Generation Z Making an Impact
it’s always a fascinating conversation
with my parents
when i hear that they got their first
phone at the age of 24.
i can never come to believe that they
spent the first 24 years of their life
without the most groundbreaking
invention of the 21st century
kids like me in generation z are
introduced to technology at such a young
age
and we are truly fortunate to get the
modern and quicker way
of the technology generation z
refers to anyone born after 1995 and
before
2010 which eventually leads to the
oldest members being barely out of 13
years
fortunately i am also part of the
wonderful
generation z father
of the nation and the messiah of
non-violence
mahatma gandhiji said in a gentle way
you can shake the world
generation z is taking gandhiji’s wisdom
to heart
and their choices are reflecting it
we are a generation that has seen it all
everything from dot com boom to bubble
burst
the devastating 9 11 event of 2001
the 2008 financial crash and we’re
currently going through a tough
pandemic situation i
am about to miss my eighth grade
graduation and i will watch as my
friends and family in high school
miss their high school graduation an
even more important milestone as part of
an academic journey
as recently as now the pandemic got the
best of us i watched how my friends and
family in high school
transitioned from preparing for high
school prom to setting up an online
school account
i saw the sats and the acts becoming
optional
it shook us but we dusted it off
and got ready to enter a whole new
virtual world of online classes
meetings and turning those flabs into
abs
our experiences from the past prepare us
for anything to come
in the future now
all the generations before us did the
best they could with the limited
technology and innovation they had
they worked hard remained loyal to the
employer and
always made sure there was food on the
table for their family
however they always discussed how they
could have done more but were never able
to put their plan
into action and this is why they see us
as their hope of the future
we have responsibilities to fulfill and
that’s why the baton has been passed to
us
ever heard of the quote actions speak
louder than words
well taking that into consideration we
as generation z
can take our ideas and passions and
actually put our plan
into action we can achieve things
things the generations before us were
never able to achieve
we are fortunate enough to be in the
midst of a digital and social media
revolution
this entire experience gives us so many
ideas that could be used towards helping
a great
cause today by sharing my journey and my
experience i want all the young people
out there to be able to take risks
that would lead to an applause worthy
product and could potentially help save
lives
as truly digital natives we as
generation z
use social media not only to learn about
important issues
but also to make a meaningful difference
91 of our generation says that we use
social media to learn about and
participate in issues that we care about
we feel so well informed in fact that we
know more about important issues than
our parents or guardians
we sincerely feel like social media
engagement can drive
change eighty percent of our generation
says
that using social media can really
create an important impact on issues
about two to three years ago google
published a magazine
with the title it’s lit that’s right you
heard me
it’s lit my dad always says
he trusts google more than my mom
because google knows him better than my
mom
and that’s why i trust google for data
anyways according to the magazine
generation z
is the most informed evolved and
empathetic generation of its kind
we value information and connection
evident by our affinity for
youtube netflix and facebook
now we as generation z can achieve
and do so much we like to be
self-directed
as we know that the biggest change can
be made only by what we
envision a recent study by the
well-known northeastern university said
that as a group gen z tends to be highly
self-directed
demonstrated by a strong desire to work
for themselves
study entrepreneurship and design their
own programs of study
in college as self-directed young
individuals
we as generation z can take our
opportunity and potential
and make a change in the world for the
better
we can achieve things things that people
before us
were never able to achieve
now adding my own personal experience
into the mix
belonging to an immigrant entrepreneur
household i grew up taking many risks
and i grew up with many changes
i was fortunate enough to be blessed
with a caring family and a great vocal
talent
and honestly life was pretty simple
until reality hit and i learned about my
neighbor’s daughter who had asd
autism spectrum disorder
i noticed how the family’s plans changed
and i noticed how
some things they thought they would be
able to do they weren’t able to do
anymore
at the time i was young and i didn’t
understand much of it
until recently another family friend of
mine was diagnosed with a rare case of
autism called cdkl5
this time i was much older and i
understood the difficulties a family had
to go through
i knew that there was not only an
emotional drain upon them but also a
financial drain
i wanted to see what i could do to help
so i continued on to do some research on
available cdc websites
and i discovered that about one in six
around 17
of the children aged 3 to 17 were
diagnosed with a developed mental
disability
in the year 2000 one
in 150 children were diagnosed with
autism
in the year 2008 1 in 88 people were
diagnosed with autism
and in the last year recorded by cdc
2014 1 in 59 people were diagnosed with
autism
now if we put this into simple math
autism in the last three years grew 16
fold now being part of generation z
and not being afraid of making change
i was able to take these numbers and
make a positive impact
i could have stopped here knowing what
the problem was and just having someone
else swoop in and solve the problem for
me
but as generation z we are here to make
a difference
now i created this box that was a
subscription toy box that was not only
affordable but also educational
and gave children the resources they
needed to develop their sensory skills
motor skills and communication skills
i wanted to make a positive impact on
these children’s lives
one box at a time well you must be
asking why did i create this box
well it was because when i went on to do
some more research about these special
children
i came to a shocking revelation
while any foreign e-commerce store sold
a toy for a dollar or two
the same toy on a leading store in the
united states was sold for 10
fold the price similarly
a regular ipad case with a little extra
protection was sold for
99 to 100 whereas the real price would
be worth anywhere from five to six
dollars
so to solve that problem i created a
subscription toy box for autistic
children
now i have the same access to the
digital world as anyone in generation z
does
we are the digital first generation
for me to solve a problem and find a
solution
all i needed to do was research online
using digital tools
such as google cdc reports facebook
groups and just talking to the parents
in the vicinity
technology is not just changing
generation z
it is increasing connectivity and
changing the way gen zeus perceive
themselves
have the same access the digital world
as anyone in generation z does
with the available digital resources and
with the help of family and friends
if i could take a step towards making a
positive
impact all of us together as generation
z can make an even larger
impact so together
let’s make the world a better place one
step
at a time thank you