“These Children of Nowadays…”

If you’ve ever sat through a family gathering in an African household, you’ve heard that phrase. It usually precedes a complaint: “They talk back,” “They’re too sensitive,” “They don’t respect tradition,” or the classic — “They’re always on their phones.”

Welcome to the generational gap — African edition.

Across the continent and beyond, Gen Z (roughly those born between 1997 and 2012) is coming of age. They’re loud, online, globally connected, and politically aware. They’re also the generation most likely to question authority, speak up about mental health, and reject cultural norms that no longer serve them.

And yet, many African parents are stuck trying to raise them with tools they used in the 1980s.

So we ask: Are African parents truly ready for Gen Z? Or are they parenting a new world with an old map?

Who Is Gen Z in Africa, Really?

To understand the tension, we must understand the players.

African Gen Zs are hyper-digital — many grew up with smartphones, YouTube, and TikTok as their playgrounds. They are entrepreneurial — often creating side hustles in their teens. They’re global in outlook, but fiercely local in identity. They speak in memes, slang, and emojis. But more importantly, they are coming of age in a time of:

• Political unrest

• Skyrocketing youth unemployment

• Identity fluidity and mental health crises

• Digital activism and online freedom

According to a 2022 UNICEF report, African Gen Zs are also the most connected and socially engaged generation the continent has ever seen.

What African Parents Expect vs. What Gen Z Is

The expectations many African parents hold often clash with the reality of who Gen Z is. Here’s how:

• Respect: For most African parents, respect means obedience without question. For Gen Z, respect is more mutual — it means being heard and treated as an individual.

• Career Choices: Parents often expect their children to pursue traditional “safe” careers like medicine, law, engineering, or banking. Gen Z sees career as self-expression — tech, arts, digital content, and entrepreneurship are legitimate paths.

• Silence: Silence is often praised as good behavior by older generations. But for Gen Z, silence can mean suppression — they equate speaking out with emotional honesty and mental health awareness.

• Religion: Religion used to be non-negotiable in many homes — everyone prayed the same way. For Gen Z, faith is a personal journey — explored, questioned, and sometimes redefined.

• Sexuality and Gender: Conversations around sex and gender are still considered taboo in many households. For Gen Z, they are open discussions about identity, consent, and mental well-being.

• Authority: African parents often expect to be the final authority, unquestioned. Gen Z was raised on the internet — they believe authority should be accountable and earned, not automatic (Harvard).

This widening gap in values isn’t necessarily a rebellion — it’s a reflection of changing times, environments, and levels of exposure.

When Culture Collides with Communication

In traditional African homes, conversations often flow one way — from parent to child. Questioning an elder is considered disrespectful. But Gen Z grew up in comment sections, group chats, and Reddit forums. Their world thrives on dialogue.

This creates a culture clash. A 2023 Afrobarometer survey found that while 78% of African parents value obedience and discipline in youth, only 32% of Gen Z respondents saw obedience as a top value — they listed “freedom” and “self-expression” first.

It’s not disrespect. It’s generational trauma meeting emotional intelligence.

Mental Health: The Elephant in the Living Room

Gen Z is the first African generation to speak openly about mental health. Depression, anxiety, burnout — these are not foreign concepts. They’re real, lived experiences.

But in many African households, mental health is still misunderstood. It’s often dismissed as:

• Laziness

• “Spiritual attack”

• Lack of prayer

• Western nonsense

A 2024 WHO Africa report showed a 36% rise in depression and anxiety symptoms among African youth — but access to support systems remains dismal, and stigma persists.

This is where the parenting gap becomes dangerous. Emotional neglect is not tradition. It’s trauma (The Conversation).

Career Expectations: Doctor, Lawyer… or Disappointment?

“Creative ke? Is everything alright?”

This is the response many African Gen Zs hear when they express interest in pursuing art, music, gaming, or digital content. Parents, often raised on survival and structure, prefer careers with perceived stability: law, engineering, medicine, banking.

But Gen Z is rewriting the script:

• They’re earning on Upwork and TikTok

• They’re building startups from their bedrooms

• They’re coding, editing, designing, consulting — all without traditional degrees

African parents still ask for “job security.” Gen Z wants financial freedom ().

Is one wrong? No. But one is clearly outdated.

Identity, Gender, and Taboo Topics

This may be the most combustible area of difference. Gen Z is open about sexuality, gender identity, body autonomy, feminism, and more.

Topics like consent, LGBTQ+ rights, or gender roles are no longer whispered — they’re in the open. But in many African homes, these subjects are still heavily policed, mocked, or criminalized.

This creates alienation. Many Gen Zs are forced to lead double lives: traditional at home, liberated online.

Are African Parents Victims Too?

Yes.

Many African parents parent the way they were parented — with fear, discipline, silence, and shame. They weren’t allowed to feel, to speak up, or to heal. They inherited parenting as survival, not connection.

But survival is no longer enough. Connection is the new currency.

So What Can Be Done?

It’s time for a reset — not a rebellion. Here’s how African parents can evolve with Gen Z:

1. Listen First, Lecture Later

2. Validate Feelings

3. Update the Rulebook — Respect can coexist with openness

4. Allow Room for Choice — Career, faith, relationships

5. Talk About Mental Health

6. Drop the Shame Culture

7. Grow Together — Parenting is not a title. It’s a relationship

Generation Bridge, Not Battle

This isn’t a war between “woke” kids and “stubborn” elders.

This is a chance to break generational cycles — not by erasing tradition, but by evolving it. Gen Z is not disrespectful; they’re reflective. They don’t hate their parents; they just need them to understand a new world.

African parents have raised the most connected, creative, and courageous generation yet.

The question is — can they also walk beside them?