Ever wondered what age group comes after Gen Z? If you have ever believed the notion that Gen Zs are the most addicted to technology, then you haven’t met Generation Alpha! This generation is expected to be the most educated, the wealthiest, and the most technologically-driven.
The term “Generation Alpha” was coined by Mark McCrindle, a social researcher, in 2005. Generation Alpha comprises of children born from 2011 to 2025. McCrindle conducted a national survey in Australia in which respondents were asked to brainstorm on potential names for the next generation. In the end, “Generation Alpha” was selected among categories like Digital Natives, Net Gen and Gen Tech because it seemed like a good fit. For instance, in a field like meteorology, scientists move to the beginning of the Greek alphabet after getting to the end of the Roman alphabet.
Unlike older generations that used technology, Gen Alpha will be immersed in technology right from birth. These kids will start using iPads and other sophisticated gadgets even before they can speak. Take, for example, Kaavia James, the daughter of Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union, who boasts of over 1.5 million followers on Instagram at the age of 2. Or other celebrity kids like Asahd Khaled, Prince Nillan, Boomer Phelps, and Dee Daylan who all have close to a million followers at less than age 5. These kids can even be considered as social media influencers, all thanks to their glass-fronted devices. While Gen Z sees social media as a tool for information and communication, Gen Alpha takes it as a way of life.
When it comes to education, learning will be mostly via visual and hands-on methods for Gen Alpha right from kindergarten to college, instead of the structured, auditory format Millennials and Gen Zs are used to. Gen Alpha kids will learn and share projects from iPads instead of hardcopy textbooks. In fact, during the heat of the COVID-19 when all schools were shut, Gen Alpha primary and secondary schools in Nigeria were in full swing, learning via Google Classroom and Google Meet.
Due to the advancement in technology and the skyrocketing cost of college, there is a huge possibility that most Gen Alphas will go for online schooling rather than the traditional formal education system that the generations before them experienced.
Generation Alpha will start interacting with technology from a young age. Instead of the traditional toys older generations are familiar with, this generation will grow up with AI-driven toys like the Congi Dinosaur Toy Bot that interacts with its owner. As advancement in technology now helps to do basically everything, ranging from household chores, cooking, shopping to driving and exercising, Gen Alpha will have the opportunity of letting their creative juices flow. This will lead to unprecedented development around the world.
Now that you know the generation that comes after Gen Z, the big question on your mind is: what comes after Gen Alpha?
The next generation will be Generation Beta, which will be the generation of kids born from 2025 to 2039. And if the nomenclature is not changed, the generations after Gen Beta will be Generation Gamma and Generation Delta.
