Why Gen Z is changing South Africa one value at a time

Gen Z has become one of South Africa’s most influential consumer groups, and they have introduced a vastly different value set to the economy.

While previous generations have largely defined national discourse around politics, crime and the economy, Gen Z is placing far greater emphasis on issues such as gender-based violence, LGBTQ+ acceptance, education and equality, according to research by BrandMapp, which surveyed more than 30 000 consumers living in households earning over R10 000 a month.

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The findings suggest the generation born between the late 1990s and early 2010s is reshaping what matters to brands, businesses and, increasingly, South African society as the cohort enters adulthood.

Brandon de Kock, director of storytelling at WhyFive and one of the researchers behind BrandMapp, said every generation is shaped by the world in which it grows up.

“Every generation believes the next one is strange,” he said. “But Gen Z has grown up with social media, global conversations and constant access to information. Their worldview is very different from previous generations.”

Generations consider each other strange

Unlike many older South Africans, who continue to contemplate corruption, government performance, crime and economic stability, Gen Z is placing much greater emphasis on fairness, diversity and inclusion.

The research found younger consumers express significantly stronger concern about gender-based violence and show much higher levels of acceptance towards LGBTQ+ communities than older generations. Education and equal opportunity also rank far higher among Gen Z’s priorities.

“They’ve grown up in a connected world where conversations around equality and inclusion are happening every day,” De Kock said. “Those issues have become normal parts of their lives.”

Psychologist and medical doctor Dr Jonathan Redelinghuys said Gen Z’s priorities mirrored the environment in which they had grown up rather than a rejection of previous generations’ concerns.

“Every generation adapts psychologically to the challenges it inherits. Previous generations lived through political transition, economic instability and rising crime, so survival naturally became the dominant focus. Gen Z has inherited many of those same pressures, but they have also been exposed to constant conversations about identity, mental health, equality and social justice from an early age,” he said.

Same concerns, different expressions. Picture iStock

The findings also suggest Gen Z expects more from the companies they support. Consumers in this age group are more likely to favour brands that reflect their values and demonstrate authenticity on social issues rather than simply selling products.

At the same time, they remain concerned about practical realities like finding employment, accessing quality education and making things work in South Africa’s difficult economy.

“They’re not ignoring economic challenges,” De Kock said. “They’re simply adding another layer of priorities that previous generations may not have placed as much emphasis on.”

Differing priorities

Social forecaster and futurist Carmen Murray said Gen Z was the first South African generation to grow up with global culture in the palm of their hands, making them far more likely to compare local realities with international conversations.

“They don’t separate the digital world from the real one because they have never known that distinction. They consume ideas from Johannesburg, London, Seoul and New York at exactly the same time. As a result, they judge brands, employers and even governments against global standards rather than local expectations,” she said.

Dr Redelinghuys said social media had fundamentally altered how young adults developed empathy and identity.

“They witness events unfolding anywhere in the world in real time and become emotionally invested in issues that previous generations may never have encountered directly. This creates a broader sense of social responsibility, but it can also increase anxiety because they are carrying awareness of far more problems than any generation before them.”

Murray said this generation expected transparency, authenticity and accountability, and businesses that relied only on price or tradition would increasingly struggle to earn their loyalty.

“For Gen Z, values have become part of the product. A company’s behaviour is often just as important as what it sells. If brands don’t reflect the world young consumers want to live in, those consumers are remarkably quick to move elsewhere.”

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