What distinguishes Generation Z in the West from their peers in the Global South (2024)

In Europe and the U.S., Generation Z does not enjoy a good reputation. Older people roll their eyes at young people in their early or mid-20s who are now arriving in their offices. Work? Sure, but they would like a meaningful job working from home, a four-day work-week and definitely no overtime. Because Generation Z already has everything: smartphones and wisdom. But they also have fears – climate change, wars, empty batteries. These things are challenging for the younger generation. When they are faced with problems, either in their private lives or at work, they melt away like snowflakes on a windowsill – that is how the cliché goes, at least.

But is this an accurate description?

It depends on where one looks. Whether in Zurich or Dhaka, on the streets of Nairobi or Tehran, or in a cafe in Berlin or Washington D.C., what unites Generation Z is the internet. Those born between 1997 and 2012 are the world's first digital natives. They have grown up swiping and liking. To a certain extent, a Wi-Fi connection and sufficient battery power are the basis of their existence.

What also unites Gen Z is the idea that they have a right to work and to a self-determined life. Their reasons for this are very different, however. For some it's about comfort, for others it's about revolution – justice, democracy and freedom, a fight that they sometimes pay for with their lives. There have been dozens of victims in Kenya this summer, hundreds in Bangladesh and Iran. This is what separates the «zoomers,» as they are also sometimes called, from each other – those in the West from their peers in the Global South.

For many young people in Europe, work and consumption are no longer a privilege, unlike for the generations before them. Many company or personnel managers in their 60s are shocked when they encounter younger applicants in job interviews: «All of a sudden someone shows up – who, unlike me, doesn't even wear a tie – and behaves as if they have been in the job for 30 years,» explains youth researcher Klaus Hurrelmann from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

In the West, zoomers are the smallest generational group. This means that they have a range of choices in the job market – which is not only a positive, explains psychologist Rüdiger Maas, head of the Institute for Generational Research in Augsburg. According to him, Gen Z has a low frustration tolerance. If problems arise at work, it is now very easy for them to change jobs, he says. «As a result, these young people hardly learn that they are able to cope with unpleasant things.» In addition, they always worry that they might be missing out on an even better opportunity, Maas says.

In the Global South, however, in Africa and Asia, zoomers are a massive generation. In many countries, they make up half or more of the population. In Kenya, more than 80% of people are under the age of 35. They must fight to get a good job and lead a self-determined life. Often enough, they have to combat incompetent, corrupt, repressive governments. Digitalization offers them new opportunities, both in their struggle with political regimes and in their search for work. Many of them work as programmers for European companies and are often even more digitally savvy than their peers in rich countries, where young people are mainly consumers.

And they can see each other's lives, the zoomers in the West and in the South: They see what some have, that they do not, and what others are doing, that they are not. After all, they all share the same platforms: TikTok and Instagram, and occasionally still Facebook. The uprising of young women in Iran starting in 2022 may also have encouraged zoomers in Kenya in June this year. And they in turn perhaps also gave the students in Bangladesh some tail wind in July and August.

Generation Z lives in a digital world. But that doesn't have to result in isolation and sensitivity. It can also mean commitment and sacrifice, as the example of these three countries alone shows.

Kenya: Protest in a three-piece suit

The hallmark of Kenya's unofficial leader of Gen Z is his suits. Whether he pairs them with a classic tie or a bow tie – Kasmuel McOure always looks chic. When he was briefly arrested during the ongoing protests against the Kenyan government, he was obviously wearing one as well. And after his release, the first thing he did was put on a fresh three-piece suit at home before taking to the streets again and calling on his hundreds of thousands of followers on social media to take part in further protests.

McOure grew up in poverty. He lived in a tin shack and vowed to exchange his T-shirts for finer clothes as soon as he could. «Suits for me looked like the epitome of what I wanted to be,» he once said in an interview. For him, they are a form of self-assertion and identity. He designs them himself.

The IT entrepreneur and musician is without question the most important mouthpiece of Kenya's youth movement, which has long since inspired similar protests in countries such as Uganda and Nigeria. Videos of him go viral almost every day.

Activists like McOure are fighting back against the culturally deeply rooted respect for older people – at least when it is used to suppress justified criticism. Other politicians in parliament counter McOure's brilliant speeches on poor governance by claiming that he is not, as he says, 26, but several years older and therefore not even part of Gen Z, which is currently more influential in Kenya than in almost any other country.

In moments like this, the activist just laughs. The concerns of his tech-savvy age group are also those of the Millennials, who see themselves as part of the movement – as do many even older Kenyans. But no one in Kenya's democratic history has ever been as vocal as Generation Z.

Their protests erupted in many cities in mid-June when parliament wanted to generate additional tax revenue of $2.7 billion through a new finance law. The bill included taxes on basic food items, which had already become significantly more expensive due to high inflation. The effects of such measures are far more dramatic in the highly indebted developing country than in industrialized nations. The average household in Kenya spends almost half its income on food.

