The stereotypical depiction of Generation Z — those born after 1995 — often involves a teenager with eyes inches from a smartphone and thumbs furiously tapping at the screen.
But as Jean Twenge will explore as part of SBCC School of Extended Learning’s Mind & Supermind lecture series, these devices are leading many in the iGen to grow up more slowly and with higher rates of depression.
iGen: The Smartphone Generation and the Future is coming to the SBCC West Campus, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Monday Nov. 5.
A headline-making psychologist, researcher and author, Twenge will discuss how smartphones are impacting the mental health and happiness of those born after 1995.
“As this new group of young people grows into adulthood, we all need to understand them,” Twenge said.
“Friends and family need to look out for them; businesses must figure out how to recruit them and sell to them; colleges and universities must know how to educate and guide them,” she said.
“And members of iGen also need to understand themselves as they communicate with their elders and explain their views to their older peers,” she said.
The first generation to spend its entire adolescence with smartphones, iGen adolescents spend more time communicating electronically and consume information online at a rapid pace.
They also spend less time with their friends in person and are more likely to experience unhappiness, anxiety and depression.
iGen is also taking longer to assume both the responsibilities and pleasures of adulthood, taking fewer physical risks and has more realistic expectations for the workplace.
Twenge to look at the iGen psychology and to consider what can be done to help iGen reach their potential.
Tuition and fees for this lecture have been partially covered through private donations. Dr. Spence Sherman will be the evening’s moderator.
Admission cost for the lecture is $25. Parking is free for attendees in West Campus lots 4A through 4D from 5 p.m.
For more information, about the event, call 805-687-0812.
— Angel Pacheco is a publicist for SBCC School of Extended Learning.