New Study: This is what Gen Z cares most about

Even as many adults lament about the high cost of living and the impending taxation that could come into force on July 1, Millennials and Generation Z rate how much money they have a distant sixth in the list of things that concern them most.

A new study by the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications show that young people aged between 18 and 24 — also called Gen Z — and their counterparts aged between 25 and 35 (also called Millennials) are more concerned about the manner in which they communicate.

The study was conducted between May and July 2022.

 At least four in 10 of those interviewed in the study conducted last year rated this as the one thing they care most about. They tied with those who said they were most concerned about their dress code.

Family came a close third — emphasising their affinity for filial ties — while social media sites they subscribed to came fourth with one in four of the respondents saying this was what they were most concerned about. Issues like weight, ethnic affiliation, school they attended or where they work were not as important to them.

This is one study that parents, policy makers and employers might want to examine more closely because it illustrates that young people consider completing their education as major achievement. Of those interviewed, 34 per cent rated this as their biggest accomplishment in life.

This is an important finding given that there is robust debate about how the government intends to fund university education and lecturers from public universities have already warned that the model will not work.

Of the respondents who took part in the survey, 21 per cent had university or post-graduate education while 56 per cent had a college education and 38 per cent had completed secondary education. Most of the respondents were living in towns and 66 per cent were already working. Another 31 per cent were unemployed.

Finding out “who I really am” was the second highest accomplishment among the group at 33 per cent, following by becoming “spiritually mature” at 31 per cent, clearly indicating that they were highly unlikely to be persuaded to starve themselves to death in a vain attempt to meet their Maker in paradise as happened in Shakahola, where over 240 people have been confirmed dead after their sect leader brainwashed them into believing that they would “see Jesus” if they fasted to death.

It is also worth noting that starting a career and becoming financially independent rated highly among the 1,201 respondents.

Young people

 The results of that survey are, however, to be released in Nairobi today. Incidentally, and not surprisingly, only one per cent listed “buying a home” as an accomplishment given that it is highly unlikely for young people in this age group to have accumulated enough to own a home.

However, with the big and highly divisive debate going on about the Housing Fund levy — through which formal sector employees will have a fraction of their salaries deducted to finance a government housing scheme — the government will be keen to study the position of the young people, some of who already have a pay slip.

The study was not just about social trends though. It also sought to know why these two generations consume news — and this is where editors and media owners need to sit up and take notes.

More than half of the respondents — 52 per cent to be exact — said they consume news “to gain awareness of current issues and affairs”.

That is a big percentage. But there is a problem. Among the issues that these two groups care about, gaining an understanding of current issues was rated at number eight of the things they are most concerned about. Only 20 per cent had said this was something close to their hearts.

To their credit, those who said they consumed news “to be more knowledgeable” stood at 46 per cent — and this dovetailed into their earlier answer that they considered crossing education milestones a major achievement.

Curiously, 28 per cent listed “self-preservation” a motivation for consuming news, while another 11 per cent said they did so for “personal relationships”. Clearly, media need to address these two issues if they are to speak the language of these two generations.

Aha! Indeed, they went on to say that “making money” (a staggering 61 per cent), “Becoming financially independent” (56 per cent) and “saving money” (37 per cent) were some of the issues that they wanted the media to cover. Note that the numbers do not add up to 100 per cent because the respondents were asked to rank the issues in order of importance, so each respondent had a long list at the bottom of which were “having experiences” — whatever that means — and “stability in education” — probably by those who study in public universities which are prone to unrests or who are conscious of all the changes going on in the education sector (see today’s headline story).

Interestingly, although “how much money I have” and “where I work” were not listed as priority areas for these groups, a large swathe — close to half — of the respondents still said they wanted the media to cover issues that would help them get a good or dream job — not the ones promised in Canada. They also wanted the media to write about how to make money and venture into entrepreneurship or start businesses. Other cross-cutting issues were how to pursue further studies and, wonder of wonders, how “to win awards and recognition”. They had a whole lot to say and so, this will be continued… tomorrow.