Who is Generation Z?
Classification and
characteristics of Gen Z
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Birth cohort 1995 – 2009/2010
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Demographic cohort
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Also known as Digital Natives II
Generation Z (Gen Z) is characterized by two main characteristics: They are significantly fewer than their parents' generation, the members of Generation X, namely 4.6 million fewer. It is the smallest age cohort after the Second World War. And Gen Z is the first generation to have a knowledge advantage. In the history of humanity, the parent-child relationship has been such that parents passed on their knowledge to their children. In the age of digitalization, this is the other way around: parents now learn from their children when it comes to digitalization.
Generation Thinking study and Gen Z
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The Institute for Generation Research was the first scientific institute to carry out the largest study on the popular science cohort of the so-called Generation Z in German-speaking countries. The Generation Thinking study was able to prove that trend and youth surveys alone cannot provide valid results for an entire generation. The number of Generation Z studies is currently unmanageably large, but the number of data that can actually be used from a scientific perspective is very small.
The institute developed the Generation Thinking method from the Generation Thinking study. This was awarded the TOTAL E-Quality rating in 2019. This award goes to organizations from business, science and administration as well as associations that successfully implement equal opportunities in their personnel and organizational policies. TOTAL E-QUALITY stands for Total Quality Management (TQM), supplemented by the gender component (equality).
Institute for Generation Research
The reason for founding the Institute for Generation Research was to counter this flood of information with scientifically valid methods. The Institute for Generation Research is therefore made up of scientists from the fields of psychology, sociology, philosophy and STEM subjects. Interdisciplinary cooperation is urgently needed when it comes to the topic of generations.
Tim Berendonk
tagesschau, ARD
“When it comes to generations and their research, you can’t ignore the Institute for Generation Research”
Inka Schneider
Das! NDR
“Rüdiger Maas is the best-known generation researcher in Germany”
Prof. Dr. Christian Montag
University of Ulm, Germany
“When it comes to Generation Z, Rüdiger Maas is the best source”
Jens Herrmann RBB
“Probably the best-known Generation Z expert in Germany”
The study of Generation Z – Gen Z for short
“It was 2017. More and more entrepreneurs, HR decision-makers from business and the public sector, politicians, journalists, school principals and concerned parents asked me whether I, as a psychologist and generation researcher, could explain to them why the young talents or members of the so-called generation Z (Gen Z or GenZ) behave the way they are doing right now. They themselves no longer understand the young people of Generation Z (GenZ).”Generation researcher Dipl.-Psych. Rüdiger Maas, February 2017
I pursued this and intensified my generational research, especially on Generation Z. I put together a team and developed the Generation Thinking study. We surveyed over 2,500 young people from Generation Z (GenZ) across Germany.
Because these young talents, born around 1995-2010, are very special age cohorts, often alongside Generation Z (GenZ), Generation Greta, Generation Snowflake, Generation Zero, Generation Zombie, Generation of trainees, Digital Natives 2.0, Zler and many more. to be named.
Rüdiger Maas
Generational Expert
Founder of the Institute for Generation Research
Generation Alpha Study
First Mover
The Institute for Generation Research was also the first mover in the largest and first study on the Generation Alpha age cohort. For this study, over 22,000 children were assessed by educational professionals. This study received several awards. Parts of the study can be found in the Spiegel bestseller "Generation lebensunfähig" and in the Hanser specialist book: "Generation Alpha" (author Dipl.Psych. Rüdiger Maas, M.Sc.) as well as in many specialist and scientific publications.
Key Driver and Keynote Speaker
The Institute for Generation Research quickly generated interest from companies and organisations beyond the German-speaking world. The founders of the Institute for Generation Research, brothers Rüdiger and Hartwin Maas, present the results of their studies as international keynote speakers to audiences from all over the world, from India to Colombia, from Norway to South Africa.
A selection of our keynote speeches, keynote Impulses and workshop sessionss
Generation Alpha
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What drives Generation Alpha?
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Will Generation Alpha be the most competent generation?
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What skills will Generation Alpha (Genα) need in the future?
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How we are depriving our children of their future?
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Generation Z and Generation Alpha, what awaits them?
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Happiness through frustration
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What we should know about Generation Alpha
Generation Z
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What makes Generation Z and Generation Alpha tick?
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Consumer behaviour of Generation Z
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Accelerate your digital transformation. Generation Z is already here!
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Is Generation Z contradictory or congruent?
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What comes after Generation Z?
