6 ms·

I read a report recently on predictions for Generation Alpha, i.e. the generation after Generation Z (in turn the generation after the Millennial Generation) ve

by m-i-l 7y ago

I read a report recently on predictions for Generation Alpha, i.e. the generation after Generation Z (in turn the generation after the Millennial Generation) very roughly born after 2010. One of the predictions was that they would be both "digital masters" but also "the new old fashioneds" that would be looking to break away from technology more, perhaps as a result of feeling neglected by parents constantly distracted by phones. Examples cited included children placing smartphones on lists of things they wish had never been invented, and the 7 year old in Germany who got 150 people to attend a march with banners like "Play with ME, not with your phones!" Although it is too early to make any predictions that are likely to be especially accurate, and I'm not even sure how widely accepted the Generation Alpha name even is, it is none-the-less interesting from a technology perspective. And perhaps not too surprising since generations often go in cycles, rejecting parts of what defined the preceding generations.

excalibur 7y ago
Generations are supposed to be longer than 10 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation
conception 7y ago
That sounds like a good read if you can find it again. :)
deleted 7y ago
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Klinky 7y ago
No one can really even define what a Millennial is, or who falls in to Generation Y/Z. Even "who is a Boomer?", and the tropes of what a Boomer is, fail when looking at my anecdotal data. Also often activist children are heavily influenced by their activist parents. Generational classification and "analysis" is almost as bad as stereotypes.
- cabalamat 7y ago
  > Generational classification and "analysis" is almost as bad as stereotypes. Sometimes there genuinely are very big changes between generations. E.g. Brexit, which is much more widely supported by old people than young people.
- sanbor 7y ago
  Well said. Not to mention that where you where born (geographically) and what social sector makes lots of cultural differences. For example, in late 90s in Argentina my mother washed clothes by hand and didn't own any game console. As you can imagine, even if I was a teenanger during the year 2000 my culture and life experience was differrnt than a middle class American of my same age.
- ensignavenger 7y ago
  This comment is being down-voted, and I sort of understand why, as it comes off as overly abrasive. Obviously demographers use different years to define generations depending on the study. But I think the last part about stereotyping is worth discussion, even if the comment is overly abrasive. I was born in a year that traditionally was generally not considered "millennial" by demographers, but since it also did not fit with the years they used for previous generations, modern definitions tend to include my birth year as "millennial". This irritates me, because myself and most of those that I know who are my age don't fit the usual descriptions of "millennials" and we don't like the association. Now, I happen to like millennials. My wife is solidly in the millennial years. I have many friends who were born in the millennial years. But I don't like having the label applied to myself and I don't fit the descriptions at all. In the end it isn't a big deal. I have no plans to ever call myself a millennial. But it is worth cautioning against stereotyping individuals because of the year they were born, as I unfortunately see many people do.
  - planck01 7y ago
    Generations are basically agegroups that share for a part the same cultural experience, e.g. the same mass media, cartoons, educational trends, etc. Research shows that these overlaps in culture lead to several predictive trends in behavior and opinions. It's normal you don't associate personaly with every trend. Especially if you lived in some local bubble or if you are on the edge of some defined group. That doesn't matter and I would just ignore it. This isn't about any specific person.
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jvvw 7y ago
Hmm, curious as to whether there is any real evidence for this or whether its wishful thinking - not seen any among my kids (2010 and 2013) and their friends. My elder son did decide to give up screens for a month after reading an article about the idea, but that's the nearest I've seen and he is definitely back on them now, and of his friends, he's the only one apparently whose parents don't let him play Fortnite...

by m-i-l 7y ago

excalibur 7y ago

Generations are supposed to be longer than 10 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation

conception 7y ago

That sounds like a good read if you can find it again. :)

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Klinky 7y ago

No one can really even define what a Millennial is, or who falls in to Generation Y/Z. Even "who is a Boomer?", and the tropes of what a Boomer is, fail when looking at my anecdotal data. Also often activist children are heavily influenced by their activist parents. Generational classification and "analysis" is almost as bad as stereotypes.

cabalamat 7y ago
> Generational classification and "analysis" is almost as bad as stereotypes. Sometimes there genuinely are very big changes between generations. E.g. Brexit, which is much more widely supported by old people than young people.
sanbor 7y ago
Well said. Not to mention that where you where born (geographically) and what social sector makes lots of cultural differences. For example, in late 90s in Argentina my mother washed clothes by hand and didn't own any game console. As you can imagine, even if I was a teenanger during the year 2000 my culture and life experience was differrnt than a middle class American of my same age.
ensignavenger 7y ago
This comment is being down-voted, and I sort of understand why, as it comes off as overly abrasive. Obviously demographers use different years to define generations depending on the study. But I think the last part about stereotyping is worth discussion, even if the comment is overly abrasive. I was born in a year that traditionally was generally not considered "millennial" by demographers, but since it also did not fit with the years they used for previous generations, modern definitions tend to include my birth year as "millennial". This irritates me, because myself and most of those that I know who are my age don't fit the usual descriptions of "millennials" and we don't like the association. Now, I happen to like millennials. My wife is solidly in the millennial years. I have many friends who were born in the millennial years. But I don't like having the label applied to myself and I don't fit the descriptions at all. In the end it isn't a big deal. I have no plans to ever call myself a millennial. But it is worth cautioning against stereotyping individuals because of the year they were born, as I unfortunately see many people do.
- planck01 7y ago
  Generations are basically agegroups that share for a part the same cultural experience, e.g. the same mass media, cartoons, educational trends, etc. Research shows that these overlaps in culture lead to several predictive trends in behavior and opinions. It's normal you don't associate personaly with every trend. Especially if you lived in some local bubble or if you are on the edge of some defined group. That doesn't matter and I would just ignore it. This isn't about any specific person.

deleted 7y ago

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jvvw 7y ago

Hmm, curious as to whether there is any real evidence for this or whether its wishful thinking - not seen any among my kids (2010 and 2013) and their friends. My elder son did decide to give up screens for a month after reading an article about the idea, but that's the nearest I've seen and he is definitely back on them now, and of his friends, he's the only one apparently whose parents don't let him play Fortnite...