If you were born between 1997 and 2009, you are part of the large group of people who belong to Generation Z. You came into this world along with one of the great explosions of the digital era, the cell phone. Therefore, the relationship between both is almost a perfect harmony, in every sense.
Generation Z has a skill that other generations do not usually have in large numbers: they are experts with cell phones. However, this ability with smartphones limits their handling or manipulation of technologies that are basic for any other segmented group.
This is revealed by a research study, which includes testimonies from regional managers and experimental evidence. While a Generation Z individual may make optimal use of all cellphone applications, around 35% do not know how to use a photocopier.
It is true that paper has become somewhat a thing of the past. But not knowing how to make a copy is a basic technology problem that affects companies.
Another of the inconveniences that work areas present is that Generation Z individuals are unable to figure out how to use basic Microsoft services such as the Office suite (Excel, Word, Power Point, and Outlook).
“This gap is attributed, in part, to the educational preference for tools such as Google Docs and Chromebooks, which, although useful in the academic field, have less presence in the business world, where the Microsoft suite is predominant,” reports SafeShopping News.
In the same vein, experimental studies found that a Generation Z does not know how to use a printer. The lack of knowledge ranges from the simple action of sending a document to print, to loading paper in the tray or changing a cartridge.
Artificial intelligence does not help
While the percentage of Generation Z within this group lacking these basic technological skills is just over a third, the arrival of artificial intelligence will cause this figure to increase in the next five years.