The Development of Technology and How ‘Gen Z’ have an Advantage over the Internet.

Ever wondered when the internet was invented, how it developed over time and why it is so important to this day? Well, taking it back all the way to 1983, the “Official Birthday of the Internet”. It was titled this due to networks now being able to be connected through a “Universal language”, it was really revolutionising. However, why is it that us Gen Z, those born between “1995-2012” are titled the best at using and navigating our way through the internet? 

Think about it, growing up in primary school, starting school around 2006-2008, we weren’t surrounded by these new age digital technologies. In 2007, ‘The Year of the First iPhone’, it started to change. Following, in 2010 the first iPad was released, and the rest is history. We relied on talking to one another, I guess you could say building our ‘interpersonal skills’. This quickly changed. In High School, the rise of social media started to build, rapidly. We didn’t just go to school to talk and learn, we started using our new devices, technological devices. 

History of the iPhone until 2020 (from the first ‘iPhone — iPhone SE’ 2020)

By 2016, nearly everyone were on these devices, surfing the internet. Nowadays it is pretty unlikely you’ll see someone without a ‘touch screen’ device. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Well, for us future marketers it is an advantage. Why? Because we grew up with the development of technology and the rise of social media of course. We continue to learn how these technologies work, over so many years starting from 2007, when a parent or a cousin would show off their new touch screen phone. It is something we would idolise, so why not use our previous experience to better us in the workforce. 

A recent study discovered that “58% of Gen Z”  said they would feel uncomfortable without being on the internet for more than four hours. Another study finding that “56% of Gen Z” have online friends that they only know through the internet. These statistics are only minor when it comes to showing the importance it has had and continues to hold on our generation, Z.

Generations Chart

Lastly, how we ‘Gen Z’ and every other generation can use the internet to our advantage when it comes to marketing.

1. We can reach people and platforms globally, not just to what is around us.
2. It is effective and of course, low in cost.
3. Marketing never shuts down online, it’s happening all the time.
4. Following the 2020 Pandemic, we have even more experience when it comes to being online.
5. We have grown up with technology and of course, social media.