Latest news with #GenerationAlpha
IOL News
12 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Generation Alpha: Inheriting property or inequality?
Will Generation Alpha be able to break into the formal property market or will their property future be the informal one? Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers June marks the beginning of Youth Month in South Africa and also marks almost 50 years since the Soweto Uprising of 1976. It honours the role of youth in the fight against apartheid and it also serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by young people today and their potential for future contribution. As the youngest cohort of youth in our country – Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) – come of age, almost half a century post-1976, experts say South Africa's property sector should be bracing for a generational shift not seen before considering tech fluency, social awareness and shifting values. However, given the South African context, how much better off will this generation be than those of 1976, many of whom could be Gen Alpha's grandparents? And, in a nation still confronting its structural inequalities, how will it play out when this generation – the oldest of whom is now 15 – make it to adulthood and want to enter the property market? Nomfundo Molemohi, uMaStandi portfolio manager: Eastern and Western Cape, painting a bleak yet realistic picture: 'With so many young people unemployed, poverty rising and the cost of housing out of reach, it's hard to see how this generation, especially our black children, will become homeowners. 'They dream of owning land and building a future, but the road is heavy with obstacles. Even those who are lucky to have family homes often can't afford the legal costs to transfer it into their names or don't know how to take ownership. 'This Generation Alpha is carrying the weight of South Africa's past and present struggles and for some, the hope of a better life may lie beyond our borders.' Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 1976 to today Post-apartheid South Africa has seen an increase in property ownership for black South Africans, a significant shift from the discriminatory practices of the past where black people had severely restricted property rights. The government has also implemented land reform initiatives to address the historical injustices of land dispossession under apartheid. Despite some progress however, the legacy of apartheid continues to shape property ownership patterns. Inequality persists, and many black South Africans still face challenges in accessing land and property ownership. Affordability issues 'It will certainly be a generation that feels the affect of declining housing affordability,' says property economist, Associate Professor Francois Viruly of UCT, speaking to Independent Media property journalist Given Majola. Even as interest rates ease slightly, property prices remain out of reach for many, especially in urban centres where the cost of living is rising and wages are stagnant. Unemployment among youth aged 15 to 34 (Gen Z and a portion of Millennials) remains high – 46.1% in Q1 2025, according to Stats SA – squeezing the dream of homeownership further out of reach. This means that nearly half of South Africa's young people are unemployed. 'We should be concerned about high youth unemployment. It would also obviously dampen the possibilities of investment in property,' says Viruly. Yet, he believes Gen Alpha may grow up more aware of the importance of property – particularly in communities where ownership has now become possible. 'Increasingly the opportunities associated with property ownership would be discussed around the dinner table – especially in the townships. This is also a generation that will benefit from property inheritance through the legal transfer of properties.' Government and NGOs have been hard at work to try sort out the title-deed issues plaguing many township households who do not have valid title deeds in effect killing the hopes of using the property as an asset. It remains one of the bigger barriers to asset wealth in the country. Inherited wealth According to new research by Rebecca Simson and Mina Mahmoudzadeh (2024), the racial wealth divide in South Africa remains stark, despite some progress. Using probate records, the researchers found that 45% of white South African adults own inheritable wealth of at least R250 000. Among black adults, that figure drops to just 3%. Their findings also show that black South Africans who do leave estates tend to be concentrated in former townships and homelands – suggesting that this emerging black middle class owns property acquired only after apartheid, with limited access to historically white-owned assets or areas of high capital appreciation. The study states that while black South Africans are increasingly formal property owners, structural inequality, localised appreciation and contested inheritance processes are slowing intergenerational wealth accumulation. Success in Gen A era For Gen Alpha, traditional success markers such as stable jobs, financial security, homeownership are being redefined. Flexibility, community and digital integration now sit alongside asset ownership. Vusi Vokwana, the founder of Kasi Catalyst, which helps drive and facilitate outside big investment in the townships, believes Gen A 'will reshape SA's property landscape, being the offspring of the 'quiet quitters', the rockstars who coined the phrase, 'daily work is giving slavery''. 'What they will show us is patience doesn't solve systemic discrimination and generational exclusion, our norms don't apply to them. If they're anything like Gen Z, they will show us flames while affecting real change.' The future of housing According to Christian Hamann, a researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory, the only way to bridge historical divides in property access is through localised integration. In an article in The Conversation he says: 'Opportunities for racial and socio-economic integration can only be created on a very local level if a diversity of housing options is provided in neighbourhoods.' In practice, this means designing new developments that accommodate a range of income levels – pairing upmarket townhouses with more affordable apartments and social housing. 'There should be upmarket townhouses alongside more affordable flats and social housing developments,' Hamann told The Conversation. Split market, split future The divide is growing clearer: while some Gen Alphas may inherit homes and capital, many others will be priced out or forced to rent long-term. Experts say that wealthier Gen Alphas of all races will leverage family wealth to buy homes in secure, eco-conscious estates while lower- and middle-income Gen Alphas will fuel a growing rental sector and build-to-rent developments, unable to cross the ownership threshold.
Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
A guide to ‘terminally online' slang: 5 terms that define Gen Zs, Alphas
An oversized hat worn by Zendaya on the red carpet in 2014 is emblematic of the irony-laden and unserious language of the "terminally online" youth. PHOTO: AFP SINGAPORE – 'Money printer go brrr.' 'Zendaya spelled backwards is hat.' 'This meme is an infohazard.' If none of that made sense to you, you are experiencing the linguistic equivalent of cultural whiplash. (But do not worry, t he sentences above will be demystified in this story. ) An ever-widening divide is playing out in how different generations use an increasingly fragmented internet and discuss daily life. Digital natives Generation Alpha – born after 2010, weaned on a diet of iPads and often raised by digital natives themselves – are introducing a new lexicon, such as 'skibidi' and 'rizz', inspired by internet influencers. Gen Zs – aged 13 to 28 and raised on TikTok or Reddit – are beginning to enter the workplace and stake their claim with phrases such as 'slay' and 'cringecore'. Meanwhile, millennials – aged 29 to 44, and who grew up in that awkward space between the Walkman audio player and the first iPod – are using parlance like 'lit', 'HODL' and 'negging'. Nowhere is this divide clearer than in the use of language. On the local HardwareZone forum – where a sizeable chunk of users have accounts created before 2015 and are often older millennials and Gen Xs in their 40s and 50s – conversations carry distinctly local cadences: '9 to 5 everyday pcw on EDMW and jjww about gahmen and angry boomers.' Translation: 'Spending my office hours complaining about the government and old people.' On the other side of the generational divide is SGExams, a 280,000-strong Reddit forum dominated by students and young adults (mostly in their 20s and younger) discussing their exam stress and relationship angst. Here, users speak in globally sourced and video game-inflected internet-speak. In one thread where a teenage user asks for advice about whether a crush actually likes him, a peer commenter writes, 'man catch signs challenge (impossible)' – meaning 'this guy does not get it'. These lexicon differences underscore how groups adopt words both for convenience and as a marker of belonging, to sift out insiders from outsiders. As internet culture marches on in all its diversity, here are five things you need to know so as not to get left behind. 1. Intentionally meaningless What does 'skibidi' mean? Answer: Absolutely nothing. Originating from a machinima (animated using video game graphics) YouTube series, the word has become emblematic of the lingo of Gen Alpha. The term 'Skibidi' originates from the YouTube animated series Skibidi Toilet, which has racked up over 50 million views on the platform. PHOTO: YOUTUBE And yet, the word is meaningless. It is a nonsense word used for humorous effect, to add emphasis or to confuse older generations seeking to decode it. This weaponised absurdity is central to understanding how internet culture influences language, as much of it thrives on irony so layered that 'getting it' means there is nothing to get. Take, for example, the 'Zendaya theory', a trend of TikTok videos that have amassed millions of views since 2020. These videos typically feature American actress Zendaya in a 2014 red-carpet look – where she wears an oversized hat – accompanied by sinister music and glitchy editing. Thousands of users post comments like 'Zendaya spelled backwards is hat' or 'Never seen Tom Holland and the hat in the same room', referring to the actress' reel and real-life partner, English actor Holland, and insinuating something darker. But there is no theory. After going down the rabbit hole of TikTok videos, one finds that the trend was started by a user who was so taken with the hat that he or she posted many edited videos of it – until TikTok's algorithm amplified this absurdity into a trend. Thousands joined in thereafter, creating elaborate and humorous conspiracy theories around nothing. Once you grasp 'sh**posting' – deliberately absurd or provocative humour – you understand that much of internet culture is social play disguised as communication. In other words, the virtual equivalent of an inside joke, but on a massive scale. Such weaponised irony is commonplace online. There is the 470,000-strong Reddit community Never Broke A Bone (its calling card is: 'From Have you ever broken a bone? No? Then this is the place for you') for people to discuss their superiority to those with weak bones. Other examples include live-streaming platform Twitch's worship of 'Big Chungus' – featuring a chunky, photoshopped version of cartoon character Bugs Bunny – for no discernible reason. And there is the nonsensical and artificial intelligence-generated 'Italian brain rot', a series of absurd memes involving characters with pseudo-Italian names, currently trending on TikTok. Mr Amirul Hakim, 28, who works in tertiary education, says that part of the joy stem s from watching these memes develop and get remixed endlessly across contexts. 