Generation Alpha NO

Generation Alpha NO. 211 // THEME 02 // WEEK 35 // AUGUST 26, 2019 THEME 02 Generation Alpha GENERATIONS CULTURE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION While most of us are still talking about millennials and Gen Z (as we did some weeks ago), marketeers are already shifting their focus to the next cohort: Generation Alpha. These kids were born in the 2010s, most of them have millennials as parents and they are regarded as the first generation raised on touchscreens and digital media. It seems a bit early to proclaim the “next generation”, by most accounts Gen Z is still in school, but it is nevertheless interesting to consider how this generation would differ from Gen Z. Our observations • While the labels and exact timing differ somewhat between generational typologies, the periodization and characterization of post-war generations (in the West) is generally agreed upon: baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Gen Z. • Whether or not the next generation is already among us depends on the timeline and explanatory variables one adheres to. Those who argue that Generation Alpha was born from 2010 onwards assign about 15 years per generation (e.g. in this infographic) and seem to care less about socio- cultural and political developments as explanations of generational differences. Indeed, Australian demographer Marc McCrindle introduced the term Generation Alpha as early as in 2005, well before the first members of this generation were born. • The generational cycle, as developed by Strauss and Howe in The Fourth Turning, is not so much based on birth years, but rather on major events that define a generation (during the “formative”, childhood stages of their lives) and how generations move through different stages of life (childhood, adolescence, midlife, elderhood). Their generations are roughly 20 years apart. • Gen Z was already characterized as a generation of digital natives, but this characterization applies even more to those born after 2010. They are raised on smartphones, tablets and (voice-controlled) digital assistants and have parents (mostly millennials) whose lives are also full of digital technology. Even more so, this latest generation has (and will have) little experience with pre-digital things such as cash money, DVDs or paper tickets. • Earlier generations were marked by (international) political events (e.g. WWII, assassination of JFK, fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11). Generation Alpha has yet to experience its triggering event and this may involve ongoing climate change (a major climate disaster or high-profile international agreement) or, for instance, hegemonic shift, e.g. the shifting power balance between the U.S. and China. >> see next page THEME 02 Connecting the dots Social scientists and marketeers take great interest in 5G connectivity. All of this implies that this is the first generational typologies as subsequent generations are generation to interact with computers all the time, in supposed to develop into distinct cohorts of, for in- increasingly less explicit (directly visible) ways. They stance, citizens, voters, consumers or employees. Much will, in other words, develop a relationship of full “em- of the talk about distinct generations goes back to the bodiment” with digital systems, virtual environments post-war baby boom that resulted in a large demo- and (increasingly) autonomous devices and no longer graphic cohort moving through different stages of life make a sharp distinction between the “real” and the in the second half of the 20th century. It thus made “virtual”. Intriguingly, Generation Alpha is also the first sense to keep track of this generation and distinguish generation to be recorded digitally from birth onwards; it from its successor (Gen X) and, even more so, their in governmental records, but also on (their parents’) children (the millennials, or echo boomers). Each gen- social media channels. Already, there are several high- eration, so the theory goes, is shaped by the (global) ly successful pre-teen stars in this generation (e.g. political, cultural and technological context it experi- Ryan’s ToyReview). enced during different stages of life. Yet, generational From a geopolitical perspective, Gen Alpha is growing theories remain contested and the precise typologies up in a world where the U.S. is no longer the undis- used, their precise dating and their explanatory vari- puted global (political, military and cultural) hegemon. ables vary quite a bit between analysts. Whether or This means that they (in the West at least) are growing not it is warranted to speak of a new generation al- up in more insecure times, in which the outcomes of ready depends on the underlying theory one adheres international conflicts are quite uncertain and new to. (proxy) wars may be looming. At the same time, they When solely looking at years of birth, it makes sense will also experience a far broader palate of (pop) to define Generation Alpha as the children of millen- cultural expressions, e.g. in the form of (Asian) film, nials and to separate them from Gen Z, which consists fashion and music (cf. current attention for K-Pop) and mostly of Gen X’s kids. On the basis of Howe and social media platforms (cf. TikTok). As we noted before, Strauss’s generational cycle, one would expect the next such cultural influences may very well prove vectors of generation only to be born from 2025 onwards and (non-American, non-Western) soft power and ideology. this would coincide with a new high (comparable to On a speculative note, as societies in the West are the 1950s post-war boom), following the crisis in which becoming more diverse and increasingly polarized, this Gen Z is growing up (i.e. the Great Financial Crisis and/ new generation will experience its formative (teenage) or climate change.Regardless of these generic under- years in many different ways. Filter bubbles, in regular pinnings, it is interesting to speculate as to what could media as well as online, will also feed them with dif- set this generation apart from Gen Z and the answer ferent perspectives on national or global events (e.g. may very well lie in the technological or geopolitical in politics, technology or the environment) and this is domain. Kids born from 2010 onwards, even more than likely to lead to more divergence within this generation Gen Z, are growing up surrounded by digital technolo- as compared to earlier, somewhat more homogenous, gy (and screen-focused parents) and voice-controlled generations. digital assistants. In their teens, they will experience Implications • The lines between Gen Z and Alpha are rather blurred, but the latest cohort of youngsters is likely to embrace digital practices with even fewer scruples than Gen Z today. They will not question technology (as older generations do), but they will question the way they use technology and develop new norms (e.g. in terms of communicating online vs IRL). • Following the logic of the generational cycle, Gen Alpha shares similarities with the baby boomer generation, which grew up during the post-war high of the 1950s and developed a strong sense of idealism. However, the current zeitgeist does not much resemble a high (e.g. following the Great Financial Crisis). This could imply that we are still in the middle of a crisis (e.g. (geo-)political or climate-related) or that a true crisis is still in the making (i.e. former Trump-advisor Steve Bannon’s take on the generational cycle). By this line of reasoning, it’s difficult to see how Gen Alpha could develop into as idealistic a generation as its baby boomer ancestors and it is more likely that the true heirs to the baby boomers will only emerge as part of a major societal overhaul (e.g. a Second Deep Transition). >> see next page.

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