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Political behaviour of Generation Z
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Generation Z: digitalisation versus sustainability
Generations and futures
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Is there a conflict between the generations?
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Challenges and potentials of future generations
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Cyberpsychology, effects of internet consumption on school, studies and work
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Future of Work (New Work) - skills of the future, challenges of today
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Effects of the corona crisis on the generations
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Age diversity in companies
Obligation towards society
The Institute for Generation Research is one of the most important sources of inspiration for politics, business and society in Germany. This is one of the reasons why Rüdiger Maas was appointed to the advisory board of the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations. The Institute sees its mission as promoting understanding between the generations with the aim of successful coexistence and a sustainable future that is fair to all generations.
Generational research and futurology
Thanks to its pioneering spirit, the Institute for Generation Research is ahead of its time with its social studies. This is due to the research branch of futurology, which is represented under the umbrella of the Institute for Generation Research by the industrial engineer Hartwin Maas.
Follow-up studies on Generation Z –
GenZ International
This was followed by another, this time international, study of the Generation Z age cohorts in Europe and outside Europe. A total of over 10,000 members of Generation Z were examined qualitatively and quantitatively in six different languages. In addition to work, moral and life attitudes, attachment, family and value attitudes, we also examined the purchasing and consumer behavior of Generation Z (GenZ).
Excerpts from the Generation Z and Generation Y studies were published in the book:
Generation Z for HR professionals and managers.
The Generation Thinking Studies
In our generation thinking studies we compare the different generations,
Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z, under consideration of Age effects.
We have dedicated a separate page to the individual definitions of Generations X Y Z, Generation Alpha and Generation Baby Boomer.
We are also investigating the Interaction effects on the respective generations, such as how does Generation Z affect Generation X? Why is Generation Y so different from Generation Z?
Our Generation Thinking Workshops, Generation thinking can be learned and our Generation Z lectures are based on our nationwide, European and global studies Generationn baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z as well as close cooperation with various institutes and universities worldwide.
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Current studies by the Institute for Generation Research
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Generation Corona: Weekly nationwide corona studies on trends, movements and attitudes of the respective people, their groupings and generations during the corona pandemic
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CO2 emissions of the different generations, especially Generation Z (GenZ)
and the Alpha generation (Genα)
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Increase in depression, especially in Generation Z (GenZ)
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Contradictions and incommensurability within Generation Z
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Political behaviour of Generation Z
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Generational conflict: OK Boomer versus GenZ
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The neo-conventionalism of Generation Z
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Financial and insurance study "Financial Compass 2023"
Studies by the Institute for Generation Research from 2017 to 2019
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Generational behaviour with regard to digitalisation cum or versus sustainability
Internet use per generation and its impact on CO2 emissions
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The future of consumption 2025
Global study on consumer behaviour
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Generations matter
Cross-generational study on the future of recruitment with 1,400 respondents
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Generation thinking
Generation Z in the world of work and what they expect from working life. A comparison of the career and life-related attitudes of Generation Z and Generation Y. Cohort comparison study with over 2,500 respondents nationwide
- Special features of Generation Z (GenZ)
Generation Z's perception of time and authenticity compared to Generation Y / X
Our current Generation Z
Keynote speeches
Book our keynotes and benefit from our studies.
Directly by phone: +49 (0)821 455 36899 or e-mail: Keynote request for GenZ
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Challenges and potentials of future generations
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Cyberpsychology, effects of internet consumption on school, study and work
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Future of Work and New Work - skills of the future, challenges of today
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Effects of the corona crisis on the generations
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What drives Generation Z and Generation Alpha?
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Consumer behaviour of Generation Z
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Accelerate your digital transformation. Generation Z is already here!
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Is Generation Z contradictory or congruent?
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What comes after Generation Z?
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Generation Z: digitalisation versus sustainability
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The generational conflict
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What comes after "OK Boomer"?
Our current Generation Alpha
Keynote speeches
Book our keynotes and benefit from our studies.
Directly by phone: +49 (0)821 455 36899 or e-mail: Keynote request for Genα
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What skills will Generation Alpha (Genα) need in the future?
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How we are depriving our children of their future?
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Generation Z and Generation Alpha, what awaits them?
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What drives Generation Alpha?
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Will Generation Alpha be the most competent generation?
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What we should know about Generation Alpha?
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What does the future look like from the perspective of cyberpsychology?
Unsere neuesten Forschungsergebnisse fließen in unsere Fach- und Sachbücher ein.
