Barrage¹, geek culture and ACG (animation, comic and game) – behind this jargon² beats the pulse of the newest generation of youths. Born from the mid-1990s to the 2000s, this group is called Generation Z.

弹幕，极客文化和动漫游（动画，漫画和游戏）——这些行话背后隐含的是最新一代年轻人跳动的脉搏。这些上世纪90年代中期至2000年代出生的一群人，被叫做Z一代。

China Youth Daily has called them the Internet's indigenous³ residents; The Beijing News said their lifestyles seem naturally integrated with technology; and Zhang Xiaoquan, the 1995-born author of “I am Different From This World”, noted⁴ outsiders must crack their code of discourse⁵ to gain access to the complexity⁶ of their minds. Generation Z is coming to take hold of Chinese campuses, and it is expected to remake the world as we know it with new values, judgments⁷, ways of living and a fresh outlook on the world.

中国青年报》称这群人为网络原住民；《新京报》称他们的生活方式似乎与科技天生就是一体；张小权，这位《我和这个世界不一样》的95后作者，指出外界的人想要进入他们复杂的内心世界需要破解他们的话语密码。

Online indigenous

网络原住民

According to Zhang Baoyi, the head of Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, the post-1995 generation is hypersocial online. Since their childhood, their social behavior has been molded by online communities where the limitations of space, time and identity are stretched thin.

天津社会科学院研究所所长张宝义称，95后热衷网络社交。从童年开始，他们的社会行为就被网络社区所塑造。在网络社区那里，空间，时间和身份变得淡化。

“So the post-1995 generation is very adept⁸ at communicating with strangers and making friends to expand their already diverse circle of acquaintances,” said Zhang. “The drawback is that when caught in a face-to-face communication scenario⁹, they could seem awkward.”

“因此95后能非常娴熟地与陌生人聊天，交朋友，进而扩大本已多元的社交圈，”张说道。“这样子的缺点是如果换做面对面交流，他们可能会略显尴尬。”

Where the post-1980s and post-1990s generations expanded their real-world social connections via the Internet, the reverse is true for the post-1995 generation: real-life connections tend to supplement online friend groups.

80后、90后通过网络扩大现实生活的社交，95后则正好相反：现实生活中的社交是网友圈的补充。

Young paradox¹⁰

年轻的悖论

Zhang Xiaoquan, the post-1995 writer, sees his peers' double identity as the hallmark of his generation.

张小权，95后作家，将同龄人的双重身份视为他这代人的印记。

They can sometimes seem blunt and wild, but they are also sensitive enough to capture slight emotional fluctuations¹¹ like, say, in a selfie. “Post 1995-ers” might be the most plugged-in generation, but they're still capable of being overwhelmed by the loneliness, fear and sense of having missed connections caused by being a single child.

他们有时候看起来直率而不受约束，却也足够敏感到能捕捉，比如说自拍照里人的轻微情绪波动。“95后”可能是与科技结合最紧密的一代，但是作为独生子女，他们也可能会被孤独、恐惧和缺乏人际网络这些感觉吞噬。

“I think that's the paradox shaping this generation of Chinese who have opened their eyes to a world driven by a rush of technology that brings change to almost everything,” said Zhang, who is now enrolled¹² at the Beijing Film Academy.

“我想，这就是塑造这代中国人的悖论，他们看到的世界被科技的急流推动，而这股急流几乎给一切带来改变”，在北京电影学院就读的张小说道。。

Promising¹³ batch¹⁴

前途无量的一代

However, often described as capricious, bold and maverick¹⁵, the post-1995 generation is reported to be more socially responsible than their predecessors¹⁶, according to a report conducted by the Ministry¹⁷ of Education on about 7,000 college students born after 1995.

然而有报告称，尽管经常被冠以反复无常、放肆大胆、特立独行之类词汇，95后比他们之前的一代更具社会责任心。这是教育部调查了约7000名95后大学生后得出的结论。

“Naturally tech-savvy and Internet literate¹⁸, the post-1995 generation is more responsible for their online behavior and expression than post-1980s,” survey project administrator¹⁹ Wei Jinping told China Education Daily.

“95后天生精通科技与网络，他们对自己的网络言行更加负责，”该调查的项目管理员魏进平这样告诉《中国教育报》。

With various tags already attached to post 1995-ers, the rising of a new generation is bound to bring more surprises.

95后已被贴上诸多标签，这新一代的成长必将带来更多惊喜。