BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI

Page created by Antonio Rice
 
CONTINUE READING
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION · YEAR 24 · ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 ·
      INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
BUSINESS

                 n. 94                         E D I TO R I A L
CONTENTS                                                                                                                                           Entrepreneurial spirit in Gen Z
2    Editorial

                                                  Francesca Sofia Cocco
3    Entrepreneurial spirit in Gen Z              francesca.cocco@studbocconi.it

4    La Generazione Z attraverso gli occhi
                                                   I know… This year has been tough for         developments from our unique stand-
     degli altri
                                               everyone. But this issue will be entirely        point as Bocconi students.                      Cansu Süt
6    Raised through screens                    dedicated to us, Generation Z, and here             We are eager to know what happens            cansu.sut@studbocconi.it
                                               is why.                                          in the world surrounding us: this genu-

                                                                                                                                                N
                                                   On the 22nd of February 2020 - which         ine curiosity is what drove, for instance,
8    Covid-19 and Generation Z’s: a defining
     moment                                    seems by now an entirety ago – we Boc-           Emma and Katya, two BIG students, to                       olan Bushnell tells it all in one   cus of control. She concluded that Gen-          locus of control, etc. may be increas-
                                               coniani were subtracted our habits, our          depart from their field and discover how                   sentence: “The true entrepre-       eration Z (individuals born after 1995) has      ing or improving or being consolidated
10   Disugualianze generazionali
                                               normality. Suddenly, the freedom we had          Gen Z interacts with investments and                       neur is a doer, not a dreamer.”     lower entrepreneurial potential compared         with age and seniority, independent of
                                               achieved with such an effort had vanished.       marketing.                                           Deriving from the French verb entre-      to Baby Boomers (born 1945-1965) and             generations. A similar study using panel
12   Interview with leading climate activist   One year ago, on the 8th of March, all of           However, we do not only want to be           prendre (to undertake), an entrepreneur is     Generations X (1966-1979) and Y (1980-           data, which is data collected from the
     Kehkashan Basu                            Italy was put under lockdown. Then, after        informed; we also want to participate in        a person who starts, manages, and bears        1995), as the mean scores of Generation          same individuals over a period of time,
14   A day without independent media           a summer in which we thought we could            the events and have an impact on them.          the risks of a business. We know that this     Z were lower than those of other genera-         would demonstrate generational effects
                                               finally come back to pre-coronavirus times,      I could not help but notice this – which is     word has been in use in English since at       tions for all factors considered.                on entrepreneurship freed from age and
                                               we experienced an even worse feeling.            among Gen Zers’ unique traits, discussed        least the mid-18th century to refer to a           The results of this study should be in-      seniority effects, yet such data would
16   The rise of Micro Investing
                                                   Our lives in these months have been          by Anna and Cansu in the next pages –           kind of businessman. By the early 20th         terpreted with caution because the re-           have to be collected over 30-40 years for
                                               hanging by a thread. In September/Oc-            while poking around our website to dis-         century, however, “entrepreneur” had           spondents were chosen by convenience             meaningful results, which would be quite
18   Fast and unlimited                        tober we were back in Milan, seeing our          cover and learn more about our past as a        gone beyond its original sense and be-         sampling, in which individuals are arbitrarily   costly in terms of both time and effort.
                                               friends after months and months of FaceT-        newspaper, as soon as I became Editorial        come connotative of innovation, farsight-      sampled by researchers, usually in terms             Given the problems with the study dis-
20   Italiani e cultura finanziaria            iming. Then, lockdown came, again.               Director at the start of this semester.         edness, and progressiveness. In the 21st       of ease of reach. While it is a cost-effective   cussed and the lack of research on the
                                                   As I write this Editorial, one of our           Each of our writers has a special view       century, a period marked by technologi-        method of sampling that increases ease           entrepreneurial tendencies of Generation
                                               team members is stuck, quarantining in           of the world and a unique passion driving       cal progress and creative destruction at       of research, convenience sampling may            Z, there seems to be no strong reason to
21   A new page in the book of
                                               a Bocconi student residence, and Lom-            them. Each of us has our interests, be it       an unprecedented speed, these qualities        yield a sample which does not represent          believe that Generation Z is less inclined
     marketing
                                               bardy is supposed to revert to Orange            history like Fabio or finance like Sergiu,      are more crucial than ever for societies to    the population accurately, unlike random         to entrepreneurship. On the contrary,
22   Better finance, a better world            Zone again after a few weeks of Yellow.          sustainability like Mathilde or politics like   keep up with the pace of change, hence         sampling where each individual in the rele-      there are several reasons to believe in the
                                               Another victory – going to restaurants           Gabriele, or even music like Bojan.             ensuring sustainable economic growth           vant population has an equal and nonzero         opposite. First of all, when we look at the
24   Black Lives Matter around the world       and freely moving around the city- may              Each of us has our dream to pursue.          and a high quality of life.                    chance of being selected for the sample. A       US, we see that the number of business
                                               disappear again.                                 Bringing sustainable education to mar-              A relevant question is whether the new     replication of the study at hand using ran-      establishments less than 1 year old has
                                                   I will say it once for all: we Gen Zers      ginalized communities is the one of the         generation is sufficiently innovative, far-    dom sampling methods would generate              been on the rise since 2010. This means
26   Gen Z: the fragile generation?
                                               are suffering this virtual reality, and the      20-year-old climate activist Kehkashan          sighted, and progressive to make use of        more robust and plausible results.               that Generation Z has many examples in
                                               constant stress and fear of having the lit-      Basu, whom Daniela had the chance to            opportunities and turn ideas into produc-          Another issue with the presented re-         front of them to learn and draw inspiration
27   Il tempo degli eroi                       tle things we care about subtracted from         interview. Preserving the freedom to ex-        tion and thus, prosperity. Unfortunately,      sult is that there might be a relation be-       from when it comes to entrepreneurship.
                                               our lives, at any moment. You will get the       press our thoughts with independent me-         there seems to be very little research on      tween the factors deemed essential for           Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis has made
                                               chance to read more about this in the ar-        dia is the fight occurring today in Poland.     how “entrepreneurial” Generation Z is. In      entrepreneurship and age or profession-          the inadequacies in many sectors evident.
                                               ticles by Filippo and Marco.                     Julia, together with Paolo, interviewed         2017, a study by Şebnem Ensari on the          al experience. This is a cross-sectional         As the economic turmoil dissolves, the
                                                   Luckily, we can count on the power of        her compatriot Agata, the president of          differences among generations regarding        study, which means it makes use of data          dynamic and enthusiastic Generation Z
                                               words - written words. We can make our           the Bocconi Polish Student Society, to          entrepreneurial potential was published        collected at a specific point in time. When      will have the opportunity to create solu-
                                               feelings flow through them as Linda does         discuss the consequences of this back-          in the Research Journal of Business and        this study was conducted, the majority of        tions to the problems they have identified
                                               in the poem closing this issue.                  lash in democracy. From one side to the         Management. Ensari surveyed 532 indi-          Generation Z were students, Generation           through fresh enterprises. According to a
                                                   If I look back at the past year, I proudly   world to the other, however, we all fight       viduals who answered a questionnaire           Y were in their mid-career stage, Gen-           recent study by Nielsen, 54% of Genera-
                                               admire the rise of our newspaper. Our            for the protection of human rights, as          measuring entrepreneurial potential. The       eration X were in their mid-career and           tion Z already would like to start their own
                                               creativity flourished, more than ever, while     Eman tells us in her article.                   factors supposedly affecting entrepre-         late-career stages, and Baby Boomers             company. Hence, all older generations
                                               stuck at home. We had some important                So, this is how the idea for this issue      neurial potential were extroversion and        were either in the declining stage of their      need to do is to encourage and guide
                                               achievements: a new editorial strategy,          was born. Let’s celebrate us Gen Zers           healthy communication skills, self-confi-      career or in the late-career stage or re-        Generation Z in their quest for innovation,
                                               a more international and cohesive team,          and our incredible self-motivation to           dence, need for success, desire for inde-      tired. It is possible that qualities such as     as we are already quite thirsty for creation
                                               but, most importantly, we covered many           change the world.                               pendence, risk-taking tendency, and lo-        self-confidence, communication skills,           and exploration!

