How to Talk to GenZ About COVID-19

As the United States continues to respond to the realities of COVID-19, millions of Americans have shifted their routines to reflect a new lifestyle of social distancing.

For parents, this shift has presented a unique set of challenges including balancing the distractions of working from home, helping their kids transition to online school, working to ensure the health and safety of their family, and so much more.

However, one of the most difficult aspects of this transition for many parents has been the struggle to effectively communicate the importance of staying home to their children. If you have kids who were born between the years of 1995 and 2012, this might be an especially difficult feat. Children in this age range are known as Generation Z, and they’re more socially interconnected than any other generation.

For Gen Zers, experiences are highly valued and are much more preferred than objects. The characteristics of this generation, among several others, have contributed to why Gen Zers have had such trouble accepting this transition to social isolation. With all this in mind, how can parents best encourage their stir-crazy kids to remain isolated at home during these weeks of uncertainty?

Have no fear! Here are some ideas on how to best communicate with your Gen Z kids about COVID-19, and convince them why social distancing plays such a vital role in putting an end to this pandemic.

Tip 1: Sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with them (if you’re living with them, of course). Despite Gen Z’s obsession with technology, 39 percent say that one-on-one conversations are the most effective form of communication. This may seem obvious, but taking the time to have a heart-to-heart with your kid about why social distancing is important to you could be the motivation that encourages them to stay home.

Tip 2: Appeal to their sense of social responsibility. It has been found that 90 percent of Gen Zers feel personally responsible to make a difference in society. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to explain to your children that by simply staying home, they’re protecting the millions of American’s considered at-risk from catching COVID-19. It can be difficult for children who feel fine to understand why they can’t leave the house. This concern can be addressed by explaining that when you’re young and healthy, it’s easy to be sick and not realize it. By showing children that staying home, regardless of how you feel, protects others, it will help satisfy their need to feel as though they’re making a difference. By giving them this sense of social responsibility, your child’s attitude about social isolation may quickly change.

Tip #3: Utilize social media as a resource. Although in-person communication is certainly effective, most parents are painfully familiar with Gen Z’s preferred form of communication – social media. Encouraging your kids to follow certain accounts relating to the pandemic may be a more subtle way to help keep them informed of the importance of social distancing.

For many children, social media is a more familiar channel than the news and they may be more likely to seek out important information. If you children don’t want to follow these accounts, you can use them as a resource to start the discussion. Sometimes, simply starting a discussion with your kids about what they’ve read and how they’re feeling can lead to meaningful dialogue. However, with COVID-19 dominating the news and social media, it’s hard to know where to look first for reliable and accessible information.

Thankfully, Roxo, TCU’s student ad + pr agency is providing local, accurate, and information-driven social content targeting Gen Zers. The agency’s COVID-19 social distancing social media campaign reinforces the importance of social distancing with fun tips, things to do outdoors, words of inspiration, mental health resources, and other essential information.

The campaign provides Gen Zers with national perspective with a Fort Worth community focus. Roxo utilizes its @tcuroxo Facebook and Instagram accounts to spread messages of hope and positivity during this pandemic — like sharing the good deeds that Fort Worth organizations have done so far to help the local community.

While it can feel like social distancing may never end, it’s important to have honest conversations with your kids about the value of social distancing. It’s vital now more than ever that we continue to remain indoors to flatten the pandemic’s curve. So as your Gen Z kid is itching to escape quarantine, consider turning to Roxo’s COVID-19 campaign to help provide you with tips and information that will help convince them to stay safe at home.

Emmaline Huels is a junior Strategic Communication major at Texas Christian University. She works as an Account Planner for Roxo, Texas Christian University’s student advertising and public relations agency located in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication. In her free time, Emma enjoys staying active, spending quality time with friends, and Facetiming her family back home in St. Louis.