Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series written by Elainah Elkins and Jill Hoppe, born in 1999 and 2000, respectively. There is growing discourse surrounding Gen Z, but the voices of Gen Zers themselves are often missing from the conversation. This is their response. Read part 1 here.
We remember elementary school as a time largely untouched by constant connectivity. Afternoons were spent outside playing tag, pretending to play school, or finding other creative ways to pass the time without a screen in hand. Technology existed in the aughts, of course, but it was occasional and shared: a family desktop computer or a scheduled visit to the school computer lab.
As members of the older end of Gen Z, we experienced the transition from a largely offline childhood to an adolescence defined by near-constant digital connection. While millennials witnessed the early rise of digital technology—from AOL chat rooms to the first generation of cell phones and laptops—Gen Z’s experience with technology has been fundamentally different in three main ways.
First, the shift happened during formative years when attention, identity, and social habits were still developing. Older Gen Zs largely experienced the shift in adolescence, and many young Gen Zs have never known a life without tech. Second, technology became far more mobile and ever-present, with smartphones in our pockets and laptops into our backpacks. Third, the scope of connectivity expanded dramatically. Instead of interacting primarily with people in local communities, young people suddenly had the ability to connect instantly with others across the world at any moment.
We are not breaking new ground with evidence. Our goal is to offer context and personal perspective on how these shifts shaped many of the behaviors now under scrutiny.
Technology in classrooms became the norm
What was once an occasional visit to the computer lab for typing practice gradually evolved into an always-on digital learning environment. By the end of our high school experience, every student had a school-issued Chromebook to use throughout the school day and bring home each night. As of 2025, largely a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, about 90 percent of middle and high school classrooms have one-to-one device programs, along with 76 percent of classrooms in kindergarten through second grade. Class materials that once lived in binders and backpacks migrated to platforms like Google Classroom or Canvas.
This shift extends beyond instruction. Standardized tests like the SAT and AP exams, once administered with Scantrons and Bluebooks, are now delivered online. Homework, grades, teacher feedback, and classroom discussions increasingly exist through digital platforms. While technology once supplemented instruction, it has become central to it.
This integration of technology into schooling can be difficult for students to navigate. It coincides with a developmental stage when attention, self-regulation, and impulse control are still forming, and countless studies over the last several years have raised concerns about the impact that screentime has on brain development.
Additionally, the blending of schoolwork, entertainment, and social interaction on Chromebooks and personal laptops has blurred boundaries that were once clearer. Assignments, YouTube, messaging, and social media now compete for attention in the same space, making it harder to separate “school mode” from everything else. While earlier cohorts often passed notes or talked in person, Jill can recall her friends using tools like shared Google Docs to communicate in real time during class, often outside of teacher awareness. Studies suggest this kind of constant multitasking environment can shape attention, productivity, stress levels, and even how students experience downtime.
Artificial intelligence has added another layer, particularly for students who encountered it while still in school. While tools like ChatGPT can support brainstorming and revision, they also make it easier to outsource parts of the learning process. As a result, AI blurs the line between using technology as a tool and relying on it as a substitute for thinking.
While previous generations adapted to the new technologies of their time, Gen Z is the first generation to experience technology as a constant presence permeating nearly every aspect of education.
Social media rapidly grew
At the same time, social media extended the digital environment far beyond the classroom and into nearly every idle moment of the day. With platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and later TikTok arriving during our middle school years, communication shifted dramatically, as did how social standing was perceived and maintained. We can remember exactly when Snapchat introduced their first filters, from dog ears to vomiting rainbows. High school lunches became less about conversation and more about taking the perfect photo, curating stories, and documenting moments in real time.
The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt, describes the shift from a play-based childhood in the 1980s and 1990s to what he calls a “phone-based childhood” beginning in the early 2010s. That shift closely mirrors our experience growing up alongside the rapid proliferation of smartphones and social media.
The “addictive” quality of these platforms is not incidental. Social media is built around systems of reinforcement that provide frequent, unpredictable bursts of feedback. This design taps into psychological mechanisms that are especially powerful during adolescence, when feedback sensitivity is heightened. Over time, checking a phone becomes less a conscious decision than a reflex shaped by constant cues for attention and validation.
At the same time, opting out of these systems is rarely simple. Group chats, events, friendships, news, and even school communication increasingly flow through the same platforms. For those who came of age as these systems became dominant, the result is not just heavier usage, but an environment in which communication, identity, and coordination are structurally embedded in digital spaces.
Covid-19 increased dependence on technology
Covid-19 only accelerated what was already happening in both schools and social lives. Jill and Elainah packed for spring break during their sophomore and junior years of undergrad, expecting to be away from their dorms for a week (while the youngest Gen Zers were still in elementary school). That week quickly turned into a year and a half.
Although we were legal adults, this disruption occurred during a period when key cognitive and socioemotional skills were still being refined—particularly around habits of attention, identity, and self-direction. Practically overnight, schools shifted to a fully virtual format, navigating a host of unprecedented challenges: Zoom lectures, test administration through lockdown browsers, and the rapid restructuring of coursework for an online environment. Therefore, the sudden shift to fully digital schooling and social life occurred during a period when our cognitive capacities were still actively being shaped, not fully settled.
Meanwhile, our social lives moved online as well. Group chats replaced dining hall lunches, TikTok replaced casual downtime, and FaceTime stood in for late-night conversations in dorm rooms. While we might not remember much from our course syllabi, we can all recall at least one pandemic-era viral trend.
That constant connection came with tradeoffs that are still visible today. Social media increasingly shifted toward short-form video content, contributing to more fragmented attention spans and making it harder to focus deeply on any one task for an extended period of time. Meaningful in-person relationships also became harder to build and maintain as more interaction moved online. Rates of anxiety and depression also rose during this period, shaped by isolation, uncertainty, and the pressures of constant connectivity.
Unlike older generations, who encountered digital tools after key habits and routines were already established, Gen Z’s formative years unfolded alongside rapidly expanding technology—and, during the pandemic, almost entirely within it. What may have been temporary disruption for others became a defining feature of how this generation learned to operate in the world.
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While technology is now embedded in nearly every aspect of education and social life, there are intentional steps schools and families can take to create healthier boundaries around its use.
First, schools should create more opportunities for sustained focus and offline learning. Incorporating handwritten assignments, paper-based readings, and in-person assessments can help students rebuild attention spans and engage more deeply with material without constant digital distraction. This may also reduce inequities tied to uneven access to technology at home.
Second, educators should be intentional about how technology is used in classrooms. While devices can absolutely enhance instruction, they should not replace human interaction, discussion, and critical thinking. Digital literacy is essential, and schools play an important role in ensuring all students learn how to use technology effectively and responsibly. At the same time, policies like classroom phone restrictions are increasingly being explored to reduce distraction. However, the largest phone-ban study to date found little impact on academic achievement as measured by standardized test scores, suggesting that simply removing devices may not fully address the deeper challenges surrounding attention, engagement, and technology dependence. The issue is less the presence of technology than how it is integrated.
Finally, schools should approach artificial intelligence thoughtfully. AI will undoubtedly become part of students’ academic and professional lives, but it should be taught as a tool to support learning rather than replace the thinking process itself. Students still need opportunities to wrestle with ideas, write independently, problem-solve without assistance, and experience productive struggle. Otherwise, there is a risk that convenience gradually replaces critical thinking altogether.
We have explored why Gen Z is so anxious and have now shed light into why we may be more dependent on technology than previous generations. In the final part of this series, we turn to a third critique: that Gen Z is unprepared for the workforce.