     2   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           3
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
OPINIONE

La Generazione Z
attraverso gli occhi
degli altri                                                                                                           Anna Druda
                                                                                                                      anna.druda@studbocconi.it

L
       a Gen. Z non ha bisogno di presen-             Capita di frequente di imbattersi in         esempio che ci consenta anche di espri-           tenzialità del web, ma accompagniamo              alla maggioranza di noi, risulta comun-           sarebbe la prima per cui la distinzione tra
       tazioni: siamo noi, i nati tra il 1995 e   articoli che tentano analisi della nostra        mere il nostro punto di vista.                    la curiosità ad uno spirito critico, allenato     que una critica troppo generica, simile al        online e offline, tra vita reale e vita virtuale
       un momento non precisato dei pri-          generazione e paragoni tra questa e le              Uno tra tutti attiene al nostro essere         proprio dall’abbondanza e varietà di sti-         discorso attribuito a Socrate. Impegno,           ha perso di senso e, ancora, la prima a
mi anni Duemila, alcuni dicono 2005, altri        precedenti: è un esercizio particolar-           “nativi digitali”: i “bambini Z avevano i         moli che riceviamo – pregio che alcuni            concentrazione, educazione, cultura…              vivere costantemente online.” Tralascian-
2010 o addirittura 2012.                          mente interessante prendere contezza di          puzzle sul cellulare di papà ed emetteva-         riconoscono come distintivo della nostra          Non sono concetti relativi né sono relati-        do i neologismi che aprono e chiudono la
    Secondo la scienza, una generazione           come la società, nella sua componente            no i primi suoni davanti allo smartphone,         generazione – e che ci trattiene dal consi-       vizzabili oltre un certo limite.                  frase, affermazioni come questa rischia-
rappresenta l’arco di tempo necessario a          non-Gen. Z, veda e definisca quelle che a        in chiamata con la nonna.”                        derare “maestri” coloro che creano con-               Ancora, una rubrica che suggerisce            no di alimentare l’idea di un gap genera-
che degli esseri viventi ne producano altri       suo parere sono le nostre caratteristiche           La maggioranza di noi è perfettamente          tenuti multimediali.                              metodi “per attrarre la Generazione Z”            zionale enorme e incolmabile in chi legge,
della stessa specie: per il genere umano          principali e distintive.                         a suo agio con questo tipo di tecnologia,             In altre parole, una delle maggiori mi-       avverte: “Non contare sulla loro lealtà. La       legittimato ad immaginarsi una gioventù
si aggira intorno ai venti o trent’anni.              “La nostra gioventù ama il lusso, è ma-      è vero. Tuttavia, quando eravamo bam-             sconception che caratterizza la visione dei       Generazione Z sembra essere un gruppo             che invece di servirsi e sfruttare le poten-
    In sociologia, si definisce “generazio-       leducata, se ne infischia dell’autorità e non    bini, un cellulare conteneva al massimo           più adulti verso di noi è proprio questa: pur     di consumatori opportunisti, molto più di         zialità della tecnologia, ne è assuefatta e
ne” un insieme di persone che è vissuto           ha nessun rispetto per gli anziani. I ragazzi    un paio di giochi, rigorosamente in bian-         rivolgendoci molto ad internet, ne cono-          chi li ha preceduti. Sempre più alla ricerca      dipendente, alienata dalla realtà.
nello stesso periodo ed è stato esposto           di oggi sono tiranni. Non si alzano in pie-      co e nero e, ad essere onesti, abbastan-          sciamo i limiti, non abbiamo reverenzialità       dell’occasione o dell’esperienza migliore,            Ad onor del vero, ci vengono ricono-
agli eventi che l'hanno caratterizzato:           di quando entra un anziano, rispondono           za ripetitivi. Non dimentichiamo poi che          nei confronti dei contenuti che incontriamo       non amano essere vincolati e desiderano           sciuti anche pregi notevoli: attenzione
essa raggruppa gli individui segnati dagli        male ai genitori…” si tratta di un pensiero      convincere un genitore a lasciar giocare          sul web, li mettiamo in dubbio, li confron-       controllo e personalizzazione. Riuscire a         all’ambiente, altruismo, spirito impren-
stessi accadimenti, dal fatto di condivide-       attribuito a Socrate, il filosofo greco vissu-   non era cosa scontata, dal momento che            tiamo, per prassi. Ciò accade proprio per         ottenere la loro lealtà sarà una vera sfi-        ditoriale, indipendenza e una forte con-
re un sistema valoriale e una prospettiva         to quattro secoli prima di Cristo.               lo strumento era una novità anche per             il massiccio utilizzo che ne facciamo. Sap-       da per i brand.” Se il consumatore che            sapevolezza relativa all’importanza del
sul futuro. Alla luce di ciò una generazio-           Si coglie qui come l’atteggiamento           loro e ritenuto assai delicato. Ritorna alla      piamo come muoverci: in questo senso              cerca l’occasione o l’esperienza migliore         benessere fisico e mentale, obiettivi equi-
ne è nettamente definibile solo a poste-          critico e poco comprensivo nei confronti         mente il pensiero di Hume: forse, tra i nati      siamo effettivamente nativi digitali.             è opportunista, auguriamoci di esserlo            librati e attenzione alle relazioni interper-
riori, quando la sua influenza sulla storia       dei giovani sia quasi connaturato all’uo-        nellaseconda metà degli anni Novanta e                In sintesi, il mero fatto di aver “letto su   tutti, in tal senso: chi mai continuerebbe        sonali.
e nella società è terminata ed è dunque           mo divenuto adulto. Che sia a ragione            chi ha dieci anni di meno sono intercorsi         internet” una qualsiasi affermazione non          ad acquistare i prodotti che ha sempre                Abbracciando la prospettiva che vede
valutabile nel suo insieme.                       o a torto è difficile dirlo… Come spesso         un paio di battiti di ciglia, dunque meglio       le da, ai nostri occhi, un’autorità partico-      scelto, sapendo che potrebbe trovarne di          definibile una generazione soltanto a po-
    Per Hume, uno dei maggiori empiristi          accade, è probabile che la verità stia nel       non generalizzare.                                lare: è da verificare, da capire, come lo è       migliori, di meno costosi o di più adatti         steriori, ci auguriamo di confermare le
britannici del diciottesimo secolo, basta un      mezzo.                                              Segue questa linea la percezione stere-        una voce di corridoio.                            alle proprie esigenze? Che si tratti di spi-      peculiarità positive che fin d’ora ci ven-
battito di ciglia a determinare il passaggio          Tutto considerato, la descrizione com-       otipata che ci vede “ricorrere a Internet per         Saremmo poi, secondo alcuni, solo ap-         rito critico, di capacità di fare ricerche o di   gono attribuite, ove possibile superando
da una generazione alla successiva. Com-          plessiva che viene fatta della nostra ge-        tutto, e lì imbibirsi di tutorial. Gli youtuber   parentemente multitasking, con una soglia         non accontentarsi, di sicuro tale atteggia-       le aspettative. Speriamo poi, soprattutto,
plice la velocità a cui si aggiorna la tecno-     nerazione è soddisfacente: ci vengono            sono i loro maestri, sono autentici guru,         dell’attenzione in realtà molto bassa.            mento spingerà i brand che vogliono fide-         di essere capaci di dimostrare che gli ste-
logia e – con essa – il modo di vivere della      attribuite peculiarità lusinghiere e qualche     che esercitano un’autorità sul loro pubbli-           Risulta difficile valutare un’affermazio-     lizzare la Gen. Z ad evolversi, migliorarsi       reotipi, tra cui quelli che abbiamo visto,
società, oggi le parole di Hume sono più          stereotipo, che deriva per lo più da una         co e ne caratterizzano lo stile di vita.”         ne che attiene alle caratteristiche perso-        sempre e superarsi, la qual cosa pare             non ci definiscono e non ci appartengo-
attuali che mai ed è questa l’ottica da cui       visione delle cose semplicistica, più che           Ancora, la realtà non è proprio questa:        nali dei singoli, al di là del loro anno di       tutt’altro che negativa.                          no: ecco non soltanto un auspicio, ma un
partire: l’evoluzione è rapida e continua.        semplice. Ho raccolto per voi qualche            di certo siamo consci delle enormi po-            nascita. Sforzandoci di far riferimento               Dulcis in fundo… “la iGeneration, cioè,       obiettivo a cui lavorare con costanza.

