Today’s youngest generation, known colloquially as “Generation Z,” has never known a life without technology. While demographers might disagree on when this generation actually began, marketers and trend forecasters characterize this group as those who were born during the fifteen year span from 1996 through 2011. Since the first generation of iPhones hit the market in 2007, “Generation Z is the first generation to be raised in the era of smartphones,” and many from this generation “do not remember a time before social media.” If Generation Y has been described as being “constantly plugged into technology,” then the next generation, where the average age for cell phone usage is six years old, is only more comfortable in the digital world. The newer generations of smartphones have the capability to take, send, and receive photographs, and open up a new realm of dangers for unwary users. Given that these devices are taken for granted, does Generation Z actually appreciate the risks associated with their picture taking and information sharing? The unfortunate answer is very little, if at all.
