Mental Floss

7 Misconceptions About Gen Z

Gen Z is more charitable than stereotypes suggest, but they’re also less tech-savvy.

Gen Z isn’t as tech-savvy as you might assume.
Gen Z isn’t as tech-savvy as you might assume. | Daniel Hoz via Shutterstock

These days, Generation Z is shorthand for kids these days. Like Millennial in the 2010s and Gen X in the ‘90s, the label is used to refer to college students, teens, and the general youth of society in the 2020s. While these groups definitely fall under the Gen Z umbrella, not every member of the generation is a young adult. In 2024, the oldest Zoomers turn 27. That means they’ve been out of undergraduate school for five years and are officially in their late twenties staring down the barrel of their thirties. Time comes for us all, no matter how thorough our skincare routine is. 

Like pretty much every generation once it reaches its teen years, Gen Z has attracted lots of negative stereotypes. And, as was the case in the past, most of those stereotypes are overblown—from their assumed lack of desire to own a home, to their general tech-savviness.

To learn more ways Gen Z is mischaracterized, check out the latest episode of Misconceptions.

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