4   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       5
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
HISTORY

Raised through screens
                                                      Generation Z’s upbringing and the rise of tech                                                         Fabio Di Fabbrizio
                                                                                                                                                             fabio.difabbrizio@studbocconi.it

T
        his November The general consen-         witnessed the September 11th, 2001               year, ISIL brought major swathes of the        to discuss said incidents on social media,       connected protestors against unfair gov-      generation can quickly switch between
        sus on the starting year for Genera-     attacks and the subsequent War on Ter-           Middle East into its control, before losing    Gen Zers tend to be more accepting and           ernment treatment.                            replying to emails, Instagram, news sites,
        tion Z is 1997, meaning that its old-    ror, which still rages on today. YouTube         it all by 2018. In 2016, following and then    open-minded than previous generations.               In realms outside of politics and eco-    calling aunts, ordering dinner, and texting
est members are now becoming of age in           launched in 2005, debuting one of the            influencing a rising wave of right-wing        They are more open about sexuality, gen-         nomics, there were plenty of social and       friends within the span of an hour.
one of the most tumultuous times faced           most frequently used video sharing plat-         nationalist political movements, Donald        der identity, and confronting social issues      cultural phenomena that bonded Gen                However, this constant processing
by any generation. The so-called “Digital        forms today. Facebook became open to             Trump was elected to the US presidency.        like racism, sexism, and climate change.         Zers around the world. Vine, which            of information has also led to increased
Natives” saw their childhood shaped and          the public in 2006, and added the infa-              These are but a few of the events that     Great Thunberg, born in 2003, exemplifies        opened in 2013 and shut down in 2017,         anxiety and depression. Posts of “au-
influenced by technological innovations          mous “Like Button”, which established            shaped Gen Z. While new headlines con-         the Gen Z spirit in demanding action for         popularized the short video format still      thentic” lives on Instagram create feelings
that established an unprecedented global         the standard by which our generation             stantly captured our attention, there were     global problems.                                 shared today. Instagram is the standard       of FOMO (fear of missing out) and thus
connectivity. During their formative years,      measures the success of social media             other former features of daily life that           Acceptance is the norm, not just toler-      social media platform on which Gen Zers       generated at times unrealistic self-expec-
Gen Z witnessed through screens events           users, in 2009. In 2007, Netflix opened          slowly disappeared from our generation’s       ance. The legalization of gay marriage first     interact and share photos from their life.    tations. Gen Z is probably one of the most
that impacted their actions and behaviors        the first streaming service, the beginnings      conscience. Things like floppy disks and       began in the Netherlands in 2001, and                However, the most prominent cultural      entrepreneurial generations because they
moving forward into adulthood.                   of the binge content culture. In 2008, the       video cassettes have long vanished from        gradually spread throughout the West-            feature used by Gen Z is probably the use     place such high bars for themselves.
    Though some of the eldest Gen Zers           global economy collapsed in the Great            common use, and even CDs are rarely            ern World, Latin America, and Taiwan. It         of the Internet Meme. Whether the origins         Another downside of this info-flooding
can just barely remember when the                Recession, causing reverberations into           seen. Cable TV’s domination of screen          is still gaining traction today, as rights for   of this social wonder come from “rage         is how jaded it can make some Gen Zers
“hottest” phone on the market was the            family life that lingered for years and alter-   time has diminished in favor of streaming      the LGBTQ+ community expand.                     comics” or “Rick-Rolling”, it is obvious      to certain tragedies. Of course, this doesn’t
Motorola Razr (2004), the arrival of the         ing Gen Z’s interpretations of economic          services on laptops, phones, and tablets.          Speaking up is the expectation, not          that the language of Gen Z is the meme.       mean that Gen Zers are accepting of these
iPhone in 2007 marked the beginning of           stability. In the same year the USA elect-       What used to be an information-gathering       the exception. The #MeToo Movement,              These versatile tools can communicate         misfortunes, but this does tend to manifest
our generation’s lasting fusion with tech.       ed its first African American president, a       trip to the library was soon supplanted by     which started in 2006 but gained its big-        complex ideas and several cultural ref-       in less idealistic views on the world.
It is difficult to find one of our peers with-   breakthrough for the world’s most pre-           a search on Wikipedia or Google. One can       gest traction in 2017, spread awareness          erences within the use of a single image          The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest
out a phone, a fact that older generations       eminent democracy. In 2011, the Arab             order a taxi through an app rather than hail   of sexual abuse and harassment towards           and some text. They provide ways for          link in the chain of events that will form
usually find derisive amusement in. Previ-       Spring was vividly recorded on the cell          one in the street. Letters, which took days    women and led to some changes in                 Gen Zers to express thoughts and feel-        how Gen Z navigates the world. This
ous age cohorts tend to see technology           phones of protestors and activists, while        or even weeks to reach their destination,      workplaces and communities. The use of           ings on subjects and create connections       generation’s oldest are finishing their un-
more as tools while Gen Z sees tech as           Occupy Wall Street contemporaneously             were outpaced by text messages and             social media allowed people from around          through humor. There are entire groups        dergraduate/graduate degrees or have
part of themselves. This statement may           sought to bring down economic elites.            emails, which can be sent from one side        the world to connect over shared experi-         on sites like Facebook and Instagram          already started working full-time. The
seem dramatic, but Gen Z’s digital foot-         In 2013, Edward Snowden revealed the             of the world to the other in seconds.          ences and to unite against exploitation.         dedicated to sharing memes pertain-           pandemic, like the Great Recession for
print is much more profound than those           US government’s secret global surveil-               The loss of these formerly common              Police brutality can no longer be cov-       ing to specific sub-genres or communi-        Millennials, has altered economic, politi-
of previous generations. This connec-            lance and escaped to Russia for asylum.          features is not a bad thing, despite what      ered up, as cell phone coverage cap-             ties. Even corporations try to market to      cal, and social dynamics on a scale that
tion with technology is not a bad thing          In 2014, the Ebola epidemic broke out,           some nostalgia-blinded people claim.           tured moments like George Floyd’s mur-           Gen Z through memes, like when Gucci          hasn’t been seen since World War II.
and has led to a youth culture centered          and the Ukrainian Crisis began. In 2015,         These changes are thanks to technological      der in 2020, and the treatment of Catalan        launched its #TFWGucci campaign.              How Gen Z will move forward is unknown
around information.                              the Syrian Refugee Crisis caused factions        improvements that brought forth several        independence activists by policemen in               This rapid exchange of information has    and it will be hard to predict the state of
    Generation Z observed global events          within Europe to confront over changing          benefits to the world, both on a functional    2017. As mentioned, social media use             also granted Gen Zers the ability to multi-   the world when it’s our turn to manage it.
through this increasing access to infor-         demographic dynamics and its commit-             and social level. As they were exposed to      helped facilitate the Arab Spring, and           task. Unfortunately, while attention spans    But, at the very least, we have memes to
mation. As children, the older Gen Zers          ment to humanitarian causes. The same            all these global events and had the ability    more recently in Hong Kong technology            seem to have decreased, members of our        tide us through.

