Do You Understand The Consumption Concept After 00? You Can Start With Parents Of Z Generation.

No one cares about the X generation. Crowded between the boomers and the millennials, the people born between 1965 and 1980 were "obscure generation". "Times" magazine mocked that "it is hardly regarded as a social force, or even at all."

However, this situation is changing because they are now the key to success for enterprises - parents of the Z generation.

The oldest Z generation is 20 years old, and they have just formed their brand loyalty. Business marketers are making up for social media knowledge, trying to figure out what they are thinking. But in order to understand the Z generation and its direct consumption power of up to 143 billion US dollars, enterprises should first study their parents - X generation. Although there are numerous studies linking millennial behavior to their baby boomers, experts have just begun to analyze the link between the neglected X generation and their offspring Z generation.

"Z generation is indeed different," said Jason Dorsey, Z generation consultant at Center for Generational Kinetics. "They are not the extreme millennials, but they are different from their parents' education."

They are not the extreme millennials, but they are different from their parents' education.

Dorsey's customers include Adidas (Adidas AG), McDonald's (McDonald's Corp.) and TOYOTA automobile (Toyota Motor Corp.) and other enterprises. Dorsey said that parenting is a "hidden driving force" that will affect future generations' perceptions of work, consumption and education. Even in a subtle way, the Z generation's views on these topics have been shaped by their parents' X generation. The X generation has been brought up by a series of crisis events: Watergate, the collapse of the Berlin wall, the Challenger explosion, and the Rodney King incident. In addition, conflicts often happen around: the divorce rate has soared in 1970s, resulting in roughened "hang key children" in the community. They feel anxious for safety but can not get them in their families. As they grow up, they still can't find such a sense of security in an open but less capacitive working environment.

"X generation is training Z generation to image people like them: self determination, pessimism and relaxation," says Corey Seemiller, Professor of State University in Ohio. "They will understand everything themselves."

To get a clear understanding of this cross generation connection, Bloomberg has done a lot of work: talking with experts, gathering data, and processing data with CivicScience, a consumer research firm working with T-Mobile and Microsoft (Microsoft). A key finding is that the Z generation and their parents are as pessimistic at the same age, according to the annual survey conducted by University of Michigan since 1975.

Of course, it is hard to prove that the suspicion of the Z generation was brought to them by the X generation. After all, the generation that is going through the transition period (leaving high school and university and starting a career) is very worried about the future. But there is a lot of evidence that the X generation has had a profound impact on their offspring, especially in the millennial generation with similar age.

X generation is developing Z generation to image people like them: autonomy, pessimism and relaxation.

Take higher education as an example: during the growth of the X generation, they saw the decline of the blue collar work that could have been profitable. In this way, a university degree is particularly important for a successful career. They have instilled this idea in the Z generation. Data from the Pew Research show that the new generation is more likely than the baby boomers millennials to think that a college diploma is very important for achieving their goals in life. They are becoming the highest educated generation in history. Pugh

Like their parents, the Z generation is more reliable than the millennial generation. A recent survey by DDT (Deloitte) found that although nearly 1/4 of the millennials said they might not be appreciated, they might quit their jobs in the next two years, but only 15% of the Z generation mentioned this reason when they resigned.

Compared with previous generations, Z generation was much better at managing money when young. These lessons were probably instilled by parents of X generation. Many of them became smarter because they were forced to break their careers in the great depression. Generally speaking, the older a person is, the more likely he is to have a good grasp of his financial situation. But CivicScience found that young Z generations (under 18) actually believe they are more financially responsible than their 18 to 24 year old peers and Millennials.

Compared with the millennial generation, the Z generation is more likely to save most of their income, and most like to invest in app with Mint and Acorns. The desire for financial security has led the Z generation to avoid debt as much as possible. According to another survey conducted by Morning Consult, 40% of the 18 to 22 year old people had no debts at all. They do not have a large number of credit cards, but use debit cards more often, even though they have to use payment schemes or rent (clothes, furniture, gadgets or even cars) instead of buying them directly.

The more cautious nature of the Z generation is also shown in other ways: they are not a group of barbarians. Bryan Gildenberg, chief knowledge officer of Kantar consulting, ironically says Z generation is a "very old group of young people". They do not drink much, do not take drugs (except marijuana, they think marijuana is harmless) and do not have sex. Similarly, this is similar to their parents of the X generation. Many of them believe that sex and drugs are dangerous because of the AIDS epidemic and the "Just Say No" campaign of Nancy Reagan (Nancy).

When we interviewed X generation, they said they did not want their children to eventually become self righteous Millennials.

Although the Z generation is very cautious, they do have the characteristics of entrepreneurs. According to data from research and consulting firm Millennial Branding, nearly 3/4 of high school students want to start their own businesses. Perhaps this initiative was also handed down from X generation, including Elon Mask Musk and Michael Dell (Elon Musk).

Although X generations rarely agree on anything, in recent years, they have a unified view: the baby boomers are a group of self indulgent narcissism, and their helicopter type of child care has transformed the millennial generation into a self righteous baby boom two generation. Parents of X generation are consciously motivated to develop completely different children under the influence of their own growth environment.

"Baby boomers really want their children to live a little easier, and they are successful," says Z generation consultant Dorsey. "When we interviewed X generation, they said they did not want their children to become self righteous millennials," he said.