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Gen Z is severely misunderstood. Every generation above them complains: they’re glued to their phones, they don’t care about politics, they don’t ask enough questions, they don’t think critically, they’re not observant, and so on. People who think this way are undervaluing the potential and promise of Gen Z, especially when it comes to designing the future.
While pursuing a Master’s in Education, my professors complained that Gen Z is less curious than previous generations of students. However, my research found that their curiosity simply manifests in ways older generations don’t appreciate. Discounting Gen Z’s abilities is not only a missed opportunity but an existential risk — the world, and especially business leaders, need their unique style of curiosity to solve problems and build better futures.
Gen Z Curiosity is Untraditional Curiosity
In a survey, 75% of professional futurists identified “curiosity” as the number one trait of effective tomorrowing — an active mindset of anticipating challenges and opportunities rather than passively waiting for the future.
I first observed “Gen Z curiosity” while managing a Maker Faire lab for PepsiCo in 2014. Over 500 elementary, middle and high school-aged kids co-created the future of beverages, and I interviewed each one of them. Commonly, they exhibited a deep passion for specific hobbies and were indifferent to topics outside their schtick.
But when I probed deeper, these individuals had multiple interests. They were multifaceted and intersectional, yet incurious about things outside of their sphere of interests. Apparently, the mental bandwidth needed to juggle a portfolio of interests left little room for curiosity about the world at large.
While those I interviewed shut out distractions, they were emotionally available and more in touch with their feelings than older generations interviewed; Gen Z gravitates to visceral experiences and sensory exploration (i.e., “sensing” curiosity).
Additionally, Gen Z is the hacking generation — hacking education, software, finances and products. They are experts in finding the most efficient ways to do things, embodying the idea of “working smarter, not harder.” Just consider the volume of social media content devoted to life hacks, how-tos, DIY and infographics dissecting how things work. Their curiosity is a “sensing” and “doing” kind.
After all, Gen Z is the product of growing up in a volatile, uncertain, chaotic and ambiguous world. They have developed the survival skills needed to solve the seemingly insurmountable problems impacting the future.
The Quadruple Threat
Gen Z grew up with celebrity role models who were more than triple threats, like Selena Gomez and Rihanna. These quadruple threats have instilled the appeal of having side hustles, diversification and Plan Bs, Cs and Ds. They’ve produced music, starred on the big screen, started successful businesses and devoted time to people in need. They have inadvertently taught Gen Z that resilience means having options and alternatives.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Middle-aged white men in first-world nations dominate the foresight/futures field, but what we need in a field dedicated to imagining and shaping different ways the future can play out is cognitive diversity, including Gen Z’s unique curiosity fingerprint. When we theorize what could, should and is likely to happen in the future, we want people who can conceive non-obvious possibilities. Curious futures.
I challenge this establishment to include Gen Z, especially from developing nations, in futures work. This means inviting (and subsidizing) Gen Z to attend and participate in conferences about the future and recruiting them for foresight research and crowd-sourced future methods.
How Gen Z Can Do Tomorrowing Today
Humanity needs Gen Z’s ideas and dreams to shape the future, which means giving them a seat at the table. We can start by inviting members of this generation to participate in associations and conferences dedicated to futurism. We should be encouraging them to pursue certifications and online courses. Many colleges even offer classes on foresight, anticipation science and futures. Some unconventional alternatives are virtual meetup groups, like Futures Friends, or the best-sellers rack at Barnes & Noble, where I recently saw on display eight nonfiction books that dealt with futurism.
General curiosity about the world improves tomorrowing abilities. Psychologists acknowledge that general curiosity can be cultivated, so Gen Z can augment their “sensing” and “doing” style of curiosity. If any of us want to become more curious, we can try scanning newspapers from cover-to-cover, reading niche special interest magazines (e.g., The Global Pigeon Fancier), playing with Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” button, practicing the art of noticing or even just wandering around your city.
Another curiosity-cultivating tactic is to consciously break the algorithms that curate addictive content and keep people in their echo chambers. TheirTube illustrates how AI limits horizons and suppresses opposing views. If someone wants to break out of their cultivated algorithm on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram or any other social media platform, they can clear their cache and unfollow accounts. I cultivate curiosity, curate serendipity and confuse the cookies with subscriptions to ClubFreeTime and Stack.
A Necessity for the Future
Although misunderstood and underestimated by older generations, Gen Z’s curiosity is a force to be reckoned with. Their multifaceted interests, focus on visceral experiences, and penchant for experiments all contribute to a powerful style of curiosity perfectly suited to the challenges of our rapidly changing world. The future feels like it’s coming at us faster than ever, but if we include Gen Z, their worldview and style of exploration can and will help us face the challenges ahead.
Embracing Gen Z’s unique brand of curiosity is an opportunity for progress. By including them in foresight and futures work, we open the door to diverse perspectives and possibilities that could lead to groundbreaking solutions and innovative approaches to the future.
We all benefit from a future imprinted by curious Gen Z.