'I think it's hilarious, I love them, and I don't blame anyone young or old for not getting it because it's a symptom of being chronically online. 'Not only is it intentionally meaningless, but there is (also) a sort of 'planned obsolescence' of it, in the way that it's meant to expire. If you reference it late, you'd be 'unc' (short form for uncle, meaning old or out of touch) or 'washed up',' he adds, noting that by the time such slang reaches Facebook and Instagram, its popularity is nearing its tail-end. 2. Making sense of disillusionment Some communities take this embrace of satire a step further, using it as a response to disillusionment with society. For example, 'Do you have diamond hands or lettuce hands?' is not about grip strength. It is about whether you can hold on to investments through volatility or tend to sell at the first sign of trouble. Meanwhile, 'money printer go brrr' is a mockery of most central banks' monetary policies, and 'HODL' (originally a typo of hold) is a rallying cry for cryptocurrency and retail investors to 'Hold On for Dear Life' to their assets amid signs of turmoil. Such vocabulary is commonplace on Twitter accounts run by cryptocurrency enthusiasts and on the Reddit forum Wallstreetbets. 'Instead of speaking about the fundamentals of a stock or its price-earning ratio, we talk about 'pumpamentals',' says Dr Andrew Bailey, a professor of philosophy at Yale-NUS College, referring to the hype that can lead to a token's rapid growth in value. 'Many people feel that the world of finance isn't working to their benefit, it's just a scam, so I'm gonna scam it to my benefit,' he adds. 'It's a total rejection of business school-style thinking and that facade of seriousness.' Dr Bailey believes that this language of 'financial nihilism' prevalent in online finance communities – typically dominated by millennials – reflects deeply held frustrations. When traditional financial systems feel rigged against ordinary people, online communities create counter-languages to mock establishment expertise. Among enthusiasts of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, 'money printer go brrr' is the signature phrase that ends many pro-crypto online screeds about the failures of the modern economy. The implication is that bitcoin is the solution for every social ill, notes Dr Bailey. Such language has real-world consequences. At the height of its popularity in 2021, Wallstreetbets made headlines for coordinating a mass purchase of GameStop stock to spite hedge funds and short sellers. PHOTO: WALLSTREETBETS Wallstreetbets, a 13 million-strong subreddit community for 'making money and being amused while doing it', galvanised members to buy massive amounts of shares in American retailer GameStop in 2021. This drove the price from around US$20 to US$400 , in order to spite hedge funds which had 'shorted' (betting the share price would fall) the stock. Meanwhile, in Singapore, crypto-related scams accounted for nearly 25 per cent of the $1.1 billion lost to scams in 2024. This nihilist world view extends to internet subcultures beyond crypto. Incels, short for involuntarily celibate, have also formed a distinct vocabulary based on disillusionment that seeks to make sense of one's isolation from and frustration with society. According to incels, being 'redpilled' means waking up to the 'truth' that feminism has ruined society. Such thinking is now embraced by the manosphere, a collection of misogynistic online forums and communities. Other examples include the '80/20 rule' (the belief that 80 per cent of women go after only 20 per cent of men), 'mogging' (dominating someone, typically using one's appearance or social status) and 'negging' (using subtle insults to undermine someone's confidence). Collectively, these terms imply that society is hierarchical and that immutable traits, such as one's appearance, determine one's place forever in the pecking order. 3. Parasocial relations This quest for social connection also explains another subset of internet-born vocabulary. Internet researchers use the term 'parasocial relationships' to describe one-sided relationships , where a person develops a strong connection with a public figure, such as a celebrity or musician, who does not know him or her personally. Stan Twitter, a dedicated online community within the social media platform, epitomises this. To 'stan' someone means to be his or her obsessive fan. The term was first popularised by a 2000 song by American rapper Eminem about an obsessive fan named Stan. Fans on Stan Twitter have embraced a competitive validation culture with terms like 'flop era' (when an artiste's popularity declines), 'ratio' (when critical replies get more engagement than the original post) and 'bias' ( refers to one's favourite member of a music group ). Korean terms such as 'maknae' and 'oppa' – meaning the youngest member and big brother respectively – have also entered the popular lexicon. Stans avidly track their favourite artistes' album sales, music chart performances and red-carpet looks – as if doing live sports commentary. 