Generation Z, the young people born after the mid-1990s, grew up with innovations that radically changed society, and some of the most popular technologies are closely associated with “digital natives”.
Sociologists describe “Generation Z” (Gen Z or Zoomers) as the one that includes people born between the end of the 90s and 2012, so the children of the 2000s and the teenagers from later.
Its members have also been called “digital natives” because they grew up with some of the most spectacular technologies that have completely changed society.
“Generation Z is made up of young adults born in 1995 or later who have never experienced a world without technology. These digitally native individuals are tech-savvy, grew up with high exposure to social media and mobile technologies, and were born into a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world,” shows a study published in 2022 by researchers from the University of Udine, Italy.
Specialists explain that four trends characterize Generation Z: the interest in new technologies, the insistence on ease of use, the desire to feel safe and the desire to temporarily escape from the realities they face.
Mobile phones, the must-have accessory of Generation Z
Gen Z digital natives have grown up with technologies that have rapidly and completely changed society. One of the most popular is that of smartphones.
If in the past telephones were used to call someone, and the phone book was among their few basic accessories, the appearance of iPhones in 2007 and the development in the following years of phones with Android technology revolutionized society. They also changed consumer behavior and made Gen Z the key generation in mobile commerce for years to come, some studies show.
“Recent studies have found that the use of smartphones has now become a form of addiction, especially among young consumers. The abuse of these digital devices affects the social life and well-being of individuals. Of particular interest in this regard is the study of compulsive shopping, as a possible co-occurrence of this disorder has been observed together with trends in the abusive use of smartphones”shows the study published by the University of Udine.
The generation attached to social media platforms
Online social media platforms also appeared with Generation Z and redefined the way of communication. Facebook was launched in 2004, YouTube and Reddit in 2005, Twitter (X) in 2006, WhatsApp in 2009 and Instagram in 2010, and they had profound implications on the generation that grew up with them.
Generation Z shows a strong preference for digital media that offers fast, interactive and engaging content, some studies show. One of these was carried out with the help of 654 students from public schools in Turkey.
“According to the results, it was determined that about three-quarters of the students surveyed use social media on a daily basis. Moreover, the majority of participants stated that they use social media for educational, communication and entertainment purposes. The most preferred social media platforms by students were identified as YouTube, WhatsApp, TikTok and Instagram,” showed the authors of the 2024 research.
A more recent study, published in March 2025, showed that, compared to other generations, Gen Z are the most likely to use social media to discover new products, find out about news and contact brands when they need support.
“According to The 2025 Sprout Social Index, Instagram dominates the preferences of Generation Z, with an 89% presence among users, followed by YouTube (84%) and TikTok (82%). For Zoomers, these platforms are the main spaces for entertainment, but also where they keep in touch with friends and family.” shows research published by Sprout Social, a professional social media management platform.
And also on social networks, the young people of Generation Z find their favorite characters, in whom they trust more and more, the so-called “influencers”.
The revolutionary technologies that have grown up with Generation Z
Streaming, the process by which media content is played in real time from the Internet without having to be fully downloaded first, emerged in the mid-2000s with YouTube and Netflix, and became a defining technology of Generation Z, revolutionizing television.
“Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with streaming. Many are too young to remember the transition from cable to streaming. For these individuals, streaming is not an emerging medium; it is simply the way they watch TV. Our study confirmed this trend: 76 percent of Gen Z members watch video on demand on streaming channels via connected televisions (CTV), while only 28 percent watch live television by cable”, shows research from an advertising company (Roku).
Along with streaming, other technological innovations are temporally associated with Generation Z: GPS navigation systems that replaced the old maps, digital photography and its storage in the cloud (on the Internet), online shopping with fast deliveries, video calls, transport applications called “ride-sharing”, wireless Internet, voice assistants and smart home devices.
All this was almost unthinkable the reality of the 90s.
