Rebel Rebel, Crypto Gambler: Gen Z Mindset

As Millennials work their way into mainstream institutions, the generation behind them – born between 1997 and 2012, labeled Generation Z, or Gen Z for short – has become the focus of attention for business leaders and educators. Gen Z is talented, well educated and perceptive. Yet they face daunting economic realities, the most challenging of which has been foisted on them by society: They are the first generation to have lived their entire lives with the ability to go online. This is the generation to have endured what has amounted to a technological experiment on how digitization affects human beings, their socialization and their interpersonal behavior.

The effects on their educational development have started to surface in long-term studies, and the results have been less than desirable. Yet this generation must live with what society and its technology have thrust upon them. Some of their reactions have been predictable, such as pushing back against technology’s dominance. Other types of responses have been surprising, such as massive protests across several developing countries, leading to changes in governments. Most surprising of all, given the uncertainty and risks embedded in the current financial reality, has been Gen Z’s turn to risk-taking, essentially going for broke with cryptocurrencies and online gambling, seeking shortcuts to the wealth that the economy has failed to deliver elswhere. Gen Z’s emerging mindset is both pessimistic and optimistic: pessimistic about their near-term opportunities and optimistic about their long-term potential.