'I feel like it started from people deciding that extreme devotion is the best way to show your love for a celebrity,' says 18-year-old Singaporean student Alleyah, who declines to share her last name. The devout fan of K-pop girl group Loona – who used to post 'fancams' (fan videos of a particular artiste) and get into arguments online defending the band – believes it stems from finding comfort and solidarity from a shared love of a celebrity, which places the idealised object of affection on a pedestal. 'The idea nowadays is that you have to be a dedicated fan and show it, otherwise you're fake,' she ad ds. 'I felt that way too, that I needed to be invested in Loona's whole life to show everyone I was a true fan. I was convinced it was flattering.' The rise of video-streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch adds an interactive twist to parasocial relationships. Here, popular American content creators like MrBeast have created communities of mostly Gen Z- and Gen Alpha-aged internet users built around their personalities and numbering in the hundreds of millions. 'Fanum tax': the phrase meaning stealing food from a friend began as a recurring inside joke by American live streamer Kai Cenat and his friends, before it was adopted as generational lingo. PHOTO: KNOW YOUR MEME For American live streamer Kai Cenat, broadcasting his daily life has turned everyday occurrences and inside jokes into generational lingo. He is credited with popularising the terms 'rizz' (charisma), 'gyatt' (as in gyatt damn) and 'fanum tax' among Gen Zs and Gen Alphas. Fanum tax refers to a friend playfully stealing food, inspired by a fellow live streamer with the habit of helping himself to Cenat's food during his live streams. Part of the power of live-streaming culture is how viewers do not just spend hours passively watching. They chat, participate in polls and sometimes even send money to their favourite streamer. This engenders a relationship that live-streaming enthusiasts describe as being 'one step closer' than your typical celebrity-fan relationship. 'People forget these are human beings and mostly adults with lives of their own outside the persona they show,' says Alleyah. 'I've lost count of the numbe r of times I've seen people get into online feuds over their favourite streamers and try to imitate their behaviour.' 4. Myths for a digital age Collaborative storytelling and meaning-making form the core of what makes the internet special. Part of this stems from the structure of the internet, which embraces modes of content that are quick-firing, easy to remix and allow for endless copy and pasting. From the earliest text-based forums to the popular TikTok dance trends of today, small inside jokes can take on mythical quality among those in the know. Nowhere is this more apparent than creepypastas, a term used to describe horror-related legends or stories shared across the internet, many of which appear to be real experiences, even though they are fictional. While folks of a different generation may have told their ghost stories in real life, possibly over a campfire, today's horror stories are shared in Reddit posts and TikTok videos. Consider the 'smile dog', a 'cursed' JPEG file of a dog with an unsettling human-like smile. If you see this image, the dog haunts your dreams and drives you insane, unless you pass on the curse by sending the image to someone else, or so the story goes. Unlike traditional folklore with murky origins and established mythos, internet myths emerge from collective authorship and constant editing. 'The Backrooms' — an internet myth of a fictional and infinite office space that one can be trapped in — originated from the image board 4chan and is the subject of many creepypastas. PHOTO: 4CHAN Stories mutate as they spread, and communities decide which elements survive, often based on virality, as they evolve from memes into the digital equivalent of folklore. Popular examples include the 'Slenderman' (a supernatural figure that stalks and abducts people), 'backrooms' (fictional and infinite office spaces that one can be trapped in) and stories of the SCP Foundation (a fictional database dedicated to cataloguing paranormal phenomena and objects). When a term achieves widespread recognition outside of its origin subculture, fans of creepypasta call it 'containment breach', borrowing language from the fictional SCP Foundation. Meanwhile, the term 'infohazard' is used to denote something that poses a threat to you simply by your having knowledge of it, like the smile dog. What is novel about much of this collaborative myth-making is how it expresses modern anxieties about capitalism and technology, which seem to resonate more with digital natives than supernatural fears of previous generations. 