Woman, 27, Tries To 'Connect' With Gen Alpha Sister—Unprepared for Response

Newsweek

2 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A Gen Z woman's attempt to connect with her Gen Alpha sister led to a hysterical realization about how media consumption has changed.
Amelia Ritthaler (@ameliapleease), 27, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, recently asked her 13-year-old sister Sophie—based in San Diego—what was trending on the Disney Channel. Instead of sharing a favorite show, Sophie replied that she doesn't watch plot-based media at all. Ritthaler's account of the conversation quickly resonated on TikTok, where it garnered 1.3 million views and 207,000 likes.
"I'm always thinking about how much we compare millennials and Gen Z to one another but I never see anyone discussing the newest generation and having a younger sister who is 13 years younger than me I'm always amazed by how different the media of her childhood was from mine," Ritthaler told Newsweek.
Reflecting on their generational differences, Ritthaler said she mostly felt admiration for her younger sister, describing her as funny, clever, and self-assured.
A split image of Amelia Ritthaler sharing her amusing encounter with her Gen Alpha sister.
A split image of Amelia Ritthaler sharing her amusing encounter with her Gen Alpha sister.
@ameliapleease/@ameliapleease
Gen Z refers to people born roughly between 1997 and 2012, while Gen Alpha includes those born from around 2013 onward—making them the first generation to grow up entirely in the digital age.
She noted that Gen Alpha kids, having grown up immersed in online comment culture, are often bitingly witty and confident in ways that feel new compared to previous generations.
She admitted some confusion over her sister's obsession with watching YouTubers play Minecraft for hours—a stark contrast to her own childhood, which was dominated by the likes of High School Musical and Hannah Montana.
When Ritthaler once tried to introduce her sister to High School Musical, Sophie rolled her eyes and dismissed it as "too cheesy"—and she was only 10 at the time.
Ritthaler expressed a sense of loss over the fading influence of traditional children's programming.
She said: "Children's TV programming was so influential to who I am today, so it's weird to think this new generation isn't watching anything like what I did."
Disney Channel, once a cornerstone of children's television in the United States, is undergoing significant changes amid a broader restructuring by The Walt Disney Company.
While the channel is not shutting down entirely, Disney is scaling back its cable offerings in major markets, reflecting a shift in focus toward streaming platforms like Disney+ .
This move comes as traditional cable viewership declines and the company adapts to evolving media consumption habits.
Ritthaler believes the internet has encouraged Gen Alpha to embrace individuality in ways previous generations didn't. While fitting in was once crucial during middle school, Ritthaler observes that her sister's peers are now more focused on "being cool" within their own niche online subcultures.
"The death of monoculture is the main difference I see between generations," she explained. Unlike the past, when many kids shared the same cultural touchstones like American Idol or Wizards of Waverly Place, today's teens are scattered across different corners of the internet. "My sister says only two kids at her school consume similar content to her," Ritthaler added.
She also pointed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that two years of isolation likely pushed Gen Alpha toward finding connection and community online rather than in real life.
Despite their generational gap, Ritthaler said she bonds with her sister by asking endless questions about her interests.
Although Sophie is generally quiet, she becomes animated when talking about her favorite games or music. Ritthaler shared how her sister has taught herself how to code Minecraft mods and designs elaborate outfits for characters.
"It's crazy how creative she is if you dig past the iPad baby trope and just ask her what she likes," she said. The two also share a love of sarcasm—what Ritthaler calls their main form of connection: "We are both naturally very sarcastic so having a sarcasm off is our main way of connecting."
TikTok users responded with their own takes on Gen Alpha's relationship with media.
"My 14-year-old is the only one in our household who understood the Nutter Butter TikToks. And I'm pretty sure she is more enlightened than all of us," one user joked.
"As a middle school teacher of gen alpha, I can translate that for you. She really saying that she's too lazy to pay attention to the plot so she needs tik toks or games," another wrote.
Others chimed in to defend or explain the shift.
"My gen alpha (11) will sit down with me and mom and talk about how the Chinese labor practices of shein are bad and she refuses to shop on the app. Wants to leave the country for Europe when she turns 18," said one viewer.
Another parent wrote: "My kids are Gen Alpha and hubs and I are teachers. They do not watch YouTube, have very limited iPad access, and we do enforce 'plot based media.'"
But not everyone was optimistic. "Kids are genuinely not engaging with storytelling anymore which is about as horrifying as it sounds. One of the oldest human creative pursuits and kids are just. not doing it," lamented another.
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