When I was 27, I had to explain to a CEO that the internet was not a hype. That email was not a nice extra, but a new way of working. Almost thirty years later, we are having a very similar conversation again. Only this time, we call it Gen Z.
Whenever I hear discussions about Gen Z, I sometimes smile. Not because nothing is happening. Of course something is changing. Young people look differently at work, careers, technology, hierarchy, mental health and freedom. They ask different questions. They accept less automatically what previous generations considered normal. And yes, that can create friction.
But it is not new. Every generation eventually looks at the one after it and thinks: what is going on here? They are too free. Too direct. Too easily distracted. Not loyal enough. Too focused on themselves. Not willing enough to simply do what is asked. Until you remember that you were once exactly that generation.
Maybe Gen Z is not harder to understand. Maybe we have simply forgotten how hard we once were to understand.
When the internet still looked like a hype
In 1997, as a 27-year-old, I found myself sitting opposite the CEO of a large international company. I had to explain that the internet was not a passing trend. That email was not something for nerds, or something on the side, but a new way of communicating, collaborating and doing business. That it would be wise to give everyone in the company their own email address.
Today, that almost sounds absurd. Like having to explain why electricity might be useful in an office.
But at the time, it was a perfectly normal conversation. The internet felt exciting, abstract and, for many executives, mostly like something young people, computer guys or future thinkers were playing with. Not something that would change the core of communication, sales, service and collaboration.
Young people see things differently
A year later, when I was 28, I was in front of a board again. This time at a large international tech company. I had to explain why my creative proposal would work precisely because it connected with a younger audience.
Around the table were people with experience, responsibility and deep knowledge of their company. But they did not see the world the way the audience did. They did not feel what that audience felt. They did not use the same codes, humour, media or language. That was not a criticism. That is how generations work.
We also played games during office hours. That was considered strange. As if gaming automatically meant you were not taking work seriously. For us, it was also a way of understanding technology, visual language, speed, competition and interaction. Things that would later become central to communication, design and digital culture.
What looked strange then became normal later.
The same reflex, another generation
That same pattern is playing out again. Now the conversation is about Gen Z. About young people who relate differently to work. Who are less impressed by hierarchy. Who ask more quickly: why are we doing it this way? Who do not automatically believe that long hours equal good work. Who speak more openly about mental pressure. Who do not see technology as a tool, but as an environment they live in.
They are growing up with social media, constant comparison, performance pressure, climate anxiety, housing shortages, AI and an endless stream of stimuli. You can have an opinion about that. Of course you can. But it only becomes interesting when you look beyond irritation.
Maybe Gen Z is not more difficult. Maybe they are simply living in a time that is more difficult to understand. And maybe older generations are not outdated. Maybe they are trying to hold on to something solid in a world that keeps changing shape faster and faster.
Being young is different from being older
That, to me, is the heart of it. Young people are not automatically right because they are young. Older people are not automatically right because they have experience. Young people often sense earlier what is becoming normal. Older people often understand better what has lasting value.
Things go wrong when those two worlds stop taking each other seriously. That is when we get caricatures. Gen Z is lazy. Boomers are outdated. Millennials are exhausted. Gen X will manage somehow. Good for LinkedIn. Bad for real understanding.
In reality, no generation is one thing. There are ambitious young people and complacent older people. Loyal twenty-somethings and cynical fifty-somethings. Young people who work incredibly hard and older people who checked out long ago. Age explains something, but never everything.
The context has changed
What does change is the context in which people grow up. Those who were young in the nineties grew up with the rise of the internet, mobile phones, email, games and the first wave of digital culture. Those who are young now are growing up in a world where everything is always on. Your identity, your work, your social life, your news, your inspiration, your insecurity and your downtime all live on the same screen.
That does something to people. It makes them faster. More fluent. More visual. More direct. But sometimes also more restless, more tired and less patient. Not because young people are worse, but because the environment is designed differently.
What brands can learn from this
For brands, employers and organisations, there is an important lesson here. If you want to reach young people, do not start by judging them. Start by listening. Not only to what they say, but to the world they move through. Their language, their doubts, their pace, their sensitivity to authenticity and their allergy to empty promises.
And the reverse is just as true. If you want to reach older audiences, you need to understand that experience is also an emotion. Change can create uncertainty. People who have been good at something for years do not want to be declared irrelevant overnight because a new generation or a new technology has arrived.
Communication does not start with broadcasting. It starts with perspective. That applies to campaigns. To employer branding. To internal communication. To leadership. To almost everything.
Less broadcasting, more understanding
So the question is not: how do we get Gen Z on board? The question is: how do we help generations understand each other again? That requires fewer labels and more curiosity. Fewer lazy conclusions and more real conversations. Less "everything was better before" and less "everything has to change because it is new."
History does not repeat itself exactly, but it does rhyme.
History rhymes
In 1997, the internet still looked like a hype to many people. Today, AI looks that way to some. Back then, email was strange. Today, new ways of working, learning and communicating can feel strange. Back then, gaming at work was misunderstood. Today, TikTok, Discord, memes, AI tools and online communities are often looked at in the same way.
Until they suddenly become part of reality.
Maybe that is the real lesson. Not that Gen Z is right. Not that older generations are wrong. But that every generation sees something the other cannot yet fully place.
And maybe Gen Z is not the problem after all. Maybe our memory is simply short.
About Fritiof
Fritiof Eriksson is Creative Director, founder of GBE Creative Agency and has worked in advertising, branding and digital communication for more than thirty years. He has created campaigns and communication for public organisations, social initiatives, SMEs and international brands, always guided by the question of how communication can truly move people.
With GBE Creative Agency, he combines strategy, creativity, technology and AI. His strength lies in connecting human stories with new ways of seeing, making and communicating.