5. The new gatekeepers Despite the internet's democratic promise and focus on collaboration, language evolution can, at times, be surprisingly hierarchical. Take, for example, Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia that, theoretically, anyone can edit. Although Wikipedia was the eighth-most-visited website in the world in April 2025, according to web analytics firm Similarweb, the reality is that only a small fraction of the site's users contribute. According to a 2020 report by the Wikimedia Foundation, 87 per cent of those who contribute to Wikimedia projects – of which English-language Wikipedia is the largest – are male. Almost half live in Europe and one-fifth in Northern America. This results in some stark inequalities in what Wikipedia considers important enough to catalogue. As at 2021, only 18 per cent of content in all Wikimedia projects are about women. There were also more Wikipedia articles written about Antarctica than most countries in Africa, according to a 2018 analysis by the Oxford Internet Institute. Popular pages such as Lady Gaga's have 'extended confirmed protection', requiring one to be an established user to edit. Meanwhile, news events trigger 'edit wars', with pages locked by established editors as they bicker over how to describe an evolving incident. While the internet may have democratised publishing, it has not eliminated gatekeeping, which exists everywhere online. Small groups of influential users, algorithmic amplification and platform dynamics often determine which terms achieve widespread adoption and which terms belong in last year's trend cycle. Incel ideology originated in niche forums where users complained of their dating troubles, but spread through popular manosphere influencers. Many terms popular among Gen Zs and Gen Alphas first originate from black and queer communities, then get popularised by popular Stan Twitter accounts such as Pop Crave. For some Gen Z internet users, Pop Crave has supplanted traditional news outlets. Ms Yi Qing, a 19-year-old waiting to enter university, first learnt about the death of Pope Francis in April on Pop Cra ve. What she loves most about it is how it provides a glimpse into how others feel about the news. 'I know articles used to have comment sections, but I feel like the culture of commenting on an article is kind of dying,' she says. 'It's nothing like being able to open 1,000 QRTs (quote retweets) and reading everyone's bite-size takes, or opening a reddit comment section and seeing all the comments.' Racing against obsolescence Perhaps the only constant in internet language and culture is change itself. Internet database Know Your Meme has catalogued more than 21,000 entries explaining internet culture today, up from just over 4,200 at the end of 2020. According to Know Your Meme, most memes catalogued in the early 2010s originated from YouTube and image-based bulletin board 4chan. By the early 2020s, that mantle was passed on to Twitter and TikTok. Part of why internet language changes so quickly stems from shifting social realities. Gen Zs and millennials in Singapore are more likely to use TikTok, Twitter and Reddit than Gen Xers and baby boomers, according to consumer intelligence firm YouGov's 2024 report on social media use. They are also more likely to get their news from social networks, instead of television, compared with older generations. 'Terms like 'chat' come from live streaming, and because live streaming is so prevalent among young people, they learn the terms and often pull them into other parts of their lives to the extent that this is useful or functional,' says Dr Patrick Williams, an associate professor and cultural sociologist at Nanyang Technological University. Not all terms are made equal though, he adds. This explains why some terms transcend the boundaries of the communities they originate from, such that some millennials and Gen Zs now incorporate 'chat' into their daily lexicon, by saying phrases such as 'chat, I'm cooked' (I'm in trouble) to their friends. 'Culture is never static,' he notes. These changes may not be discernible on a day-to-day level, but language is a key dimension of culture. Many cultural groups use slang terms to set up boundaries that distinguish insiders from outsiders. This could be young people distinguishing themselves from their 'boomer' parents who might not understand, or using terms to connect themselves to current cultural trends, causes or communities they find important. 'Language is also a key marker of identity, so the ability to understand or talk in a certain way says a lot about who you are,' Dr Williams says. 'And if you don't understand, that also identifies you in certain ways.' This is partly why you might never understand Gen Alphas, Gen Zs or millennials if you are not one yourself. Because theirs is a language rooted less in generational differences than how the internet has given rise to hyper-specific niches, unserious language and constantly shifting trends. This is the new social reality, where ghost stories are shared as memes, instead of being read in True Singapore Ghost Stories tomes. Where love of music means 'stanning' your favourite artiste and mourning him or her during his or her 'flop era'. And where millions of people bond over something as innocuous as an oversized hat. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Why smart brands are already talking to Generation Alpha
