Stepping into my status as a Gen Z digital marketer

You know those people who you meet, and as you get to know them, you’re shocked to find out that they’re 5-10 years younger than you thought they were? I’ve been that person for the majority of my working life. 

I was managing teams of people much older than me in retail stores at 19 and 20, which naturally made people overestimate my age. And the vast majority of my friends are 5-10 years older than me. This sense of seniority is something I’ve leaned into in the past, and with the benefit of being on the cusp of two generations, I’ve placed myself firmly in the Millennial camp. 

I think this propensity to lean into my age being overestimated comes largely from imposter syndrome. Who am I, a 25 year old, to stand in a boardroom and tell a group of seasoned business executives how to communicate their value to consumers? 

In 2023 though, with the continual rise of TikTok and the powerhouse marketers shaking the industry up, I’m stepping firmly into my Gen Z status. I’m old enough to have been on MSN, Myspace, and Tumblr, and I carried a point-and-shoot camera around in my pocket instead of an iPhone in high school, but I’m also a digital native. I don’t remember a school environment that didn’t include laptop trolleys, and I had a smartphone by the time I was in college. 

I believe straddling these two generations brings power. I inherently understand the social media and wider digital landscape, because I’ve grown up alongside it, but I’m also not blind to the potential power of traditional media. I inherently understand what makes humans tick, thanks to my empath brain, but I also have a natural ability to translate human behavior into a digital space.

The Gen Z cohort of marketers is getting shit done, we understand what consumers want, and we know how to harness the power of digital to make it happen. We also have a really good grasp on what we want our lives to look like and how to design our roles to make that happen. In a world of always on media, I’m proud to be part of a generation that pushes back against hustle culture. I’m more than happy to work 12 hour days when it’s needed, but I also know that my mental health is more important than working with clients who expect that kind of output at all times.

Here’s to 2023, the year of the Gen Z marketers getting shit done.