Who Follows Generation Z? Meet Generation Alpha
Article written by Dr. Daliah
Generation Z’ers were born after 1995 and have been, since birth, conditioned to take on the weight of an internet-dependent society, with their career hopes lying in the balance of what new technology chooses when it ends one industry and opens a new one.
Yet what about the generation after the Z’s? Well, they are the Alphas.
Generation Alpha encompasses those born after 2010 to present day. Hence they are still children. But don’t underestimate their mark in this world…..the Alpha’s have already begun to take shape. Although the name alpha may not be permanently used to describe their generation, Gen Alpha is being used for now and is catching steam.
Who is Generation Alpha?
Firstly, they were born after smartphones and the internet became commonplace, hence their first toys were Mom’s or Dad’s iPhone or Droid.
They were internet celebrities before they knew it as parents blasted their pictures, including every bubble bath, poopoo diaper and first day of kindergarten all over social media. Many are more recognizable than their Baby Boomer grandparents.
Unlike their older siblings or aunts and uncles who are millennials, they were not pushed to fast food for most meals and took on a more vegetarian diet. Come to think of it, they are the only group of children who could easily recognize tofu.
Those born in the last few years may be less likely to reach for a soda than their millennial/generation X’er relative.
With COVID-induced fear causing parents to skip routine well checks, coupled with growing antivaccine sentiment, the Alpha generation may not be ubiquitously vaccinated as their other counterparts.
They may be less religious, either due to having multiple parental role models or due to COVID related restrictions on temple/church attendance.
Alpha’s have also begun to not identify themselves by gender or race. Alpha’s have many times used “restrooms” designated for any gender with ease.
Alphas are already being trained to not use pronouns and their language is becoming devoid of archaic and politically incorrect terms used by older generations.
Many alphas have multiple parental figures with the “nuclear family” evolving into having “sets” of mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings.
As COVID pandemic societal changes occur, Alphas may become the generation where home schooling is the norm. And parents would be near them all day “working” as remote employment expands and allows “work from home”.
The Twenties: Predictions for the Next Decade
Possibly in part to their computer/tablet/phone dependency, Alphas comprise apart of the myopia boom in which record numbers of children are becoming nearsighted, requiring glasses, and later contacts, Lasik or future interventions.
/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__treehugger__images__2019__04__kids_with_tablets-3fce747a97024016b5ab63f00bddce32.jpg)
Hence the alpha generation will learn they need to compete heavily for facial recognition, identity, societal value, work and family attention.
But most significantly, Alpha’s will be the generation least able to visualize their future careers, being less likely to tell mom or dad they want to become a police officer, pilot, teacher, nurse, doctor, lawyer, etc.
Alpha’s will therefore take on a “Wait-and-See” approach as they have learned that tech, automation, and COVID are changing the shape of education and many industries by the day.
If COVID-19 lockdowns give rise to a “Corona-baby boom”, this generation could be the most populous yet.
They will want jobs, better technology and an identity other than those decade-old bubbles bath photographs put on the internet years prior, however when it comes to career and housing choices, they may be less committing and more cautious and always ready for change.
So there is no doubt, Alphas will be one of the most competitive, expressive, goal-oriented, compassionate, intuitive, responsible, technically savvy generations we’ve seen yet. These are qualities of born leaders….hence the name, Alpha.
