When I was younger, I promised myself to never become the kind of person to say “kids these days.” However, seeing the development of Gen Alpha has forced me to reconsider.
Gen Alpha, or Generation Alpha, is a term coined by Mark McCrindle, a social researcher and futurist who graduated from The University of New South Wales, and used to label the current youngest generation. Gen Alpha consists of children born from the early 2010s to the late 2020s.
Social media has had the most impact on Gen Alpha’s drastically different development. With parents allowing children to have phones in elementary school, the internet is exposing them to a wide range of content much younger than necessary. This can cause desensitization to or normalization of violent or sexual behavior, according to Dr. Willough Jenkins, inpatient director of psychiatry at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California. Additionally, brand marketing strategists have shifted their focus to children, with the knowledge that they have more brand-awareness, as explained by BBC writer Katie Bishop.
On top of that, a lack of third spaces has contributed to Gen Alpha’s unconventional childhood experiences. Third spaces are public spaces outside of the home, workplace and school, which foster social interaction and community. They include places like salons, parks and coffee shops. With a diminishing number of third places due to increases in private spaces and online interaction, public well-being is lowered as people lose access to important amenities and a safe space to connect with others, according to Jessica Finlay, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. The effects can particularly target children as they develop and learn to socialize.
Gen Alpha’s lives are almost incomprehensible to me, with their cryptic humor and obsession with skincare. Though I deeply understand the desire to be older and have those elusive responsibilities all adults seem to have, the state of Gen Alpha children makes it seem like they are not having a childhood at all. It is our responsibility, as a society, to ensure future generations have the experiences they should.
It is easy nowadays to get caught up in the lustrous products and places advertised on social media, but it is much less easy to relive the freeing and forgiving years of your childhood. You have the rest of your life to buy things, go to the mall and make TikToks. You do not have the rest of your life to roll around in dirt, eat copious amounts of candy and have fantastical adventures with friends.
Having turned 17 recently, it is daunting to think of growing up. I miss playing with my neighbors on the playground after school, watching silly cartoons and getting carried to bed after falling asleep in the car. You only get to be the age you are once, so why not make the most of it?
Saktisri Gowrishankar can be reached at [email protected].
