A new generation of consumers is starting to emerge that will play an important role in shaping the future of consumer media and technology. Commonly referred to as “Gen Alpha”, they are the children of millennial parents, make up more than 1 of 7 people in the world, and will outnumber Baby Boomers by 2025.
Gen Alpha is raised by older parents, in smaller families, and is influencing purchasing decisions within their households. They are immersed in technology at an earlier age, are accustomed to instant information, communication, and endless choice, and will be the most globally connected generation ever. They care deeply about diversity and equality, as well as taking care of the environment.
To get a deeper understanding of Gen Alpha, we spoke with Colleen Russo Johnson (Co-Founder & Chief Scientist at The OK Company and PhD, Developmental and Child Psychology) and with Robin Li (Principal at GGV Capital and recent parent).
Progression: What are some key characteristics of Gen Alpha?
Colleen: The primary characteristic of this generation is that they are digital natives and what is interesting is that they have little distinction between real and digital play! It is also a bit terrifying because they do not fully understand the distinction between an ad and a game. Moreover, collaboration and teamwork are big for this generation of hackers who love to create things because they are growing up in a world filled with content creators, not just passive consumers. What is probably most interesting is that this generation, growing up during COVID, will not take no for an answer. They have seen the pandemic single handedly debunk the age-old dogma that change cannot happen overnight.
Progression: What are Gen Alpha’s education needs?
Colleen: In terms of education, it is important to note that just because Gen Alpha can interact with technology does not mean that they can automatically learn from it. Tech and media literacy are still very much needed. However, they are empowered to have agency from an early age — with voice control and AI, they no longer need to read or write to carry out many tasks. We also cannot deny the coordination, communication and collaboration happening in many virtual games older children interact with. Lastly, “virtual schools” have become a big talking point over the last few months and it is important to note that today’s kids will adapt more easily than adults because for them it’s far more normal than it is for adults!
Progression: What are Gen Alpha’s healthcare needs?
Colleen: And for the healthcare ecosystem too, this generation poses interesting questions. Virtual visits offer convenience, but simultaneous in-personal visits and well-child visits are critical. The core challenge will be encouraging connections, encouraging creativity, and building emotional intelligence while reducing the awful digital verbal bullying that kids are exposed to nowadays. The best way forward may be to provide parents with technologies and tools to enhance connection with their children and invest in their mental health without any stigma. And lastly the mental health implications of COVID-related changes — with Gen Alphas being forced to be cooped up — will create unique challenges as well.
Progression: How is technology affecting millennial parents and generation alpha kids?
Robin: Firstly, modern technology allows expecting parents to plan for and manage their Generation Alpha babies even before they are born! There are so many different apps to track your pre-pregnancy, and pregnancy timelines and ensure that you do not miss out even if you do not read a single book.
After birth, the baby is now born into a whole new world. There are products that allow us to track every developmental milestone of our child and share it with close friends and family. Moreover, the baby is living a truly digital life with an instagram/gmail profile built by millennial parents before the baby can walk and thousands of photos and videos documenting their entire life. At home too, there is a camera on a baby pretty much at all times — at night even with night vision and mic to hear and see the child easily.
Generation Alpha will grow up in a world where everything is so easy and on-demand with easy access to things that we could not even imagine when growing up. The weird part is how technology adept my child already is. At just 10 months old, he already can already recognize Alexa’s voice control and he moves towards it when it comes on. Not only this, but he also makes the link between the virtual world and the real world — he did not have stranger danger when his grandparents came to visit because he had seen them on FaceTime in the past.
Both Colleen and Robin’s comments help shed a lot of light on this generation. With Alphas using technology pretty much from the time they are born, making purchase decisions for their family, having financial access and literacy at a younger age than ever before, and also expected to be the richest generation, they represent a massive value creation and value capture opportunity over the next 10 years. However certain aspects of their lives may need more development than previous generations.
Gen Alpha will face a major need for EQ development
With iPads replacing coloring books and STEM-fostering toys replacing stuffed teddy bears, it is a foregone conclusion that today’s children are learning at a faster rate and are incorporating technology into all aspects of their life. In addition to smart boards, digital textbooks, online learning modules, we believe that deeply personalized, self-paced, action-based pedagogy and education with a gamified layer will be the future of education.
Simultaneously, for Gen Alpha offline/physical social interactions are being gradually replaced by digital activities (over 40% of US kids aged 8 and under have their own mobile devices!). This, combined with greater global awareness of the importance of mental health, practical skills and social competence, means Gen Alpha will face a major need for EQ development. We believe that immersive technology and virtual worlds will step in to fill this void allowing for a different, yet potentially equally deep, community setup.
Gen Alpha view healthcare as holistic wellness and preventative health
Healthcare too will see a major shift as Millennial parents start employing technologies for childcare from an early age. Health trackers with in-built assistants will be commonplace and mental health focus will be central to all healthcare services — even for children. Compared to older generations who viewed healthcare as physical health, Gen Alpha will view healthcare as holistic wellness, not just physical but mental and social wellness. Major forward steps in healthcare technology and a shift towards preventative health will be required and will be the underlying reason why Gen Alpha is expected to be the generation with the highest life expectancy — with many members living to see the 22nd century.
Gen Alpha will be early adopters of social, live streaming, voice and AR/VR commerce
It comes as no surprise then that this new generation will have a major commercial impact on the world. Yet the numbers are already staggering. Children under the age of 12 influenced $500 Billion in purchases last year in the US alone, and almost half (46%) of kids aged 16 and under in the US have direct access to an Amazon Prime account — their favorite place to spend money. Being a digital native living in an on-demand world, Gen Alpha will demand new innovations such as social, live stream, voice and AR/VR commerce.
Gen Alpha’s differences to other generations will present new and exciting opportunities in education, healthcare and commerce. To meet the requirements of Gen Alpha, many private tech startups have begun to innovate, gamify and create new products and platforms. Anything is possible for Gen Alpha and they will play an important role in shaping the future of consumer media and technology.
References:
https://velocitize.com/2020/02/24/say-hi-to-gen-alpha/
https://extremereach.com/blog/meet-gen-alpha-tiny-tech-titans-with-big-brand-influence/
https://generationalpha.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Understanding-Generation-Alpha-McCrindle.pdf
