In the 21st century, it is impossible to imagine human life without the use of digital technologies. Digital technologies as the most important means of human activity directly affect both the person as a whole and the structure of cognitive processes, in particular. In the modern world, a significant part of the research is devoted to the study of cognitive processes, as well as to the study of the “generation Z” phenomenon, however, the sociocultural aspect of the formation of the cognitive sphere among representatives of different cultural periods remains a poorly studied and debatable problem, which determines the relevance of this study. The purpose of the study is a theoretical analysis and an empirical study of the characteristics of the formation of personality thinking in a digital environment. The article provides a theoretical overview of the studies devoted to the study of thinking, and discusses the results of an empirical study of the processes of thinking between the representatives of the two cultural periods, which was conducted on the basis of GBOU School №2044. The study involved 80 students. The study is based on the following methods: a methodology for studying the visual-figurative thinking of the “Matrix” by J. Raven, a methodology for studying verbal and logical thinking “The identification of essential features” by S.Ya. Rubinstein, subtests of the methodology of D. Wexler, aimed at the study of thinking processes. Comparative data of the diagnostics carried out confirm that the features of the formation of thinking in the digital environment are manifested in the lack of verbal-logical thinking, low ability to generalize the material, synthesis and analysis operations, and visual-figurative thinking is the leading one. The results emphasize that the globalization of digital technology has had a serious impact on the formation of the mental processes of the individual. The scientific significance of the results is to identify the specifics of thinking processes in adolescents of the digital generation, taking into account which it is necessary to make changes in the methods of training and education. The results can be applied in the educational field; in psychological support and correction of cognitive development of personality; when developing training programs by taking into account the data obtained on subjectively significant features of the development of thinking in adolescents of generation Z.