Ten things you need to know about Generation Alpha

They're still kids, but not just any kids. They are being raised in an entirely different environment and they are going to live in a world facing challenges and revolutions that we have never seen before. Now, when the first of their kind are entering young adulthood, it's time we start taking them seriously. If you are a storyteller, a publicist, or an advertiser — here is a list of things you should know about Gen Alpha, in order to better communicate with them rather than about them

1. They are the children of the millennials. Strictly speaking, ‘generation Alpha’ applies to those who were born between 2010 and 2024. They are the successors of Gen Y; Anyone born between 1981 till 1996, better known as ‘millennials’. We’ve only just started getting used to that term, used to describe everything annoying about the spoiled, know-it-alls of the internet and smartphone era, those who want a workplace with a ‘chill-vibe’ that is simultaneously also ethical and working to minimize their carbon footprint — and before you know it, they’re parents themselves! What does that mean? That when a Gen X story-teller views “the younger generation” through filters of what was until recently associated with millennials — they need to calibrate. They cannot afford to communicate with today’s teenagers as if they were the parents of those teenagers. As soon as one does that, they risk being casted out as a boomer — and there’s no going back from there.
2. There’s a lot of them. Every week, 2.5 million children are born. In 2025, when the last of Gen Alpha will be born, there will be 2 billion of them, making them the biggest generation ever. It’s strange, because mankind and males specifically are becoming less and less fertile, and scientists are trying to figure out why. It may just be that Gen Alpha is the grand finale of human fertility — another unique characteristic of this emerging generation. And so, it is likely that the next generations will be significantly smaller. Btw, Gen Beta are going to be the kids born between 2025 and 2039. Yup, you heard that right.
3. They were born into the world of social media, streaming and the interconnectivity revolution. Apple’s iPhone, the first smartphone, was launched three years before they started being born, and so was Facebook. Instagram emerged just as the first Alpha kids were being born, Discord and TikTok joined a few years later. In 2011, only one year after the first Alpha’s, the average speed of the internet was already 30% faster compared to the previous year, and has since been constantly on the rise. Today, 11 years later, the internet is 27 times faster than it was in 2011 (that is if you compare the cellular data usage today, with the usage of home internet back then: cellular data is more practical and relevant in this regard). The comparison becomes more stark if you compare home usage then and now: Today, it is 49 times faster.

   These fast-pace transmissions dictate the course of our lives, and will continue to do so more extensively in the future. An example of that is the transition from TV and broadcasting channels to streaming services. It isn’t merely a semantic difference: Our cultural consumption is changing from a linear and top-down infusion, to a disrupted, on-demand, and personalized consumerism. Before Gen Alpha, we all grew up knowing one world (before the revolution of information). There were a few news broadcasters that sounded more-or-less the same, we all watched the same shows as they aired at the same time and so forth.

   Gradually, we got to know the second world in the late 90’s. Gen Alpha, though, knows only the world of insanely instant data transmissions. Everything is online, everything is connected with everything, and we’re never really disconnected. Social networks no longer serve the purpose they once served, i.e. socializing. For Gen Alpha, they are search engines, they are sources of news (and fake news), they are spaces through which body image is shaped, where eccentric becomes centric, where social demonstrations erupt and where products are boycotted. How is an audience targeted? How is efficiency measured? How must a brand campaign successfully online? how should a company process and mine mounds of mega data that is collected on each and every one of us? Everything will be different, and it already is different. Start adapting.

4. They will be the first generation to live to see the 22nd century. True, here and there will be some early birds of the 21st century that will wobble their way into the next century, aged 100 years or more. But Gen Alpha will be 75 to 90 year old lads, and chances are that they will have experienced ever-advancing age-prevention technologies, so they probably will be healthier than ever. They are the people of the next century, of the future — literally.
5. Their childhood will last longer. The expected advancements in life quality and health will affect not only their later years, but their earlier years as well. to put it simply, everything will expand. and so 24 or 25 year-olds will be considered premature, child-like. Their economic independence and establishing of a financial foundation will be more complicated, more prolonged. Of course this phenomena will seriously affect promotional concerns: How will the market be redefined? Should children of age 14 and children of age 24 be addressed in the same way?
6. They will change parenting. And that is because their childhood will run deep into their twenties. Therefore, parenting will stretch out for a much longer time. There will be aspects of parenting that the millennials, of all people, will pioneer. Millennials, who are known for their impatience and wanting to move from one stage of life to the other — they will have to take a deep breath and be more supportive and nurturing of their children, and for a longer period of time. It will be the grand summit where “C’mon, let's get this over with” meets with “Mom, Dad, even though I’m 30 years old, I’m still processing some stuff here”. The parent-child gap has existed since always and ever, but never has it been so wide.
7. They will learn more than us. Their education will be different, significantly informed by phenomenon unique to screen-life. ADHD and the accustomization to solo learning (COVID-19 played a major role in that) will become more prevalent. While these are traits that often characterize the formative years of teengaehood, for Gen Alpha, they will be indicative of their entire life.
8. They will face much bigger challenges than we are facing. From global warming through air pollution, ever-expanding desertification, energy, water and foodstuff crises, to mass migration leading to dire poverty of abandoned regions. All of this on the backdrop of a multi-empire world: the US’s decline as the single super-power in face of growing Russian aggression and Chinese economic domination. Thus, the world of Gen Alpha will be characterized by a weakening of liberal democracies and trust in government — the political programme that has been prominent in many parts of the world since the mid 19th century. We are witnessing the very beginning of this process, and it’s a wonder how this will shape the world of Gen Alpha. It is likely that they will carry a very heavy load.
9. They will be more, but also less globalized. Hopping on a plane won’t be as intuitive, or as cheap. People will be thinking twice about their carbon foot-print as well as the hassle of airports in the post covid era. They may fly less, but that won’t prevent them from being everywhere, all the time. Zoom meetings with companies overseas is just the beginning: Imagine a complex neurological surgery being conducted virtually.
10. They will be living in the Metaverse. When we see Mark Zuckerberg’s presentations, we can’t help but chuckle. It seems unbelievable and frankly quite cringe: “Ya, sure, like I’m really going to do that” we think to ourselves. But Gen Alpha won’t have that problem. They will be free of the awkwardness that we, the people of the past, carry. Those who were born into a world that is interconnected and essentially characterized by mass networks and synchronized classrooms — are much more likely to jump right into the virtual universe. Zuckerberg knows what he’s doing.