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The latest findings by the Australian research agency Mccrindle* suggest that today’s primary school-aged children, the eldest of whom is 12, will become the world’s largest generation when they hit adulthood in the mid 2030s. To understand what shapes them and how parents can support their children through emerging changes, we need to see the influences that shape generation Alpha children.
Generally speaking, these are children who are born between 2010 and 2025. With 2.8 million being born every week globally, they will be the largest generation in the world’s history.
The research suggests that this is the generation of “screenagers”, as technology is placed in front of them since early years as educational tools, entertainment activities and pacifiers. This early exposure to screens in the formative years leads to greater digital literacy, yet at the price of shorter attention spans and social impairment. And they will stay tech-driven well through adulthood, which will enable them to be more mobile, more global and more visual.
Sure enough, parents of this generation may not be as tech-savvy as their kids, and maybe kids even will guide their parents in certain tech aspects. However, these skills are learnable. No one of us was born with the ability to blind type, yet many of us successfully acquired it in due time.
While generation alpha kids are predicted to be more interactive and more involved in life processes, such as education, consumption and work, they will value the power of education more, with 1 in 2 predicted to have a university degree.
Does this mean that raising new generation kids requires new skills? Not at all, if we, the modern parents, understand these important things:
- Every generation faces its challenges and is apt to overcome them. There is always a degree of uncertainty that is beyond our control. To paraphrase the old saying, we cannot choose the path for our children, but we should teach them the right values that will navigate them through walking any path of life.
- There are things we can change and things we can’t. While we cannot always fully control the amount of exposure to technology at school, we may set great examples for our kids in teaching them people skills which are valuable in life and transferrable through many professions. Teaching the concepts of respect, care, empathy, forgiveness, and resilience, among others, are fully in parents’ hands.
- And finally, technology can be turned into a friend rather than an enemy. By knowing what content your child likes to consume, you are able to tap into those interests and discover great talents your child may further develop into a profession.
Final thoughts.
The “What” component of upbringing and education should not overshadowed by the “How”.
Most of us want to see kids happy, fulfilled, living the life with a purpose which is true to them. It doesn’t really matter if they decide to learn through printed books or digital devices, study virtually from home or in the classroom, buy at physical shops or online. As long as those choices feed them with valuable knowledge or skills, and help them make responsible decisions or achieve their dreams – you can rest assured you’ve set firm foundations that will guide your gen alpha child into the future.
*Mccrindle research agency, Blog articles, 2022, https://mccrindle.com.au/tag/emerging-generations/
