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One of the first ways marketers segmented consumers is based on generational age groups. The idea is that shared experiences, especially in the coming of age years, create bonds in values, beliefs and attitudes (and sometimes music) that are shared by the group throughout life. This basis for segmentation has held up well for decades with many marketers today targeting the 50-to-64 crowd not as seniors, but rather with an understanding of the mindset of Baby Boomers. (Some are getting it right and some are way off.)

A new market segment is now emerging to compare and contrast with the Baby Boomers, GenX and Millennials. The segment is made up of teens 13-to-19 and is becoming best known as the iGeneration (also known as Generation Z and iGen’ers). The “i” signifies the media devices they are using, iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc., and that these technologies are very individualized. Until recently, this group was lumped in with the Millennials and expected to share that generation’s characteristics. This is no longer the case.

Compared with the tech-savvy Millennials, iGen’ers are becoming tech-dependent as they were born into a digital world. They are growing up with mobile devices while their Millennial counterparts grew up primarily with PCs and clumsy laptops. With the world at their fingertips, these teens show a level of texting, multi-tasking and media consumption that far exceeds that of any other cohort segment.

We are getting to know how to reach this generation through media, but is there a defining mindset that we can tap into? What values do they, or will they share? In what ways will they be different from the Baby Boomers, GenX and the Millennials? Each of these previous cohort segments share distinctive traits that have carried through life.

By experiencing important social movements, prosperous times and a youth-oriented culture while coming of age, the Baby Boomers are idealistic, forever young and prone to reject authority.

Through their experience with Watergate, both parents working and a faltering economy, GenX is characterized as being independent, pragmatic and mistrusting of institutions.

While cutting their teeth on computer keyboards and being raised by doting, child-centric parents forcing all forms of formal group activities, the Millennials are confident, optimistic and team-oriented.

As an important consumer segment, can we describe the mindset of the iGen’ers as clearly as we can for previous generations? What will be the lifelong, defining nature of a group most frequently described today as:

Speed demons
Open books (private only in money matters)
Shortcutting the language
Seeking individualized experiences
Unengaged by traditional schooling techniques (like books)
Into creating their own content
Early adapters who expect innovation
Multi-taskers
Always present in a social way
More in touch with global issues and cultures

Do any of these descriptors, all driven to some degree by technology, matter that much? Can we use these behaviors to shape messages that will resonate with this audience? What about the tough economic times, climate change and the terrorism they are growing up with?

It seems to me that researchers and “experts” are more intrigued with naming this generation than really trying to understand it. They are putting far too much weight on technology with little consideration for life experiences. Being tech-savvy or tech-dependent does not define what is important. If we really want to “get” these teens, we should take the time to understand their dreams and challenges – offline.

I agree that they will not be the same as the Millennials, but we are a long way from knowing how they will be different. As one iGen put it in a recent thread:

“We can’t really define our generation yet because the oldest of us (that’s me) are still defining ourselves. Plus, we’ve had little impact on the world yet. As a generation, we basically are unimportant so far.”

What do you think will make them important when they become adults?