Who is the Alpha Generation?

Welcome back everyone for my second blog post! I hope you all enjoyed my post last week about teaching teens in a social media era. Today I plan on tackling the topic of the Alpha Generation. My goal is to inform on what their characteristics are, and what we as teachers should be preparing for.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with who the Alpha Generation is, don’t fret because less than a week ago I too was still in the dark about this new generation. In a nutshell, the Alpha Generation can be described as the children born between 2010 and 2025. However, there are two key attributes that differentiate the Alpha Generation from those before, first being their early exposure to entertainment based technology. Toddlers from this generation are already comfortable operating technology that some of their grandparents still struggle with. And second, this generation is generally given more of an opinion within the family structure. In an article titled, “Move Over Gen Z, Generation Alpha is the One to Watch,” FutureCast president Jeff Fromm is quoted stating, "Kids are influencing many purchases: big expensive trips, eating out—they're included more in the conversation."

Why are these factors important to keep in mind as educators? Because we are about to encounter a new breed of learners. These students will be more comfortable using a laptop than a textbook, they will be unengaged by traditional instruction methods, and they will be expecting to have more of a say in classroom rules and instruction.

We are going to have to take a hard look at our instruction methods and reevaluate their effectiveness with this new generation, because what was entertaining to us as middle and high schoolers would feel like watching paint dry to them. So with that being said, it will be interesting to see how our teaching styles adapt with this new generation, and I am looking forward to seeing what new ideas you all think of!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for another post next week!