While many brands are still trying to figure out how to authentically engage with Millennials and Gen Z, Penquin, a leading brand and communications agency, is urging marketers to shift their attention to the next wave of consumers: Generation Alpha. Co-Managing Director of Penquin, Ryan Nofal,, said this digitally native generation, born from 2010 onwards, is already shaping household purchasing decisions and redefining what it means to be brand-loyal. 'Generation Alpha may still be in school, but don't underestimate their power,' says Nofal. 'They are the most tech-immersed generation we've seen. Their exposure to content, trends, and information is unprecedented and that means their influence is real, even at a young age,' he said. With access to devices from early childhood, Gen Alpha has grown up interacting with brands on YouTube, TikTok, and gaming platforms like Roblox and Fortnite. This means their expectations for content are high – and their tolerance for inauthenticity is low. 'Brands that want to stay relevant in the next five to ten years need to understand how to speak Gen Alpha's language now. They crave experiences, they value creativity, and they're incredibly brand-aware – often more than we give them credit for,' Nofal added. According to Penquin, engaging with Gen Alpha requires a future-focused approach: investing in immersive storytelling, interactive platforms, and authentic brand values that reflect their worldview. 'They've grown up watching their older siblings challenge the status quo and advocate for social issues. So Gen Alpha comes pre-programmed with a voice – and they're not afraid to use it. If brands don't start paying attention, they risk losing a generation before the race has even begun,' he said. However, with this awareness comes an important responsibility: marketing to children must be handled with care. Penquin stresses that brands should avoid exploitative tactics and instead focus on ethical, age-appropriate communication. 'Just because you can reach a young audience doesn't mean you should do it without intention and integrity. We have a responsibility as marketers to protect young minds while also engaging them. That means transparency, honesty, and respecting their developmental stage,' he said. Penquin encourages brands to take a values-led approach, prioritising education, empowerment, and positive messaging when engaging with Gen Alpha audiences. 'This generation is growing up fast, but that doesn't mean they're ready for adult messaging. Responsible marketing isn't just good ethics—it builds long-term brand trust with both the kids and their parents. Penquin encourages brands to think beyond traditional advertising and start crafting strategies that include co-creation, gamification, and digital-first content tailored for this savvy, socially-conscious audience. Generation Alpha isn't just the future – they're the now. Smart marketers won't wait for them to grow up. They'll start building relationships today,' Nofal concluded.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Why smart brands are already talking to Generation Alpha
'Generation Alpha may still be in school, but don't underestimate their power,' says Nofal. 'They are the most tech-immersed generation we've seen. Their exposure to content, trends, and information is unprecedented and that means their influence is real, even at a young age,' he said. While many brands are still trying to figure out how to authentically engage with Millennials and Gen Z, Penquin, a leading brand and communications agency, is urging marketers to shift their attention to the next wave of consumers: Generation Alpha. Co-Managing Director of Penquin, Ryan Nofal,, said this digitally native generation, born from 2010 onwards, is already shaping household purchasing decisions and redefining what it means to be brand-loyal. Influencers are constantly reinventing staples like cargo pants, baby tees, and butterfly clips, making sure the trend stays fun and updated. Picture: Freepik With access to devices from early childhood, Gen Alpha has grown up interacting with brands on YouTube, TikTok, and gaming platforms like Roblox and Fortnite. This means their expectations for content are high – and their tolerance for inauthenticity is low. 