Generation Alpha / Gen Alpha

Submission 27,935

About

Generation Alpha, sometimes shortened to Gen Alpha and referring to members colloquially as Alphas, refers to the generation born between the early 2010s and mid-2020s, directly following Generation Z. Gen Alpha is predominantly identified as the first generation of humans to exist fully in the internet age and 21st century. In memes and internet humor, they are often referred to as iPad kids and made fun of for their supposed low attention spans.

History

Generation Alpha was named as such in reference to the first letter of the Greek alphabet which symbolically identified them as the first of their kind, as in, being the first generation of humans entirely born in the 21st century with the internet in tow.^[1]^[2] Alphas are generally children of Millennial parents. "Generation Alpha" was coined by Australian social researchers Mark McCrindle and Ashley Fell in 2011.^[2]

At their start, Generation Alpha was at 2.5 million births per week, and some of them will live to see the 22nd century.^[2] They are also the first generation to have mass accessibility to screens. Australian social research company McCrindle^[2] labeled it "The great screen-age" and called their access to said screens "an unintentional global experiment." As of December 2022, the oldest of Gen Alpha is roughly 12 years old.

Online Presence

Australian social researcher Mark McCrindle first discussed Generation Alpha in 2011. In the years following, he started posting YouTube videos about the generation, like one video^[3] uploaded on February 11th, 2013, that received roughly 85,100 views in nine years (shown below, left). McCrindle also starred in TED Talks in which he'd discuss Generation Alpha. For instance, on September 23rd, 2013, a YouTube video of a McCrindle TEDx Talk was uploaded to YouTube^[4] in which he talked about Generation Alpha, earning roughly 22,700 views in nine years (shown below, right).

Mass awareness online of Generation Alpha predominantly manifested from 2019 onward with other TED Talks^[5] emerging about Gen Alpha that year. Twitter users began referencing the generation in tweets that earned viral engagement. For instance, on April 16th, 2020, Twitter^[6] user KendallRaeOnYT tweeted about Gen Alpha, earning roughly 3,200 likes in two years (shown below, left). On June 14th, 2020, Twitter^[7] user ZillySqueaks posted a similar tweet reiterating the history of generational upheaval, earning roughly 8,800 likes in two years (shown below, right).

As awareness of Generation Alpha manifested in the early 2020s, memes and internet jokes about them appeared en masse. Early viral content about Generation Alpha surfaced on TikTok more than other platforms and was predominantly made by Zoomers and Millennials who imagined scenarios and skits related to the general fear of generational upheaval and the various ways in which Alphas would criticize the two prior generations.

For instance, one of the earliest viral TikTok videos to reference Generation Alpha was uploaded on August 19th, 2020 by TikToker^[8] jesssica.le. Presumably a Zoomer, TikToker jesssica.le discussed what Gen Z internet trends Gen Alpha would cringe at similarly to how Gen-Z cringed at various Millieniel trends. Over two years, the TikTok received roughly 115,000 plays and 42,700 likes (shown below, left). On February 26th, 2022, presumably Millennial TikToker^[9] danakowalski posted a video that joked about Gen Alpha owning Gen Z in a scenario related to Cancel Culture, gaining roughly 102,700 plays and 29,100 likes in a year and a half (shown below, right).

Less reactionary content about Gen Alpha surfaced in 2021. For instance, on March 13th, 2022, TikToker^[10] engineer_dad_ posted a skit about being a Gen X dad talking to his Gen Alpha son about why he watches people play video games like Minecraft and Roblox instead of playing them himself. Over the course of a year and a half, the video received roughly 26,400 plays and 3,300 likes (shown below).

iPad Kids / iPad Babies

iPad Kid, also known as iPad Children, iPad Child or iPad Baby, is an internet slang term that refers to kids who are always on their or their parents' iPad to the point where it alters their personality and lifestyle. iPad kids are often portrayed sitting with their backs arched and their faces as close to the iPad as possible, rather than bringing the iPad to their face with their hands, as well as playing games or watching videos with loud volumes and no headphones. They are also said to have a specific raspy cough and are associated with games like Roblox and Minecraft. The term was popularized on TikTok in January 2021 and became increasingly prevalent over the course of the following years.

Cocomelon

Cocomelon (formerly ABC kidTV (2013 – 2018) and checkgate a.k.a ThatsMeOnTV.com (2006 – 2013)) is an American YouTube channel and streaming media show acquired by the British company Moonbug Entertainment and maintained by the American company Treasure Studio. Cocomelon specializes in 3D animation videos of nursery rhymes and original children's songs. As of July 2021, they are the most-viewed YouTube channel in the United States and the second most-viewed channel in the world, behind T-Series. They also are the most-subscribed children's channel in the world and the second most-subscribed channel in the world, behind T-Series. They became associated with memes about Generation Alpha in general.

Spider-Man and Elsa Videos

Spider-Man and Elsa Videos are videos on YouTube featuring people dressed as the Marvel superhero Spider-Man and the Frozen protagonist Elsa, who are often filmed engaging in various bizarre acts. The videos have gained much notoriety on YouTube, garnering considerable amounts of views, and with some speculating they are being aimed at younger audiences using manipulation of YouTube algorithms and bots to generate video views. Many discussed how the videos could affect Gen Alpha.

Me When I Was A Baby

Me When I Was A Baby, also known as Whimsical Little Creature, refers to videos of the TikTok account MaestreEnsinador1. It features videos of a flying white puppet wearing a green hat named "Tiburcio." The name translates to "master teacher" in Portuguese, with the gnome puppet being referred to as a "forest being" by the TikToker in his comment sections. The videos often show the puppet flying and twirling, sometimes doing a little dance and sometimes undertaking mysterious rituals. Maestre Ensinador went viral in the fall of 2022 after a series of duets where people showed his videos to their younger siblings and tried to convince them that the puppet was them as a baby. Many humorously speculated as to how the faked collective memories could harm Gen Alpha in the future.