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Generation Z: Their Voices, Their Lives

Chloe Combi

3.87 · Rating details · 82 ratings · 15 reviews

Generation Z have never had to save their pocket money to buy an album. They laugh when you tell them there used to be four channels on TV. Not many of them have grandparents that fought in a war. They've never known a world without the internet and have grown up with violence and porn at their fingertips with an object barely known to just one generation before them: a mo ...more

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Hardcover, 320 pages

Published April 23rd 2015 by Hutchinson

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Jun 11, 2015 Martin Spellman rated it it was ok

Shelves: non-fiction, politics

It has been said that the problem with youth is that it is wasted on the young. Chloe Combi is a journalist who writes on youth issues and a former school teacher. The book is comprised of statements from interviews she has carried out grouped into eleven categories: family; relationships; body; sex; school; race; gender; technology; class; crime and 'looking to the future and advice to the next generation'. Many of the interviews would fit into several of these categories. She says: 'One of the It has been said that the problem with youth is that it is wasted on the young. Chloe Combi is a journalist who writes on youth issues and a former school teacher. The book is comprised of statements from interviews she has carried out grouped into eleven categories: family; relationships; body; sex; school; race; gender; technology; class; crime and 'looking to the future and advice to the next generation'. Many of the interviews would fit into several of these categories. She says: 'One of the problems teenagers face is that they feel they are living in a world that doesn't understand them. Many feel ignored, unheard and disenfranchised. Some parents feel that they barely know their teenager and the world they live in.' But this has been true of every generation since the First World War at least -- it is the problem of modernity.
'Generation Z' is a bit of a misnomer as technically they are actually 'late generation Y'. Her interviewees were born between 1995 and 2001 when for Generation Z they should be born after 2005. The famous 'Generation X' or 'MTV Generation', popularised in the 1991 Douglas Coupland novelGeneration X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, although the term was coined by photographer Robert Capa in a series he did for magazines. They were born between 1965 and 1984 and 4000 people were surveyed each year. 'Generation Y' or 'the Millenials' were born from 1982 - 2002. Then comes 'Generation Z', 'the iGeneration' or 'the Plurals'.
Combi says her book is intended as 'an accurate snapshot of teenage life' although we do not learn how many interviews she undertook to compile it. While the social and educational background is given for each quote there is no overall analysis. The categories are fairly imprecise and there is no index. So while she says 'I hope it will be a conversation starter between teenagers and adults' it is hard to see who will read this book or will learn much from it.
Sadly, much of it is banal and predictable. Some of them seem to have led cloistered lives so far. One 16 year-old girl says: 'So even though my parents probably earn about £80,000 between them a year, that's nothing like enough to cover the three of us'. Another sets her sights on becoming a millionaire by 19 through selling on eBay. Two 13-y-o twins seem to from Yorkshire seem to have learned about London from the columns of the Daily Mail as did another from rural Norfolk. What is the use of commenting about places you have never been to, or will never go to, come to that? Priti, an Indian girl from North West London says 'No one ventures very far and it is like a little bubble. A mostly poor bubble. I have friends my own age who live where I do and have never actually been to proper central London. Like the Tate Gallery, or the British Museum, or the West End. It is so stupid. And sad.'
What struck me was that many of the immigrant and Muslim teenagers seemed to be more aware of the failings of patriarchal and traditional societies in coping with modern life than the indigenous Brits. An Iranian woman from Sheffield said: 'I think there is something very cowardly about headscarves and especially burkas. It is forcing the women to wear these symbols of the Islamic world, which say very clearly they are neither to be trusted, nor fit to be looked at.' Yet a 16-y-o lad from Solihull seems to have absorbed all the twisted narrative of his UKIP-BNP supporting family. It would be more interesting for someone from that background to have rejected those views. Likewise Oscar from Eton who wants 'three strikes and your out' and people banged up and deported. Although an 18-y-o from a rich and titled family walked away from his home: 'I'd rather be poor.'
Some of the comments are quite astute. Eddie and Kieran do not want thankless jobs. 'Kieran: ...I don't want to end up in McDonald's. And if you go legit, that's all that seems to be on offer. Eddie: Or Shoe Zone. Kieran: Fuck Shoe Zone. People put that in places to let you know you are poor. Nobody would even rob that place.'
Maisie from Oxford says: 'My fear is I'll go to Manchester and spend most of those three years working at Costa and missing out on the good stuff anyway. And then end up working in Costa afterwards.'
It would be interesting if a follow-up book was done in 10 years time with the same people to see how their lives have turned out. As Picasso said: 'It takes a long time to become young.' ...more