Of course, Kenya's Generation Z is committed to similar issues as their peers in Europe – environmental protection, climate policy or mental health, for instance. Activists like McOure also take to the streets to protest femicides and police violence. But other buzzwords such as «work-life balance» seem like a mockery to many in Africa.

One in three Kenyans under the age of 35 is unemployed – and this figure is based on conservative calculations. «The representatives of Generation Z are more educated than their parents, they have access to more information via the internet, they are more cosmopolitan and less tied to their ethnic groups or political parties. That makes it easier to mobilize them,» explained Waithaka Iraki, professor of economics at the University of Nairobi.

At least 40 people died in the protests. Kenya's President William Ruto subsequently replaced most of his ministers in mid-July.

Bangladesh: Hope after the coup

At first it was about jobs in the public sector and the reintroduction of a quota for the descendants of those who fought for Bangladesh's independence more than 50 years ago. The ruling party wanted to secure a voter base this way, but the students in the country saw themselves deprived of the prospect of secure and well-paid work.

Sheikh Hasina, the country's authoritarian prime minister, insulted the young people who protested against these measures as traitors. As a result, the street protests gained even more momentum, and the police began to shoot students. Abu Sayed, a 25-year-old who had confronted the police alone and armed only with a bamboo stick on July 16, was the first victim. After that, there was no stopping the Gen Z movement, which turned into a mass protest. Sheikh Hasina fled to India by helicopter and the regime fell. Two students serving as ministers are now members of the transitional government.

Logno Bonik, a 19-year-old from Dhaka, did not hesitate to join the protests. She accepted the fact that they could also turn violent. «Like other young people in India or Nigeria, we have a desire for social justice,» says Bonik, who, like many others, wants to work in public administration. «We all face our own personal challenges, but we want to make a difference. My hope is for a just Bangladesh.» She would like to see a future in which young people drive meaningful change, explains the student. Gen Z's demand for moral action resonates in her words.

«Our generation grew up with smartphones,» says budding journalist Jannatul Ferdouse Sinthya. This networking means that young people from Bangladesh are not far behind those from other countries in the world, she believes. «But in economic terms, many of our generation are very worried about the future and financial stability,» explains the young woman.

In Bangladesh, 2.2 million young people enter the labor market every year. Due to the high level of informal unemployment in the country and the rising cost of living, many people dream of studying or working abroad. But now, after the fall of the government, Sinthya has new hope. The future lies ahead of them, she says, the new transitional government, in which representatives of the student movement are involved, has begun its work.

The joy that this upheaval brought her is indescribable, says the 22-year-old. During the protests, she wore a green scarf with a red dot, symbolizing the national colors, tied around her forehead. She knows that online media have brought this revolution to the world. The old government tried to prevent this with internet shutdowns, she says, but that is history. The interim minister for telecommunications now comes from the ranks of the students.

Iran: The struggle for a normal life

In Iran, the younger generation was shaken awake by a death. The death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested and beaten to death by the Iranian morality police. She hadn't worn her headscarf properly. Thousands of teenagers and young people between the ages of 16 and 23 took to the streets to demonstrate for more rights for women.

«Woman, life, freedom» was their slogan. The regime's reaction was brutal – 200 protesters were killed, many were shot in the eyes, thousands arrested and countless others tortured.

That was two years ago. The protests have changed since then. Teenagers now no longer take to the streets to demonstrate, the time of uprising seems to be over. But many women are practicing civil resistance by no longer wearing headscarves in everyday life, even though they run the risk of being arrested by the police. Like Mahsa Amini. What has changed is young people's fear. It's gone. And that bothers those in power.

Before the protests, Generation Z was seen as apolitical, young people who were only interested in fun and entertainment. They didn't care about the government in Tehran. It is true that this generation in Iran hardly reads any books, avoids university and spends most of its time online, gaming or watching TV shows – 97% of young people between the ages of 15 and 17 have access to smartphones. The virtual world allows them to immerse themselves in another world, a parallel world, teachers say. Some also believe that this generation's courage to take risks, to risk their lives, is linked to online gaming. They always climb to new, higher levels.

During the last three years, only half as many students attended the universities as in prior years. Most of them just want to earn money as quickly as possible anyway, preferably as influencers or YouTube stars.

However, fun is political in Iran too. Not only are the dress codes sacrosanct, but young people are also not allowed to drink alcohol, let alone smoke marijuana or do drugs. Zoomers have to become criminals if they want to have fun. That is what politicizes them.

In Iran, 15 million people fall into the Gen Z category – 20% of the population. Yet most of them only want one thing: a normal life. «We want to be able to decide how we live,» says 18-year-old Barana. Young people are confronted with dozens of restrictions, she says. «I want to be able to dress how I want without worrying about being arrested by the police.» Sogol, a 21-year-old student, says: «No matter what you do in this country, you can't get anywhere. Many young people are unemployed. When I look at how young people live in America, Europe or Turkey, I just think how far away we are from that.»

Many young people in Iran struggle with mental health issues and try to cover them up with drugs. However, most of them only want one thing above all: to leave their country.

Latest articles