6   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           7
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
INTERVIEW

Covid-19 and
Generation Z’s:
a defining moment
How GenZers have responded to the challenges posed by the pandemic                                                                             Filippo Menozzi
                                                                                                                                               filippo.menozzi@studbocconi.it

I
     t is undoubtable that GenZers are the       when it comes to entry level positions,             For some, that decrease is certainly      spots, makes searching for internships,      of the pandemic. In fact, one of the few      sue his goals”. Goals which, for him, are
     future, and the near present, of our        not just due to the fewer resources that        not convincing enough. Sahil Joshi, 20,       and eventually jobs, hugely frustrating      things in common that Lorenzo, Sahil          equally important, be they career, or non-
     world, from a cultural, economic and        companies can direct to those roles, but        a law student at the University of Durham     and un-rewarding. Will agrees, claiming      and Will cited when asked what the big-       career related. Will and Lorenzo cited a
professional point of view. The oldest           also because the crisis has hit everyone,       but originally from Singapore, believes       that the happy middle of finding some-       gest challenge has been for them dur-         similar debacle when it came to their col-
GenZers turned only 23 in 2020 and have          laying off many experienced employees           that even if the market were to somehow       thing that is interesting while also being   ing the pandemic is the difficulty in cre-    lege experience, which many GenZers
already shown the promise that they hold         who are now far more willing to accept          recover, there is not an efficient enough     useful on a CV is increasingly hard to       ating a community. “At university, I was      have lost or at least had damaged. Once
to dictate the direction our world is go-        those same entry level salaries. “It’s tough    structure to allow GenZers to success-        find. And, even if that perfect internship   looking forward to meeting new people         again, a difficulty that may seem marginal
ing to take. However, it is undeniable that      for us, you know”, Will said when I spoke       fully return to internships. He had held      was found, the prospect of holding it        and creating connections, learning and        or unimportant, but which in the eyes of
this generation has faced a world that is        to him, “because if I were in the position      an internship before Covid, but the ar-       online is not appealing, to say the least,   growing with them, and Covid posed a          GenZers is a critical part of their day-to-
uncertain, confusing and certainly more          of a recruiter, and was asked whether I         rival of the pandemic has made find-          given, in his opinion, that “virtual meet-   huge challenge in that sense”, Lorenzo        day routine.
difficult to navigate than any genera-           would take someone with 10 or 20 years          ing adequate opportunities significantly      ings are never going to be a replacement     said. Sahil emphasized this concept, by          Faced with all these problems, what
tions prior. At the same time, the general       of experience in a given field against          harder. The lack of centralization in terms   for the original way we interact”.           claiming that he, as a strong believer in     reverberated strongest when speaking to
sentiment has been that GenZers have             someone who has no experience at the            of places to look for internships, paired        Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is the lack    support groups and communities, and a         these three diverse GenZers, was a will-
been less dedicated and hard-working             same salary, of course I would pick the         with a seemingly uninterested attitude by     of human connection that many GenZ-          global citizen by definition, has had huge    ingness to keep pushing for their goals,
than those previous generations, and             former”. However, while Will believes that      many of the recruiters of posted available    ers lament as the most critical impact       challenges in filling the gap left by the     showing a determined resilience in the
a lot of the blame for the difficulty they       this is not a temporary storm, Lorenzo is                                                                                                  connections he had created, and was           face of adversity. All three mentioned
have faced has been put on the ‘victims’         adamant that by the time he graduates,                                                                                                     used to creating. However, that isola-        the need to maintain positivity, crucial
themselves.                                      in about 18 months’ time, everything is                                                                                                    tion has not just been detrimental to the     at a time where many GenZers feel like
    Lorenzo Amadei, a 21-year-old eco-           going to return to normal, citing what                                                                                                     academic and professional dreams of           they are rowing against a strong cur-
nomics student at Università Bocconi, in-        he believes to be a probable post-crisis                                                                                                   GenZers. In fact, a poll of 1600 students     rent. For Lorenzo this was critical not just
terestingly stands in line with the critics of   economic boom that would re-ignite the                                                                                                     carried out by the social learning net-       to survive now, but to be able to “con-
Gen-Z. When I asked him for one word to          market, even for entry-level positions.                                                                                                    work StuDocu between March 24th and           tinue not from where we started, but
describe GenZers, he took a while to think          It is impossible now to tell who is right.                                                                                              April 17th found that 62.4% of GenZers        where we left off” before the pandemic
before claiming they are “distracted”, too       What is for certain is that at this point in                                                                                               claimed that the isolation had worsened       hit – a critical message that pointed to
focused on losing time without a true plan       time, GenZers have been hit the hardest                                                                                                    their mental state.                           his willingness to not let the pandemic
or aim in life. For Lorenzo, previous gen-       by the pandemic when it comes to em-                                                                                                           When we spoke, Sahil reminded me,         condition the good and hard work that
erations had a game plan, while GenZers          ployment. A recent analysis of job data                                                                                                    of the importance of looking beyond just      he had undertaken up to that point. For
“do not really have that road to follow be-      carried out by the Pew Research Center                                                                                                     academics and work when it comes to           Will, the pandemic needs to be consid-
cause [they] have so many options”.              claims that this is no surprise, given that                                                                                                understanding the struggle that GenZ-         ered an opportunity for GenZers, not just
    Then, the pandemic hit, and, without         young workers disproportionately popu-                                                                                                     ers face. Prior to the pandemic, he had       because of the somewhat hidden goal
much argument, those born after 1996,            lated positions that were “particularly vul-                                                                                               set himself the seemingly trivial goal of     of proving to older generations that we,
were truly put to the test. Almost imme-         nerable to job loss”, even before the pan-                                                                                                 learning how to dunk during his time at       too, are able to achieve and succeed,
diately, employment became a massive             demic, due to being “overrepresented in                                                                                                    university, exploiting his friends and the    but also because those who will come
challenge. Will Kharfen, 20, and a sports        high-risk service sector industries”. It is                                                                                                facilities available on his college campus.   out of this crisis swinging, are going to
management major at the University of            no surprise then that data collected by                                                                                                    Needless to say, Covid put a stop to that     be clearly positioned to have success in
Massachusetts at Amherst had never               Business Insider shows that at the peak                                                                                                    goal, removing a marginal but important       the future, in a kind of “if you have braved
had an internship prior to Covid-19, cit-        of unemployment, around April 2020, the                                                                                                    part of Sahil’s daily routine. He respond-    this, you are ready for anything” mindset.
ing the tight professional field available in    two most unemployed age groups were                                                                                                        ed like most did during the pandemic; by      What certainly holds, is that every gen-
his interests. Needless to say, the crisis       16-19 and 20-24, with the former hit-                                                                                                      turning to a new goal: drawing. A VSCO        eration has had its defining turning point:
that hit the sports industry just compli-        ting around a 32% unemployment rate,                                                                                                       survey in April found that 88% of GenZ-       anything from world wars, major terrorist
cated matters. For Will, the problem is          and the latter topping 25%. Although                                                                                                       ers had used creative expression to help      attacks and economic crises. It is fairly
even larger than just the immediate im-          the data shows that unemployment has                                                                                                       them feel less anxious. Seeing the silver     self-evident that this is our defining mo-
pact of the pandemic. He has quickly             been steadily decreasing since then,                                                                                                       lining, Sahil claims that “Covid has given    ment and, as Will pointedly said, “once
realized that the market has become in-          GenZers still remain the age groups with                                                                                                   [him] an opportunity to internalize emo-      normality hits, what will we have shown
credibly small and saturated, particularly       the highest levels of unemployment.                                                                                                        tions to create the space to further pur-     for it?”

