Generations & investment (6/7): the new silent generation (1995-…)

The new Silent Generation (also called Generation Z) is a sociological generation that began in 1995. This generation would be comparable, in American generation theory, to the Silent Generation of those born between 1925 and 1945. We do not yet know enough about Generation Z to judge what its culture will be, but we can allow ourselves to speculate as to its nature by looking at the original Silent Generation.

These generations usually live a massive crisis during their youth (example: depression of 1929) which could be the global economic crisis that began in 2008 and is still continuing today. On the other hand, as for their employment, David Foot, in his book Boom, Bust and Echo, mentions that the Silent Ones have had it easy. Good news for investors: if the youth of this generation is marked by a major economic crisis, their adult life and that of their children (new boomers) corresponds to a long phase of economic growth. 

Stuck between a combative, individualistic generation and the next one that will resemble the baby boomers, we will probably see the "Z"s subordinated to the gargantuan companies of the " Y » (like Facebook) and at the head of the idealistic companies of the new Prophets (neo-boomers). We can imagine that the "Z" will live in the shadow of the "Y" a bit like the " X » did so with respect to the boomers. As a reminder, the silent generation is known for working hard and not being demanding, hence its name. The "silent" are described as fatalistic and conventional. Leaders from this generation are therefore likely to be rare. On the other hand The hardworking and economical qualities of this new generation are likely to be very useful in tackling the budgetary crisis. which is likely to last quite a while.

Generation Z has always known about Information and Communication Technologies. It is definitely the generation of online information. Blogs, video sharing sites, daily newspapers on the Internet, nothing escapes the "Z". Our next and last article in this series will be dedicated to conclusions and consequences of the evolution of generations addressed on investment.