You’re Not Actually Targeting Gen Z: Here’s why

Gen Z is perhaps the most analysed and researched in history. But we say it is a big mistake to approach them in a monolithic way.

There is a 15-year-old playing Roblox who has never sent an email. There is also a 29-year-old who remembers the exact screech of a dial-up connection. Both are Gen Z. Both are supposedly your target audience.

That’s the problem.

A generation spanning 15 years is not a generation. It’s a collection of smaller groups that happen to share a label.

The data contradicts itself. 

Take sustainability. A 2021 First Insight report found that 75% of Gen Z say sustainability matters more than brand when buying. Yet a 2025 VTT Research report found that 34% of Gen Z are completely checked out of the sustainability conversation because they’ve decided individual choices don’t matter. 

Same story with money. A 2026 Confused.com report found 61% of Gen Z have financial stability as their top priority, with over half focused on traditional goals like buying a home. Cautious, conventional, long-term thinking. On the other hand, a 2025 Barclays report found that 48% of Gen Z investors feel pressure to act fast on financial tips they see on social media. Crypto, AI stocks, passive income schemes.

According to Eventbrite, 74% say in-person experiences matter most. But a 2026 ResearchGate report found 83% of Roblox users have made genuine friends on the platform. Some Gen Z go to bars. Some hang out in a game. Both are real social lives for that generation.

McKinsey, in a 2025 report, stated that Gen Z spending is growing twice as fast as previous generations. While a 2024 P&C Global report found 75% actively hunt for discounts and wear it as a badge of honour. 

Sustainably connected vs disconnected, stable vs impulsive, in-person vs digital, high spenders vs discount hunters. These are contradictions; most researchers see this and go looking for which report is correct. We think that’s the wrong instinct. Both reports are correct. They’re likely just measuring different cohorts within Gen Z.

Why Gen Z is more fragmented than previous generations

Every generation has variation. Gen Z takes it further, for three specific reasons.

The speed of technology change across their lifetime is unlike anything before. A 29-year-old remembers dial-up, brick phones, the arrival of Google, the rise of Amazon, the early days of social media. A 14-year-old was born into a world where most of that was already settled. 

Then there are the cultural moments. 9/11. The 2008 financial crash. The pandemic. Climate anxiety. Each of these hit different people at completely different stages of development. A 10-year-old and a 20-year-old experience the same recession very differently. It shapes how they think about money, institutions, and risk.

And at a basic neurological level, a 14-year-old’s brain works differently to a 29-year-old’s. Neuroscience is fairly clear that the brain isn’t fully developed until around 24. You are, quite literally, targeting people at different stages of cognitive development.

What you can do about it

Stop briefing by generation. Start briefing by life stage. The better question is not “what does Gen Z want?” It’s “what does a 27-year-old entering the workforce for the first time want?” That question is specific enough to be useful.

When you find contradictions in research, don’t throw one out. Sit with both. A contradiction is usually a segmentation opportunity in disguise. Two different groups with two different needs, that’s not a problem, that’s a brief.

And look for the nuance in reports. Many research firms now break down older and younger Gen Z separately. That split matters. Use it.

The brands that will actually connect here are not the ones with the most confident generalisation about Gen Z. They’re the ones willing to ask a more honest question: within Gen Z, who specifically are we talking to? What did they grow up with? What were they doing when the pandemic hit? Are they still forming their values, or have those values already hardened?

Generational labels will point you in the right direction, but that’s not enough to get you to the right destination.