8   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     9
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
ECONOMIA EUROPEA

                                                                Disugualianze
                                                                generazionali
                                                  in Italia a che punto siamo?
 Gabriele Bernard
 gabriele.bernard@studbocconi.it

 L
         e parole pronunciate in Senato il                                                                                                         A questo scenario già infelice per la

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         grafici: Pietro Ducco
         mese scorso dal Presidente del                                                                                                        nostra generazione si aggiungono gli ef-
         Consiglio nel corso delle dichiara-                                                                                                   fetti della pandemia. La disoccupazione
 zioni programmatiche di Governo hanno                                                                                                         causata dall’emergenza sanitaria, infatti,
 riportato l’attenzione su un tema che                                                                                                         ha nuovamente colpito in forma maggio-
 purtroppo fatica a trovare interesse da                                                                                                       re le fasce più giovani della popolazione3.
 parte della classe dirigente: quello riguar-                                                                                                  Considerando solamente la prima onda-
 dante le disuguaglianze generazionali.                                                                                                        ta i dati istat4 indicano che da febbraio
 Disoccupazione giovanile, NEET e ri-                                                                                                          a giugno 2020 il tasso di occupazione
 schio di povertà                                                                                                                              giovanile è diminuito rispettivamente del
     Prima di analizzare i dati a riguardo                                                                                                     2,08% e del 3,48% per gli appartenenti
 occorre fare una premessa: quando si                                                                                                          alle fasce d’età 15-24 e 25-34 anni. Inol-
 parla di disuguaglianze bisogna consi-                                                                                                        tre, si nota come il calo di occupazione
 derare il fatto che quello di eguaglianza                                                                                                     causato dall’emergenza sanitaria sia sta-
 è un concetto complesso che spazia su                                                                                                         to due volte e mezzo maggiore per i lavo-
 più dimensioni, alcune delle quali diffi-                                                                                                     ratori under 34 senza una laurea.
 cilmente misurabili. Per semplicità mi                                                                                                        Il NextGenerationEU
 riferirò alle diseguaglianze analizzate da     tare un mondo ben diverso da come lo         alla media europea sono la disoccupa-                 Nell’ambito degli strumenti messi in
 una prospettiva di tipo economico, ma          trovarono le generazioni precedenti.         zione giovanile, il tasso di Neet (giovani        campo dalla Comunità Europea per favo-        tro alla scelta del nome da dare a questo   Conte II la categoria “giovani e politiche
 è fondamentale non dimenticare tutti gli          Tre buoni indicatori che ci permettono    che né studiano né lavorano) e il rischio         rire la ripresa, è presente anche il Next-    pacchetto di aiuti risiede uno scopo ben    del lavoro” prevedeva un investimento di
 altri fattori che dovrebbero essere presi in   di analizzare il problema e di comporre un   di povertà. Se già negli scorsi decenni il        GenerationEU; un fondo da 750 miliardi        preciso: guardare alle prossime genera-     solamente l’1% dei fondi. Questo ha por-
 analisi, primo fra tutti quello riguardante    quadro generale, anche vedendo come si       nostro Paese non fosse dei migliori sul           di euro al fine di sostenere gli Stati che    zioni. Purtroppo però così non è stato:     tato alla creazione di una campagna dal
 la giustizia climatica, che ci vede eredi-     posiziona il nostro Paese se confrontato     profilo delle disuguaglianze generazionali,       più sono stati colpiti dalla pandemia. Die-   nelle prime bozze elaborate dal Governo     nome “UnoNonBasta”, che nel momento
                                                                                             uno studio di Leonardo Morlino e France-                                                                                                    in cui scrivo conta quasi centomila firme
                                                                                             sco Raniolo ha sottolineato come la crisi                                                                                                   chiedendo che i fondi destinati ai giovani
                                                                                             del 2008 abbia rappresentato un fattore                                                                                                     siano pari ad almeno 20 miliardi.
                                                                                             di accelerazione di tutti e tre questi feno-                                                                                                Conclusione
                                                                                             meni, portandoci a detenere il record eu-                                                                                                      Ricapitolando, siamo il Paese Europeo
                                                                                             ropeo sia di giovani non occupati che di                                                                                                    con il più alto tasso di disoccupazione
                                                                                             NEET. Inoltre, l’indicatore relativo al rischio                                                                                             giovanile e di NEET, essendo in contem-
                                                                                             di povertà, nel periodo preso in esame                                                                                                      poranea uno dei Paesi con la spesa pen-
                                                                                             dallo studio (2003-2016), è aumentato di                                                                                                    sionistica più alta del mondo. Nonostante
                                                                                             appena un punto percentuale, ma se di-                                                                                                      ciò, nella scelta riguardante l’allocazione
                                                                                             saggregato mostra come il rischio tenda                                                                                                     di un fondo chiamato “Next Generation” si
                                                                                             a polarizzarsi soprattutto nelle due fasce                                                                                                  sceglie di destinare solamente l’1% ai gio-
                                                                                             d’età comprese tra 0-17 e 18-24 anni.                                                                                                       vani. Purtroppo, inizio a temere sempre di
                                                                                                 Questi sono dati che purtroppo stona-                                                                                                   più che i giovani più coraggiosi non siano
                                                                                             no se comparati, ad esempio, con il dato                                                                                                    tanto quelli che lasciano l’Italia per avere
                                                                                             che descrive l’entità della nostra spesa                                                                                                    una prospettiva migliore, ma piuttosto
                                                                                             pensionistica, che appare tra le più alte                                                                                                   quelli che - nonostante tutto - decidono di
                                                                                             al mondo rispetto al Pil.                                                                                                                   rimanerci; sfortunatamente questo non è
                                                                                             Gli effetti della pandemia                                                                                                                  un Paese a misura di giovane.

