Every few months, an event involving young people captures public attention in India. A protest, an online campaign or a social movement quickly turns into the basis for judging an entire generation.
Some describe the country’s Gen Z as impatient, entitled or rebellious. Others celebrate its confidence and willingness to question authority. Both views are tempting but incomplete. History teaches us that societies almost always misunderstand their emerging generations.
I have seen this before. For more than three decades, my work has focused on understanding Indian households. During that period, perhaps no social group was more misunderstood than India’s middle class. Today, I believe we risk making the same mistake with Gen Z.
India’s generation of those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s is estimated to number nearly 375 million people, making it one of the largest youth cohorts in the world.
Together with millennials, they will account for almost half of India’s population by the end of this decade and will increasingly dominate the country’s workforce, apart from its entrepreneurial, innovation and electoral landscape.
Understanding them is therefore central to our future.
We must not interpret this generation through yesterday’s lenses. The first mistake is to confuse digital visibility with representativeness. Gen Z is India’s first truly digital-native generation. Unlike millennials, who witnessed the arrival of the internet, Gen Z has grown up with smartphones, digital payments, artificial intelligence (AI) and social media as integral parts of everyday life. Technology for them is basic infrastructure.
In February 2026, PRICE research found that 44% of Gen Z discover products through Instagram, while nearly four out of five compare alternatives before making decisions. Reviews, online research, peer recommendations and increasingly AI shape their choices.
Recent national studies also show that more than nine in ten urban Gen Z professionals already use AI for their work or studies. Technology helps acquire knowledge, improve productivity and expand opportunities.
Their media environment also differs. Previous generations relied largely on newspapers and television. Gen Z navigates a fragmented ecosystem of YouTube, Instagram, podcasts, messaging platforms, news applications and digital creators.
Information comes from multiple sources, which explains both their independence of thought and the growing difficulty governments, businesses and educators face in communicating with them.
The second misunderstanding concerns aspiration. Much of the public discourse portrays Gen Z as seeking instant gratification. Our findings suggest otherwise.
Home ownership, career growth, entrepreneurship, higher education and financial independence consistently rank among their most important aspirations. They seek meaningful work, continuous learning and opportunities for personal growth. They are also redefining what meaningful work should look like.
This generation lives simultaneously in multiple worlds. It learns from global universities, collaborates across borders, follows international creators, celebrates Indian festivals, speaks several languages and embraces new technologies with remarkable ease.
To some observers, this appears as a weakening of identity, but it often reflects an expansion of influence. They are deeply Indian while naturally global.
Yet, a growing aspiration gap is in evidence too. Many of India’s institutions were designed for an earlier era. Schools still reward memorization when young people require analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Universities often struggle to keep pace with changing labour markets. Workplaces assume linear careers while young professionals prepare for multiple careers over a lifetime.
The tension we observe is frequently less a conflict between generations than a mismatch between 21st-century aspirations and 20th-century institutions.
History reminds us that every transformative generation has initially been misunderstood. Young Indians who migrated to cities after Independence were criticized for abandoning tradition.
The generation shaped by the economic reforms of the 1990s was accused of excessive materialism. The pioneers of India’s information technology revolution were dismissed as chasing foreign dreams.
Time eventually showed that each had helped expand India’s development frontiers.
Gen Z deserves the same generosity of understanding.
At the same time, every generation inherits responsibilities alongside opportunities. More than a century ago, Swami Vivekananda urged India’s youth to cultivate scientific temper, strength of character, fearless inquiry and a spirit of service. His message was never one of blind conformity. It was an appeal to think independently, pursue truth through reason and dedicate one’s abilities to the larger good of society.
Those ideals are perhaps even more relevant in the age of AI and social media. Access to information does not produce wisdom by itself. Scientific temper requires evidence to prevail over emotion, inquiry over prejudice and reason over misinformation. It also requires young people to resist becoming instruments of irrational politics, ideological extremism or digital manipulation.
Every political movement seeks the energy of youth; a mature democracy depends upon young citizens who think for themselves, question authority responsibly and form their judgements based on facts rather than passions.
Equally important is confidence in India’s civilizational heritage. Respect for knowledge, diversity, family, dialogue, duty and social harmony has enabled Indian society to absorb extraordinary change while preserving continuity.
Gen Z need not choose between being global and being Indian. The confidence to engage with the world comes most naturally to those who are secure in their own cultural space.
For India to realize its demographic dividend, institutions must understand the aspirations of Gen Z and help the youth combine technological capability with scientific temper, entrepreneurial ambition with discipline, their global outlook with cultural confidence and individual success with a commitment to nation building.
Now that this generation has begun to shape India’s future, our responsibility is to ensure that its energy is guided by wisdom, character and purpose.
The author is managing director and chief executive officer of People Research on India’s Consumer Economy.