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Feb 08, 2017 Chiara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

One of my lecturers for this semester recommended this book to me, and as soon as I read the forward I knew I had to read it. The book is composed by a series of interviews carried out by the author with several kids in Generation Z (born 1995- 2001). The interviews are all written out in first person and separated into categories which make up the 10 chapters of the book (Family, body, relationships, sex ect.). There are stories in this book that made me laugh, some that made me furious and som ...more

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Apr 09, 2016 Alyce Hunt rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-releases, non-fiction, library-borrowed

I've been interested in reading 'Generation Z' since I met Chloe Combi back in August. I thought it was brilliant that an adult was taking the time to interview a broad range of teenagers (a variety of races, genders, sexualities and classes) about a wide selection of topics.
It would have been better if there had been more viewpoints from lesbian teenagers - only one contributes, and she only says a couple of sentences - or from asexual or bisexual teenagers, as neither of those sexualities are ...more

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Sep 24, 2016 Eszter Faatima Sabiq rated it it was amazing

The book delivers what it promises: it gives you an insight into the lives, experience, feelings and thoughts of teenagers in Britain, from various different classes, ethnicities, cultures, schools, and backgrounds. The order of the stories emphsise contrast at points and bridges differences elsewhere. Might be an eye-opener for many adults, and a valuable read for every parent.

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Oct 01, 2018 Angela rated it really liked it

Shelves: general-non-fiction, slice-of-life, england-english-author, body-image, bullying, conformityvsindividuality, death-and-grief-and-loss, disability-physical-or-neurological, drug-or-alcohol-abuse, eating-disorders

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As a parent of three late Gen Zers (so, younger than the teens in this book) this is interesting and eye opening reading. When I first began reading, I thought the challenges faced by the teens in this book, while very real and important, were barely discernible from problems faced by those of my generation (Gen X) or my sister's generation (the Millenials), for example: eating disorders; loss of loved ones; divorce; family violence; addictions; class inequality etc. but then I reached the secti As a parent of three late Gen Zers (so, younger than the teens in this book) this is interesting and eye opening reading. When I first began reading, I thought the challenges faced by the teens in this book, while very real and important, were barely discernible from problems faced by those of my generation (Gen X) or my sister's generation (the Millenials), for example: eating disorders; loss of loved ones; divorce; family violence; addictions; class inequality etc. but then I reached the sections on relationships and technology and that is, of course, where everything changes.

While some of the youngsters in this book express how terrible it would be to live without 24 hour access to the internet, I remain grateful that I grew up at a time when you could act out and make mistakes fairly secure in the knowledge that it wasn't being recorded, only to be shared around with friends, classmates and strangers alike. That's one thing, but 17 year old boys casually watching rape porn together? Scary. The way some of the boys talk about females in these interviews is highly unpleasant and no wonder, if this is what they are watching. Then you've got female peers of these very same boys stating we don't need feminism because they've learnt from their parents, peers, or the media that feminism is divisive and all about special rights for females.

The stuff on racial inequality is too sad, especially reading Martin Luther's Kings 'Why We Can't Wait' at the same time. This book is set in the UK, not the US, but still, kids getting pulled off their bikes and harassed by police for no reason other than the colour of their skin shouldn't be happening in the 21st century (not that it ever should have been happening in the 20th century either but the lack of social progress is truly appalling). Then of course there is racism exacerbated by the fear of terrorism. Police being called on a Muslim boy taking his sister's diabetes medication to her in her My Little Pony bag (if I remember the details correctly) because other public transport passengers thought he might be carrying a bomb. Crazy.

But there's lots of hope here too as friends and partners of different genders/races/religions/sexual orientation discover that their similarities are more important than their differences, which is something I have read elsewhere about this generation, that in general they are tolerant and empathetic. This would be a natural consequence of globalisation and social progress such as same sex marriage etc and I would like to believe this, yet all the stories of bullying (and incidences of bullying I have heard about in my own children's social circles, plus the extreme cases that make the news) make me wonder ...

