In the presented article the authors investigate the intergenerational differences between two generations of young people entering into their rights as full members of society. The work carries out a thorough analysis of the classics and contemporaries of the generation analysis of foreign and Russian social science. The article is well-funded and in it, in the theoretical basis of the study found lacunae associated with the lack of significant research on digital generation Z in Russia. The article deals with the features of digital behavior of representatives of Generation Z on the example of first-year students of St. Petersburg universities on such parameters as understanding responsibility, attitudes to individualism and collectivity, instrumental rationality and communication skills. Based on the results of the research conducted in 2019 and the analysis of the focus group of Generation Y representatives, the behavioral image of Generation Z has been compiled, intergenerational analogies have been made, communication characteristics and behavioral models of Generation Z have been revealed. The study of Generation Z itself was based on a questionnaire survey, the results of which were processed by means of frequency analysis using the SPSS statistical package.