Essay Sample on Millennials and Gen Z: 3 Essential Areas for Marketers to Focus On

Clinical psychologist Meg Jay, has strong messages for both Millenials and Generation Z, particularly those in their 20s. She states that there is a need to shift the needle in supporting the generation z and millennials. In her Ted Talk, It's About Time We Stop Shaming Millennials, she speaks about three essential areas that marketers give much of their concentration. They include coaching and development, flexibility, and transparency that would be of benefit to the millennials (Jay, 2016). Besides, in her Ted Talk, Why 30 is not the new 20, she talks about her encounter with Allex, a young adult in her twenties on the relationship, and finding the career path. She touches on significant areas that affect generation Z's lives. She also stresses the need to talk and help the twentysomethings, which she calls "extended adolescence" and states that it is a crucial age in their lives. She also argues that if they decline to take their relationships and careers seriously in their twenties, they are decreasing their opportunities for happiness and success later in life. Despite listening to these talks, Millennials and Generation Z face different challenges in their lives. Besides, coming from generation Z, there are some significant similarities and differences from those encountered by millennials that have shaped both my romantic relationship and career.

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Millennials and Generation Z are more worried about the future, which is their major problem. According to Wiedmer (2015), both generations reveal that approximately 86% and 79% of Generation Z and Millennials, respectively, are anxious about the American future, which indicates their overall problems. Previously, Millennials reveal that the biggest challenges they experienced were the President, while generation Z states terrorism and racism are the major concerns. Currently, the biggest challenge that both generations face is climatic change. Awareness about the issues of climate change is probably escalating. The efforts to express it are also increasing for both generations simultaneously. For example, in November 2018, around 21 young adults sued the government of the United States over climate change (Wiedmer, 2015). The fear around this challenge is certain in that change in climate is destroying the universe, and both generations may be the last. Therefore, they believe that this issue has escalated global warming, and they express that if not addressed, the world may not be inhabitable again.

While Millennials and Generation Z experience similar problems, there is a significant difference in how challenges facing young adults of the latter differ from those of the former. Millennials blame entertainment as a key contributor to the economic insecurity since they are tired of debts. Wiedmer (2015), express that paying debt outstands as its top objective. Thus, avoiding or managing their debts is dominating as the current goal of Millennials. Contrary generation Z ranks social media as its biggest challenge. There was the initial generation to be in social media even before their birth. Most generations, such as babyboomers, view them as social-media obsessed (Jay, 2016). Thus, while Millennials are worried about debts, a major concern for Generation Z, is social media, an immediate problem that initiates other problems such as lack of connection with reality, the spread of misinformation, and body shaming.

Jay's documentary is accurate concerning the challenges facing Millennials and generations that come after it, such as Generation Z. In her second trophy, she states flexibility was a key area in helping these generations. She adds that they desire to utilize technology to work flexibly. Besides, she attributes technology as the main reason why these generations are often working on their device and looking on their phones (Jay, 2016). It is through the use of technology such as mobile phones that Jay's documentary accurately presents the challenge facing Generation Z. In an attempt to use the current technology to work, Generation Z is always drawn to log in their social media platforms that are the source of this challenge. Besides, this generation receives more feedback about coaching and development. Thus, through these areas, they are body shamed, spread the wrong information, and lack the connection with reality as they try to use the technology to work.

One of the challenges that affect both the Millennials and Generation Z, which Jay forgets in her Ted Talk, is climate change. A marketing survey on Generation Z shows that protecting the environment and climate change is a core value (Nejat et al., 2015). Climate change in specific may have negative effects on human, biological, and physical systems, among other effects (Nejat et al., 2015). It is initiated by global warming, which is, in turn, causes the greenhouse effect, which is a natural process that enables the atmosphere to retain the heat of the sun and enable the earth to retain the appropriate conditions that allow human survival. Generation Z is cautious about this challenge since, in the absence of the greenhouse effect, the mean temperature on earth would go to approximately -18 degrees (Nejat et al., 2015). This effect may be probably the most significant contributing factor to species extinction in the 21st century. Besides, since the majority of Generation Z live in countries that may be severely be impacted by the climatic change, they stand as the most threatened species. Therefore, to be a young adult in today's society, generation Z must avoid climate change by taking care of the environment to avoid being the last generation on this planet.