'Brands that want to stay relevant in the next five to ten years need to understand how to speak Gen Alpha's language now. They crave experiences, they value creativity, and they're incredibly brand-aware – often more than we give them credit for,' Nofal added. According to Penquin, engaging with Gen Alpha requires a future-focused approach: investing in immersive storytelling, interactive platforms, and authentic brand values that reflect their worldview. 'They've grown up watching their older siblings challenge the status quo and advocate for social issues. So Gen Alpha comes pre-programmed with a voice – and they're not afraid to use it. If brands don't start paying attention, they risk losing a generation before the race has even begun,' he said. However, with this awareness comes an important responsibility: marketing to children must be handled with care. Penquin stresses that brands should avoid exploitative tactics and instead focus on ethical, age-appropriate communication. 'Just because you can reach a young audience doesn't mean you should do it without intention and integrity. We have a responsibility as marketers to protect young minds while also engaging them. That means transparency, honesty, and respecting their developmental stage,' he said. Penquin encourages brands to take a values-led approach, prioritising education, empowerment, and positive messaging when engaging with Gen Alpha audiences. 'This generation is growing up fast, but that doesn't mean they're ready for adult messaging. Responsible marketing isn't just good ethics—it builds long-term brand trust with both the kids and their parents. Penquin encourages brands to think beyond traditional advertising and start crafting strategies that include co-creation, gamification, and digital-first content tailored for this savvy, socially-conscious audience. Generation Alpha isn't just the future – they're the now. Smart marketers won't wait for them to grow up. They'll start building relationships today,' Nofal concluded.
Newsweek
6 days ago
- General
- Newsweek
Generation Alpha Is Causing Problems for Teachers
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Short attention spans, an overdependence on technology and a lack of interest in learning are all things that Generation Alpha has been accused of having. The demographic, born between the 2010s and the mid 2020s, is entering a world of education that is radically different than their Generation Z predecessors. Hit by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as young children, Generation Alpha is going through school at a time when technology is more ubiquitous in education than ever before. And if the discourse on social media is to be believed, their journey into education has been anything but seamless, with teachers and social media creators sounding the alarm on Generation Alpha and their relationship with learning and technology. Concerns extend well beyond social media too – a report released in January 2025 from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that the reading and math skills of fourth- and eighth-grade students have declined in multiple states to below the national average. Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said in a statement after the January National Assessment of Educational Progress report was released: "These 2024 results clearly show that students are not where they need to be or where we want them to be." Newsweek spoke with teachers to find out more. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva What Difficulties Are Generation Alpha Students Experiencing At School? Newsweek spoke with Elizabeth McPherson, who is known by her handle Ms Mac on TikTok. She told Newsweek by email: "There's been a noticeable shift in student engagement and accountability. Many students today appear apathetic and disconnected from their own learning, and it's not simply a matter of motivation—it's systemic." Citing a lack of exam learning and low attendance, McPherson said: "When students learn that minimal effort still yields promotion and that they can be chronically absent without consequence, they stop seeing the value in showing up—mentally or physically." Matt Eicheldinger is a New York Times bestselling author and TikTok creator with a background in teaching. Eicheldinger told Newsweek that while the experience of students varies greatly across districts and states, there are three points that illustrate a "noticeable change in student focus and engagement in school, all in regard to Gen A," he said, when "smartphones became more commonplace, when one-to-one devices were introduced into schools, and the post Covid-19 reentry to in-person school." Eicheldinger said that smartphones becoming more common caused "major disruptions," particularly at a middle school level. "It wasn't just the fact that students tried using them during class," he said. "Students' involvement in text messaging and social media brought outside-of-school social issues into schools. It was difficult to manage all the online bullying, harassment, and anxiety, and placed a lot of the burden on classroom