10   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    11
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
INTERVIEW

                                                                      Interview
                                                                       with leading
                                                                       climate
                                                                       activist
                                                                       Kehkashan
                                                                      Basu                                                                    Daniela Castro
                                                                                                                                              daniela.castro@studbocconi.it

    Kehkashan Basu, a 20-year old climate activist from               age, look at my work." There are so many instances where                that's come into the forest and when they’re hit by cyclones            Recognizing that we are not each other's enemies.
 Toronto, has been internationally recognized for her efforts         people just look at us as young people and say that, but our            such as Aila or Amphan, these communities are absolutely             That kind of negative outlook really blocks your brain from
 to further sustainable development. Her organization,                work speaks for itself.                                                 devastated, whereas if they had mangroves there it would             recognizing someone else's perspective. Every generation
 Green Hope Foundation, has been actively working to                     All that I've been able to do with Green Hope is itself proof that   have protected them. But in Hawaii, for example, mangroves           brings their own unique perspectives and experiences,
 bring sustainable education and global social innovation to          young people can bring change, just stop looking at our age.            are an invasive species, so we would not be going and                eliminating that from the discussion can be very harmful.
 marginalized communities all over the world since 2012. From            For instance, when I was twelve I was elected as global              planting mangroves over there.                                       There's good and bad in every generation.
 being named a UN Human Rights Champion to a Forbes 30                coordinator for children and youth at the UN environment                    When we talk about these initiatives we have to recognize           There are plenty of adults who are working towards a
 under 30, Basu has earned her place as one of the world’s            program. That made me the youngest person and to date the               where it’s applicable. That is why I talk so much about              sustainable world and have passed on that legacy to us as
 leading climate change activists.                                    only minor ever to hold this position. And that was a turning           localizing solutions, to drive change beyond the protests and        Gen Z. Education is a two-way street, never stop yourself from
                                                                      point because in the UN system, you'd never had someone                 slogans, and work in our own local communities through               learning. We have the experiences of our elders, the wisdom
 Tell me about how the Green Hope Foundation came to be.              that young in a position of leadership. I was surprised to              education, so that we bring positive change and not just             that they've gained. And at the same time we have the
     I'll begin five years before its start. I was seven when I saw   receive a lot of harassment from older youth who did not like           blame the government. There's a responsibility that we have          uninhibited passion of young people that we bring to the table.
 an image of a dead bird with its belly full of plastic and was       the fact that a child was in that position of leadership, but I         as global citizens.
 deeply disturbed by it. Around the same time, I attended a           kept saying that it's not about me being twelve it's about me               When we're dealing with problems such as climate change          Why do you think today's youth is, or rather should be, so
 lecture by environmentalist Robert Swan whose words really           having experience and continuing to work on the ground.                 we cannot expect to see solutions just like that. It's important     passionate about this issue?
 resonated with me. I then decided that I would do something             There are always going to be naysayers, so understanding             not think of your actions as too small or too little, it does help       It's our future, and not just our future but our present as
 for my planet. I grew up in a household where empathy and            that and recognizing that sad reality, and then having your             in the long run.                                                     well. There's so much change that's been brought about
 helping the community and the planet was normal, and I               passion help you move past that is important.                                                                                                by young people taking initiatives. But it's not just about
 thought that everyone else functioned that way as well.                                                                                      You've been involved in this for such a long time and have           our age, it's about us being empathetic global citizens. As
     Then I realized that's not the case globally, sadly. So I        You have been involved in a lot of ground-level work, as                spoken to many world leaders on this issue. How does that            citizens of the planet we have the responsibility to give back
 started my journey by planting my first tree on my eighth            opposed to protesting, I think you've spoken about how we               feel? What is the experience like?                                   to our community and give back to our planet. I think not
 birthday, which also happens to be the 5th of June, World            need to do more than just go out with a slogan. What do you                It's been very nice to get my voice heard at that level, to       just young people, but every single person, that has that
 Environment Day, so I thought that I was preordained to              think we, as individuals, can do to help the cause?                     hear what the world leaders have to say, and see how we              responsibility.
 become an eco-warrior.                                                  The first thing is recognizing your local unique challenges.         can work together to create a sustainable world. Dialogues               That is why education for sustainable development is so
      I started going to neighborhoods, shops, restaurants,           The Western world has a way of propagating one "single one              such as these are important, it's not just us talking within our     important. It's about teaching children from a young age that
 beauty salons, talking to them about moving to more                  size fits all solution." That is definitely not going to work in        bubbles but rather having multi-sectoral and cross-cultural          giving back to the community is important, protecting your
 sustainable lifestyles, talking to my fellow children about what     countries and regions that don't have the same amenities we             dialogues, and working with different sections of civil society.     planet is important, and having empathy is important. That
 they could do and undertaking ground level initiatives.              have the privilege of having.                                              I'm happy that I've been able to be a part of that, to ensure     enables you to recognize someone else's challenges as your
     When I was eleven, the UN caught hold of what I was doing           It falls back to education for sustainable development,              that young people are not just seen as young people and we are       own and work together to create a more resilient world.
 and I was invited to speak at my first UN conference. The            which ensures that we don't just pity and sympathize with               seen as people who are bringing about change through our work.
 following year in 2012, I was at the Earth Summit "Rio+20",          others, but emphasize and see what we can do in our                        The countries that we work with we have positive relations        Do you have any words for Gen Z or people your age
 which was the largest sustainable development conference             localities. For me to tell someone in another part of the world         with, it enforces the fact that the government is not the            specifically that want to start getting involved now?
 of the time, and I realized that out of 50,000 delegates, I was      to do something? That is not what we do at Green Hope. We               enemy, the older generation is not the enemy, we all need to            I would say that empathy, passion, honesty, hard work,
 one of five people who were under eighteen. I didn’t like this       never tell our communities and their members what to do, we             work together and there is good and bad everywhere. That is          and optimism play a very big role in helping you move
 and felt that everyone should be involved in such an important       work with them and they come up with the solutions, with us             another thing that is brought forth when speaking with world         forward and achieve your dreams. To bring change you
 process, especially when it deals with our future. And, on my        acting as a catalyst to bring about change.                             leaders: dispelling the myth that we have to be at war with          don't need to start a big organization, start with yourself,
 return home, I founded Green Hope Foundation.                           In different parts of the world, you have different needs            each other. We don't, we have to work together.                      start with your community. And don't do it for fame or for
                                                                      and therefore different solutions. At Green Hope, we planted                                                                                 publicity, do it because you are passionate. That is what’s
 What is your response to those who think that we are too             over 5,000 mangroves globally, one of the places being in               Many think there is a certain disconnect between Gen Z               going to bring change within your community. That would
 young to make change?                                                the Sundarbans, which is the world's largest mangrove forest            and older generations on this issue. What can we do to               be my advice for everyone, and of course, especially for
     Throughout my career I have always said "don't look at my        found in India and Bangladesh. There is a lot of urbanization           communicate more and find a middle ground?                           people of our age.

