I don’t think it would be honest to claim that we have the right words to describe this past year, but I do think it is fair to say that 2020 was a year that we will never forget.
We have lived through a pandemic, an uprising against systemic racism, an economic recession, a tumultuous US election, and a year where people used the word “unprecedented” at unprecedented rates. We, Gen Z, have responded to this year with humor, power, and innovation. So what did we do at JUV? We decided to archive it in our very first trend report.
Introducing Memes & Movements: 20 Trends that Defined Gen Z in 2020 — the first Gen Z report of its kind.
We are tired of reports that seek to define Generation Z with the same tired five statistics, with generic cliche tropes, and with hundreds of pages of conjecture. We were founded on the belief that folks should be talking to us instead of about us.
Written by Gen Zers, Memes & Movements explores how Gen Z is transforming discourses around body positivity, injustice, and beyond. With support from The Receipt, our worldwide community of Gen Zers, we gathered over 2,000 responses and conducted 20 qualitative interviews deep-diving into the past year.
As we move into 2021, let’s stop talking about the power of young people and let’s actually empower them instead. In fact, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that that’s the trend that defines Gen Z.
Ziad Ahmed is the Founder/CEO of JUV Consulting. Named Forbes #30Under30 for Marketing/Advertising at age 19, Ziad is no stranger to Ted Talks nor TikTok. Check out his attempts at being ~quirky~ via Instagram @ziadahmed.