Generation Z is the first demographically saturated generation of digital natives whose cognitive processing, emotional regulation and social connectivity are fundamentally shaped by algorithmic recommendation architectures. Much of the legacy literature has treated adolescent screen time as a passive addiction, a pathology. Socio-technical trajectories emerging in current scenario, however, indicate an intentional paradigm shift toward deliberate digital boundary-setting, algorithmic self-defense and contextual verification. This empirical qualitative study explores the conscious usage pattern of social media in Gen Z populations in Tamil Nadu, India, among two different developmental cohorts, Gen Z Teenagers (Ages 14-17; n=36) and Gen Z Young Adults (Ages 18-24; n=36). The study details gender disaggregation (male, female, non-binary). The investigation in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli looks at three key communicative axes: message consumption, content authoring/posting and message forwarding/verification. A qualitative analysis of 72 semi-structured in-depth interviews, 8 focus group discussions, and 7-day digital reflexivity journals shows that conscious digital agency unfolds along a unique developmental continuum. Gen Z Teenagers (14-17) demonstrate strong social comparison, FOMO, and algorithmic rabbit holes, but also invent proactive defensive practices such as secondary private accounts (‘finstas’), app timer lockouts, and grayscale screen adaptations. Gen Z Young Adults (18-24), by contrast, engage in utilitarian algorithmic pruning, audience segregation, and institutional fact-checking driven by academic rigor and workplace surveillance. A gendered breakdown shows that young women across both age categories use pervasive privacy fencing to protect against gendered surveillance, while young men are more vulnerable to speculative financial schemes and hyper-masculine algorithmic content. The study has provided context specific recommendations for the educational institutions and regulatory bodies in Tamil Nadu.