12   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     13
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
GLOBAL

 A day without
 independent media                                                                                                                     Julia Galusiakowska
                                                                                                                                       julia.galusiakowska@studbocconi.it
                                                                                                                                                                            Paolo Barone
                                                                                                                                                                            paolo.barone@studbocconi.it

 U
          pon waking up on the 10th of      be financed, the private media is likely      long-term consequences of the spread         Fund, permitting the government to call      Yet, the Polish government is still a far    progressive so that it does not hit local
          February, Poles sat staring at    to be forced to lay off employees and         of the SARS CoV-2, the legislators           the tax a solidarity fee.                    cry from the Hungarian model of media        media, only international giants. Some
          blacked-out TV screens. Instead   cut on research activities and journalistic   acknowledge the need to introduce               In fact, the Law and Justice Party        freedom. “Despite Poland and Hungary         political analysts suggest that alterations
 of their usual morning news, they gazed    operations in order to be solvent.”           emergency solutions in order to              have long been wending its way               have a common historical background,         may include an increase in the tax
 at a caption saying “This is where your        Under the act of the Finance Ministry,    minimize the impact of the pandemic,”        towards tightening their control over        (…) in Poland there is an ongoing            imposed on big-scale digital platforms.
 favorite program was supposed to be.”      any revenue from advertising - whether        Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki            broadcasters and publishers by using         debate, and the propaganda problem           Yet, strong collective resistance on the
 Wednesday of that week was meant           it be online or conventional - would be       emphasizes. In practice, faced with          the nationalized media companies to re-      is more highlighted,” stresses Agata         opposition part, unhampered by minor
 to be a simulation of a world without      subject to a tax with a rate ranging from     growing discontent, the authorities have     polonize the entire media sector. Recent     Jaszczura.                                   concessions of the United Right, is
 independent media - the scenario slowly    2 to 15%. The exact tax value depends         been bandying new excuses around.            years have seen the government-                  Ahead of the protest, in an open         looming over Poland.
 knocking at the door of the Polish         on the size of the revenue, the type of       The levy would allow the government          controlled outlets taking a particularly     letter to the government, the private           Although the current lay of land
 media landscape in the disguise of an      media in which the ad was published,          to collect money from digital giants,        heavy toll on the private companies.         sector of Polish media publicly              does not seem promising, there is still
 advertising tax.                           and the product advertised. In reality,       including Facebook and Google. As            The information about the government-        condemned the media tax, calling             something the Generation Z can do
     On the 10th of February, the largest   the rates are to be arbitrary: some           a matter of fact, the revenue from the       run company, PKN Orlen SA, buying            it a freedom constraint. It is simple        to alter the state of affairs. As Agata
 independent broadcasters and radio         media companies would pay higher              big corporations would amount to             Polish newspapers owned by German            extortion, states the official letter that   Jaszczura said, “Our generation can
 stations suspended news coverage           amounts than others. In this manner,          around 50–100 million PLN, while the         publisher Verlagsgruppe Passau, made         contains speculation that the advertising    basically respond to this through either
 for 24 hours, airing symbolic blacked-     although advertising tax is to be paid by     local media outlets are predicted to         big waves within the Polish society          contributions will significantly weaken      social media channels or through strikes
 out screens in a concerted protest         all publishers, the public media outlets      generate approximately 800 million           afraid of following in the footsteps of      some media agencies, liquidating the         and protests allowing us to be heard;
 against a new media tax introduced         might expect favorable treatment from         PLN (217 million dollars) per year. In the   Hungary.                                     least fortunate ones.                        this would be a similar response to what
 by the United Right, a ruling political    the Polish authorities. Moreover, as the      meanwhile, the public sector receives           Relative to Budapest, the government          In the wake of the public outcry,        happened in relation to the abortion ban
 alliance. The levy was denounced as an     levy is planned to come into force in         twice as much from the taxpayers, not to     in Warsaw seems not to lounge around.        government spokesman Piotr Muller            passed lately.”
 attack on independent journalism not       July 2021, instead of recovering from a       mention the expected 35% of the media        When the Hungarian Prime Minister            officially announced that a new project         Today, media pluralism constitutes
 without reason. Agata Jaszczura, the       lockdown, the media outlets will have to      tax revenue that would be allocated to       Viktor Orban was constructing a system       of the Finance Ministry is in the making.    a healthy democratic state, in which
 President of the Bocconi Polish Student    focus on eking out an existence.              the Fund for Supporting Culture and          of reliable media outlets, the Law and       Supposedly, the new draft takes into         unrestricted flow of information is to be
 Association, told us that, “due to this        The tax was forced through on the         National Heritage in the Media Area. The     Justice Party were trying their best to      account concerns raised by the existing      a requisite for a public debate underlying
 tax, while the public media is going to    pretense of COVID-19. “Given the              rest is set aside for the National Health    shun the unchecked media agencies.           proposal, all the while remaining            the concept of free society.