You do have to have hope though, and most of the teens in this book come across as good kids who are just trying to make sense of this mad world they've inherited, just like those generations who came before. Giving these young people a platform to share their experiences is a great thing and if you work with older children or adolescents, or are a parent of older children or adolescents, its worth reading, just beware, this is not all light reading and its not meant to be. I read someone here saying she wishes someone had handed her this book at 13 but I'm not recommending it to my 13 year old, I think it would be somewhat intimidating for her, and while there's no doubt something in here for every (older) teen to relate to, it's probably not a book you'd want to hand to someone who is anxious or depressed about the state of the world either. ...more

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Jul 16, 2018 Martha Mae rated it it was amazing

Some books are meant to be kept. Some books you will move house with and ensure they stay standing on your bookshelf forever. But some books - this one - must be passed around, shared, posted, read aloud, borrowed, given away, tweeted and quoted. I wish someone gave me this book when I was 13. It would have saved a lot of hassle.

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Nov 20, 2019 Louise rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was way more powerful than I thought it’d be, though should be littered with trigger warnings. Some of the stories are A Lot.

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Jul 17, 2021 Trevor P. Kwain rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I am afraid this was quite a pointless book, lacking depth and methodology. I was expecting a better explanation of Gen Z with some reflections on the socio-demographic composition rather than a collection of written interviews from different teenagers without any analysis or background or reference. The way the teenagers have been selected is not even mentioned, and most chapters do not tell you something new or different that every teenager in every generation has experienced. While I stopped ...more

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Apr 13, 2020 Steph Bennion rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, biography

I've been dipping in and out of this book for more than a year. It's a fantastic (and sobering) account of the UK as seen through eyes far younger than mine, a collection of personal stories that brought forth a whole range of emotions. There's a quote on the back cover from Boris Johnson (Mayor of London when this was published), though judging by the Tory party record on the issues raised by the interviewees I'm guessing few in his party have read it. This book should be required reading for a ...more

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Apr 01, 2020 sophie rated it really liked it

A fascinating book, exploring multiple races, identities and opinions of Gen Z. Although, already slightly old (teenagers have changed considerably in the 5 years since this book was published due to the evolving internet) it is still a worthwhile read and has some very emotional parts.

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Nov 16, 2019 Katherine Jackson rated it it was amazing

Very thought provoking insight into the contrasting lives and opinions of different teenagers from across the UK.

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Sep 14, 2015 Timothea Moylan rated it it was amazing

I don't normally write reviews, but I couldn't help doing so for Generation Z. At times, the voices in this book made me cry so much or laugh so hard that I had to put it down. Combi juxtaposes the range of interviews wonderfully. On one page, my heart would open, and on the next, I'd want to strangle the speaker. Some of the stories are heartbreaking; others heartwarming. A discussion with the daughter of a multi-millionaire is followed by a discussion with a young girl whose family was saved b ...more

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Jun 05, 2016 Deanna Louis rated it it was amazing

A brutally honest portrait of modern day youth, Combi omits nothing. You want to know what teens these days are like? This book has you covered.
This book truly opened my eyes to a wildly diverse world of people. People of different race, class and circumstance. These are voices that need to be heard.

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Jana Crichlow rated it it was amazing
Feb 13, 2017

May 01, 2017 Tuffy rated it really liked it

I wanted to read this because I work with young people entering the workplace. It was interesting to read a broad range of perspectives and viewpoints. It is heartbreaking and humbling just how difficult some young people's lives are and at different points I found myself crying, willing them on and hoping that their lives get better and easier. You can never imagine what someone else's life is really like.

To score it higher, I would have liked some kind of analysis and discussion as well as th ...more

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Mar 29, 2017 Hayden rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2017

'Generation Z' is a brutally honest collection of the everyday lives of the late millenials (defined by Combi as anybody born between 1995 and 2001). There were a wide range of accounts from a varied pool of teenagers - different cultures, religions, sexualities, social classes, etc - across multiple topics - sex, gender, body, technology, home - with both positive and negative standpoints. Some made me actually laugh out loud, some had me on the verge of tears, and considering I was reading the ...more

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