Generation Z identity is developed centered on their connection and feedback obtained from other individuals. As they move from early to late young adults' years, their brains keep on developing, which may cause their identity to change. Between the age of 11-14 years, they may want to identify themselves in various ways external to their responsibility in the family (Williams, 2018). For instance, they may acknowledge themselves as a part of the cluster. In this group, some search where they fit, particularly in the social landscape. They may also develop flexibility in the manner they conduct themselves in various situations and tend to prioritize individual decisions and values to reflect how they perceive themselves. Besides, between the age of 14 to 18 years, most of the generation Z start to perceive their identity and responsibility in the larger world (Williams, 2018). They consider themselves and their beliefs with regard to wider social-cultural clusters such as religion, environment, and gender. This inspires them to take solid positions in moral, ethical, or social problems. Between the age of 18 to 24 years, this generation starts to give deeper consideration to themselves concerning the professional goals and adult responsibilities (Williams, 2018). It is during this time they start to balance the idealistic perception of the individuals they want to be initiated by an accurate comprehension of who they want to become in reality. They can make a solid commitment to social and individual group identity though new experiences such as climate change may encourage them to explore things further and alter their lifestyle.

A significant personal development task I have faced in my early twenties is an adjustment to increased demands at school. As a young adult, I view school as a place that will prepare me for most of the duties and responsibilities of adult life as well as for my career. The school curricula are always dominated by demanding materials or more abstract, regardless of whether we have attained formal thoughts. Therefore, since I am not an extremely fast learner to perform the intellectual transition, I have found most of the abstract thinking to attain intellectual ability to be frustrating.

The use of a mobile phone is a major source of conflict in my twenties. It emerges when I find myself using it excessively. I often spend most of my time chatting and responding to different posts on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Besides, this has resulted in the loss of sleep and anxiety. I also often feel I pressured to be informed and reachable anytime. Therefore, these results in a conflict between sleeping and relaxing time and texting and responding to calls and posts in social media.

Furthermore, to meet personal tasks and conflicts, they are various personal life structures that I created. First, to adjust to increased demands at schools, I had to formulate a plan to facilitate me to get things done. For example, I formulated a schedule that helped me devote time to my college work, such as assignments and research projects. I also had a schedule to meet both school and home friends. My home friends, we socialized and adventured, which helped me offload my mind from school frustrations. Besides, school friends helped me tackle most of the school-related problems, although we could engage in some leisure activities. They also helped me achieve fast intellectual transition since most of the subjects we discussed stuck in my mind for longer than the individually read. Second, to resolve mobile phone use conflict, I began to use it for the development of personal tasks, such as adjusting to increased demands at school. Instead of responding to various posts on social media platforms, for example, Instagram, I joined more productive sites such as Linkedin. It provided a platform that I could meet new and prominent people whom we could discuss with educational topics. Such topics and posts helped me with school research, something that I have currently transformed me into a fast learner.

My life structures regarding romantic relationships and professional have also been affected by family, peers, and cultural norms. For example, my family affection since I was 13 years has positively affected my romantic relationship and career. My family loved me a lot since my childhood, which has taught me what it is to love and how it feels to be loved. Through these experiences, I have had the courage to show compassion to my life partner, among other individuals that come across my life over time. Therefore, parental-child love has influenced me to open my current romantic relationship and ensure it is long-lasting. My life structures on romantic relationships have also been influenced by my peers. For example, my previous girlfriend insisted that I buy her things that I could not afford since she had seen some of my friends with them. I talked to her and convinced her that we should be patient until I am done with school, but she could not listen. She also influenced my career since I was working part-time in a course-related job to gain experience. Still, due to her pressure, I had to leave the job and secure another one where I was more inclined towards money to allow me to purchase for her things that I could not previously afford. One day I had a weird feeling that she was cheating with my friend. However, when I stressed to know why she was cheating, she stated that it was due to my inability to offer what she wanted. Thus, due to peer influence, we had to break up.

The current generations of both Millennials and Generation Z comprise the largest percentage. Jay, however, has an important message for these generations that may influence both their romantic and career life. While both view climate change as a significant challenge that may make them the last surviving generation, Millennials are also concerned with the debt, and Generation Z is faced with the problem of excessive use of social media. Jay documentary is furthermore accurate concerning issues affecting these generations since in each of her...