14   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           15
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
FINANCE

 The rise of
 micro investing                                                                                                                   Emma Velasquez Mariucci
                                                                                                                                   emma.velasquez@studbocconi.it

 How gen Zer’s financial trends have transformed finance

 A
           fter the GameStop drama in             hit by an unexpected global pandemic                             all optimistic about their financial future.    highly tech competent and great at mul-       ed before, risk averse individuals, these      780 us dollars. Not everyone can afford
           February, it became even clearer       that has affected every aspect of human                          Below, a table from a Morningstar study         titasking. A survey conducted by the fi-      apps allow them to invest small amounts        to buy a share of Tesla stock. But, by
           that working from home, stimu-         life. Although generation Z might be per-                        shows the anticipated retirement age at         nancial services company Morningstar to       of their money, and if the investment          investing say $10, a micro-investor can
 lus checks and higher personal savings           ceived as the least affected generation by                       which the 91% of the 1,100 surveyed             around 1,100 US respondents aged be-          goes bad, the losses are minimal. These        acquire approximately 1/78th of a Tesla
 levels, as well as social media platforms        Covid-19, a Pew Research Center study                            believed they would do so.                      tween 18 and 25 concluded that, overall,      apps let consumers bypass the usual            share. Although the stock market pro-
 like Reddit, have accelerated the boom           released in March 2020, found that 50%                               And since they have shown a clear           these respondents believed they had a         brokerage account minimum, which               hibits fractional investing, micro-investing
 in trading. At the same time, Generation         of those ages 18 to 23 reported that they                        interest in having financial stability in       “moderate amount of financial knowl-          eliminates the previously expensive bar-       apps will typically buy the entire share
 Z who is said to be on track to overtake         or someone in their household lost a job                         the long run, this is where micro invest-       edge”. The same study also showed that        rier to entry. What was once considered        and then split it into fractions for users.
 Millennials in income by 2031- is enter-         or took a pay cut due to the pandemic.                           ing and the rise of investing technology        35% of respondents considered them-           an activity reserved for wealthy adults is         Additionally, the benefits of not putting
 ing a very different trading environment         They were the highest compared to mil-                           come to play. Often referred to as “Spare       selves investors, and 57% were inter-         now changing.                                  all your eggs in one basket have shown
 compared to its predecessors. Even if            lennials (40%), gen Xers (36%) and Baby                          change” investment apps, these apps             ested in investing. A new financial era is        But how is the financial market exactly    their effectiveness. On top of allowing
 they are just starting to explore the mar-       Boomers (25%). With this information in                          are extremely useful to beginner inves-         on its way, and businesses and investors      changing?                                      you diversify your portfolio, these apps
 ket through what is known as Micro In-           mind, one might think that gen Z would                           tors or college students who have limited       need to start adjusting their strategies to       The first obvious observation is that,     also encourage consistent investing.
 vesting, it is fundamental to look at their      be quite pessimistic when it comes to                            income. Since Generation Z individuals          accommodate the 2.5 billion generation,       since micro investing has eliminated the       Time is one of the most important as-
 financial and economic trends and deci-          their financial future. But, once again,                         have shown to be risk averse, yet at the        coming soon, maybe as soon as in 10           expensive entry barrier, the market has        sets an investor can have. Investors can
 sions to further understand why micro            they have proven this wrong. These past                          same time understand the benefits of            years.                                        now become more accessible and di-             largely benefit from the power of com-
 investing has become so popular.                 experiences, although they have affected                         investing, they have expressed their ex-            So, how do they carry out their fi-       verse. Traditional investing platforms im-     pounding interest, and online investment
     Born between 1995 and 2005, gen-             them severely, have also taught them the                         pectations to the financial world. And, in      nances? A study conducted by Bank             pose certain conditions on the user, such      platforms that automate small invest-
 eration Z has been shaped by both the            necessary lessons for them to be more                            return, they have been heard. Taking into       of America also showed that close to 1        as establishing a minimum amount for           ments can help instill the investing habit.
 Great Recession and the coronavirus              conscious about finance. This has made                           account that they have never known life         in 3 Gen Z would trust a robot to make        a deposit. Lower income individuals, or        Once the investing routine is established,
 pandemic. Although a more complete               them more practical with their money.                            without Google, Generation Z is known           their financial decisions. In addition, the   people with irregular incomes who could        and you realize how much you were able
 picture of Gen Z’s financial preferences             Despite the current and past econom-                         as the online generation. Having all of         same study carried out by Morningstar         not put together a certain amount of mon-      to invest with small amounts, you want
 is not fully developed yet, due to the fact      ic uncertainties, this generation is over-                       this information around, they tend to be        confirmed that out of the 1,100 Gen Zers      ey at a time were usually excluded. Now,       to start investing more. On top of that,
 that most of them are just in college, re-                                                                                                                        surveyed, every single one said they use      micro investing platforms allow users to       micro investing can play a role in spread-
 cent studies have been showing some in-                                                                                                                           at least one financial app. So, it is now     build their savings without worrying about     ing financial education among young
 teresting patterns. In order to understand                                                                                                                        clear that by taking advantage of the new     raising large amounts. The times where         people because it is a way to approach
 how this generation carries out their fi-                                                                                                                         digital platforms, Gen Z’s have been or       investing in the stock market was almost       the ‘world if investments’.
 nances, it is important to understand                                                                                                                             could be using micro-investing apps to        entirely confined to privileged, wealthy in-       But, is micro investing enough to meet
 their background. While they did not go                                                                                                                           save and invest money in small amounts.       dividuals is coming to an end.                 retirement goals? With today’s interest
 through the 2008 Great Recession as                                                                                                                                   Micro investing has become very ap-           The second observation is that micro       rates and expensive stock prices, a goal
 adults, they saw their parents’ struggle.                                                                                                                         pealing to Gen Zers because they have,        investing platforms offer easy and profit-     like retirement is going to require more
 During their early childhood and mid-                                                                                                                             as stated before, a remarkable drive to       able investment to users who lack knowl-       than spare change. Micro investing apps
 teenage years, they experienced one of                                                                                                                            think long-term. Recent innovations in        edge of financial markets. In addition to      can create a false sense of security about
 the most severe economic recessions.                                                                                                                              micro-investing technology could be           the ‘spare change’ facility that these plat-   what they can realistically achieve. In-
 This is when the idea of savings and the                                                                                                                          thought of as the catalyst that democra-      forms offer, these small amounts can also      vesting small amounts of money through
 perception of the volatility of the stock                                                                                                                         tized the global financial system. Thanks     be used to purchase fractions of shares.       apps should not be a substitute for con-
 market was first introduced to them.                                                                                                                              to the expansion of democratized invest-      Investors don’t need big amounts to pur-       tributing to an individual retirement ac-
     And now that they are entering the                                                                                                                            ing, this generation is being introduced      chase the whole share of a company.            count, it should be a supplement. Pas-
 ‘real’ world, either by starting university or                                                                                                                    to an easier, safer, simpler and more ac-     Take for example a Tesla stock. As of          sive micro-investing, while simple and
 entering the job market, they have been          Data and table courtesy of Stan Treger and Courey Gruszauskas (Morningstar, May 2020)                            cessible market. Since they are, as stat-     February 19, 2021, it is now at around         convenient, can only take you so far.

16   traileoni                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 traileoni
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           17
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION YEAR 24 ISSUE 94, MARCH 2021 INITIATIVE FINANCED BY UNIVERSITÀ BOCCONI
You can also read