Generation Z's psychology and new‐age technologies: Implications for future research

Abstract

Generation Z (Gen Z), also known as digital natives, constitutes one‐third of the world' population. Despite notable contributions and progress explaining Gen Z's behavior, significant gaps remain in our understanding of digital natives, their interactions with new‐age technologies and how these technologies can be utilized to provide a better quality of life for this group of consumers. In this review article, we provide a background on Gen Z's consumer psychology and interactions with new‐age technologies, followed by an overview of the articles published in our special section. Finally, we suggest new areas for future research on Gen Z's consumer psychology and interactions with new‐age technologies. Specifically, we propose four main themes for future research in this area: (1) Gen Z and new‐age technologies, specifically generative artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, the metaverse, virtual influencers, and live streaming; (2) Gen Z consumers and global issues, specifically economic and social issues, sustainability and environmental issues, and health and wellbeing; (3) combining theories, concepts and disciplines to understand Gen Z and new‐age technologies; and (4) new methods and forms of collaboration.

When young customers co-create value of AI-powered branded app: the mediating role of perceived authenticity

“…The insignificant effect of brand factor (co-brand fit) and source endorsement are aligned with recent findings about brand and influencer avoidance among Gen Z (Pradhan et al , 2022). Gen Z has grown up with social media and may have experienced manipulation, fake news and commercialized information on social media (Ameen et al , 2023). Thus, the co-brand fit and source endorsement may not be sufficient for their authenticity’s evaluation.…”

“…Thus, the co-brand fit and source endorsement may not be sufficient for their authenticity’s evaluation. Gen Z is aware of influencer marketing strategies adopted by brands; however, they expect the brands and influencers to share information responsibly (Ameen et al , 2023). These customers often avoid or unfollow influencers because of disingenuous endorsements, the promotion of unrealistic or unsustainable lifestyles and misrepresentation (Pradhan et al , 2022).…”

Decoding Gen Z: AI's influence on brand trust and purchasing behavior

“…This generation's deep integration with digital technology, particularly AI, offers a distinct perspective on brand trust and purchasing behaviors. Their interactions with AI in online shopping provide a rich context for examining the nuances of AI's impact on consumer behavior (Ameen et al, 2023 ). The insights gained from this focus are instrumental in understanding the evolving landscape of AI in marketing and consumer engagement.…”

Customers' political ideology and Self‐Service Technologies: Do political leanings predict usage of Self‐Service Technologies?

“…We recruited 142 undergraduate students (53.5% female, M age = 20.01) from a public university in the United States. All participants belonged to Generation Z, the generation that has grown up in the era in which the internet and digital technologies were widely available and commonly used (Ameen et al, 2023). As such, before conducting the study, we expected to have less variation in intention to use Self‐Service Technologies in this sample of participants and a lower probability of finding our hypothesized main effect.…”