teachers, counselors, social workers, and administration to figure out how to handle it. This had a direct negative impact on student learning." Gabe Dannebring, a teacher and TikTok creator who has amassed more than 1 million followers, told Newsweek: "I have noticed Gen Alpha struggling to focus in school. Students are constantly stimulated by technology in their free time, so when it comes to learning, they struggle to stay focused on tasks for an extended amount of time." Dannebring also noted that "Gen Alpha is also very anxious, which causes them to struggle with communication to large audiences. Now more than ever, I see students having panic attacks when they have to present to their peers." How Is Technology Impacting Younger Generations? "Technology is impacting this generation in powerful ways—both good and bad," McPherson said. "Students have unlimited access to knowledge. That's a gift. But with that gift comes a cost: instant gratification. And that makes it hard for students to commit to learning processes that are slow, complex, or challenging." Dannebring echoed this: "Technology is impacting this generation in many ways, and not all of them are positive. Many students are so used to the instant gratification and dopamine rush from their phones that classroom learning, which is much slower and less stimulating, feels like a letdown." Eicheldinger said that when his school introduced one-to-one iPads for students, "there were clear, obvious benefits that we were so excited for," including "the ability for students to have better workflow options, clearer communication with grading for parents, having the internet as a tool to compliment other teaching resources, and all other sorts of tech we saw the potential in." A child sits on the floor in Germany on September 12, 2014. A child sits on the floor in Germany on September 12, 2014. Tobias Hase/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images But this came with a downside. "I do not think we were ready for the negative impact it would have on learning," Eicheldinger said, explaining that students were "constantly trying to play games" and there was an "inability to control impulses," adding that "we had students who physically could not stop touching their iPad, even just swiping the home screen." And students aren't having screen time only at school. "We had students who would sometimes be on a screen their entire learning day and then go home to 4-5 hours of additional recreational screen time," Eicheldinger said. Technology is in turn, impacting how students relate to traditional subjects like reading and writing. "With the way social media algorithms work, students are being fed nonstop content that's not only entertaining but also specifically tailored to their interests," Dannebring said. "That personalized experience has made traditional academic tasks, like reading and writing, feel much less engaging. "When you're used to content that's fast-paced, visually engaging, and highly personalized, a standard reading assignment just doesn't compete," Dannebring said, adding that students "are a product of their environment, and their environment is one of constant digital stimulation and dopamine rushes." McPherson said: "Many students struggle to find value in traditional subjects unless there's a direct, tangible payoff. If they can't see how reading or writing will translate into a paycheck or immediate benefit, they're often uninterested. Intrinsic motivation—the kind that keeps you learning even when something gets hard—is fading." What Needs To Change For Generation Alpha? "We need to bring back accountability," McPherson said. And beyond that? "We have to rethink the curriculum and how we deliver it. "This generation is different, so the same strategies from decades ago simply don't work anymore. We need more hands-on, student-centered learning experiences—projects, discussions, simulations, real-world applications." Eicheldinger said: "We need to teach students how to determine if a source is credible. So often, students rely on the first thing they read [or in most cases, watch] as the main source, when in reality it might be just a popular video from an individual who isn't well educated on the topic, and is instead just giving their opinion." Dannebring noted the challenges posed to education by AI. "Some students are becoming incredibly savvy with tools like AI," he said. "Many teachers don't even realize how much of their students' work is being completed 100 percent with AI. It's a challenge because while tech can be a powerful tool for learning, it's also changing the way students engage with education, and many educators are still trying to catch up." McPherson added: "It's not about abandoning tradition—it's about adapting it. We need to be willing to reimagine what school looks like. And that reimagination should start with the people who are in the classroom every day—teachers—and the people we serve—our students."
