these early findings provide some considerable compelling clues about how Gen XYZ will help shape the future economic landscape.
