Hi, my name is Ha.

Today I’m going to share some opinions about the

topic: what do you think makes gen z and their parents not able to
communicate well to each other? As a generation z, this topic is pretty
close to me. Because I also face many obstacles when confiding or
talking to my parents..
But first of all, we need to clarify some terms here: what is gen z, and
who are their parents? Generation Z, also called Gen Z refers to the
generation that was born between 1996-2010. This generation has been
raised on the internet and social media, with some of the oldest finishing
colleges by 2020. And their parents are known as helicopter parents, also
almost all contained in Generation X which is refers to people born
during the early to mid-1960s through 1980. Helicopter parenting is a
style of raising children that involves a parent taking an overprotective
or excessive /v/ interest in their children's lives.

All right, Let’s go back to what I said before. The reason why between
me and my parents as well as between gen z and their helicopter parents
often encounter difficulty communicating with each other. I think the
causes can be noted with the keyword “difference”.
Firstly, differences in conversation topics. A conversation will last
longer and be livelier if both talk about the same topic that they are
interested in, otherwise, it will become boring and a little forced when
the interest-only comes from one side. Specifically, gen z will often be
excited when talking about technological devices, trends, innovations,
and creations but rather passive when it comes to politics, welfare
policy, charity, and traditional things belonging to the past, and vice
versa with their parents.
Secondly, the difference in opinion. Or in other words, the ability to
accept a certain problem in life. Gen z has an open-minded attitude and
loves change, so they easily adapt and accept everything, while their
parents are the complete opposite. It will be challenging for them to
change their mind and will take a long time to accept by the end. We
can't judge them as conservatives, it's can be called the stereotypical
lifestyle that they created to be able to keep balance in their own lives.
Let's take music as an example, as I mentioned before, helicopter parents
like something traditional. So if an old song is remade mixed with a
modern melody (a very common trend these days), for gen z this is a
new step forward, a pretty cool way to enjoy music. But for their
parents, this act is considered breaking the balance, losing the inherent
beauty of old music and modern beats. Gen X (Helicopter parents)
learned from their parents that there is a time and a place for
communication. And this time and place are influenced by the
surrounding hierarchy. Therefore, they are then surprised and felt a bit
disrespected when their children immediately start sharing their
thoughts, challenging received opinions, and available arguing to defend
their idea and their ego.
Next, the difference in form of communication they prefer. Gen Z never
knew a life without cell phones and digital media. This generation has
spent much of their lives in front of screens, which has led to specific
communication preferences. As a result, they prefer to communicate
online more often than in person. That means they feel more
comfortable and easier to interact with through devices. For example, I
can send thousands of loving texts or call my parents for hours to hours,
but it's hard to say it directly. On the contract, although born at a time
when the technology industry was beginning to flourish, helicopter
parents may not be as dependent on it as later generations. Gen X is
more likely to value face-to-face communication between parents and
children, but they still appreciate the benefits of digital.
In addition, at the same time, there is another reason for poor
communication in the family, which is the difference in word choice.
However, the cause is quite objective because it is not only true for the
two generations X and Z that we are talking about, but at each stage,
people create new forms of language and ways of using words adding
diversity to the conversation such as shortening words, combining old
words, creating completely new words.
Based on my own experience and story, I believe that my sharing will
become more specific, practical and hope that it can be useful in some
way.