The idea of people as consumers took shape before WWI, but it became more common in America in the 1920s.

People have always consumed the basics of life - food, clothing, shelter. They had to work to get them, but there was little economic motive for increased consumption among the masses. Attempts to promote new fashions and boost sales slowly increased as the pursuit of wealth extended beyond the very rich.

Born since the mid-1990s, members of Generation Z comprise the first generation never to know the world without the internet, and the most diverse generation yet. As Gen Z starts to emerge into adulthood and enter the workforce, what do we really know about them? And what can we learn from them? Gen Z, Explained is the authoritative portrait of this significant generation.