We are still going around and trying to understand what Generation Z looks like (young people born since 1994, in the digital era) and we have to face a new generation: Alpha or Alpha, as you like.
Although it has been the last two generations that have been referred to as 'digital natives', the truth is that are the children born from the year 2010 -the Generation Alpha'- those who can best hold this title. They do not understand the world without technology and consume and dress following the trends of their favorite youtubers and influencers.
We talk about the children of millennials, those who reached adulthood with the turn of the century. Many of their children are still in preschool, but their technological power is such that it is necessary to study them to understand what they need, how they are. Because as parents this eagerness for technology can dislocate us and, of course, worry.
Digital natives
The starting point of this new generation, 2010, is also the year in which Instagram or the iPad was born, a really symbolic date if we take into account the influence that this device and this social network already have on these small digital natives, also known as 'Touch generation', for its way of interacting with the devices.
As soon as we are surprised to see a baby who is starting to crawl and is already able to reject a text message on the smartphone because it prevents him from continuing to watch the last chapter of 'Peppa Pig'. Or to many children who with just seven years are able to create their own videos.
In Babies and more Do not use technology as an emotional pacifier: recommendations of the AAP on the correct use of ICT by childrenYour relationship with technology and your friends is just as important.
It is clear that this new generation is far ahead of the previous ones in terms of natural skills for the use of technology.
And their parents seem to be also very aware of this new reality. The study of the global communication agency Hotewire, "Understanding the Alpha generation: what do parents have to say?" reveals that:
54% of Spanish parents believe that by the time their children are 10 they will not be able to interact with them due to their high knowledge of technology.In fact, parents understand that the way in which their children relate to technology is just as natural as the relationship they have with their parents and friends, and that they value it in the same way, or even more.
According to the conclusions of the study:
One in four Spanish parents believes that their children would choose the phone, television or iPad (25.7%) before going out with friends (20%) or play with their toys (18.4%).
What apps have you conquered?
Parents say they have had to learn to understand the latest revolution in the world of social networks: 22.1% have joined Instagram to learn what their children do, followed by Facebook (21.6%) and YouTube (21.6%).
However, experts say that children no longer only communicate with each other through social networks, but use other means such as video game chats or applications that escape parental control.
These are the favorite applications among children under eight years old:
YouTube Kids It is an independent app from the general YouTube videos channel. It has exclusive content for children between 2 and 8 years. It does not allow the child to search for keywords that can hurt his sensibility or watch videos that are inappropriate for them. For two months, in addition, the protection and has more parental control: Parents can select the contents manually.
Tik Tok (formerly Musical.ly). To get an idea of its importance, it was the most downloaded app from the Apple Store during the first three months of 2018. The secret of its success: short videos where the little ones sing and dance.
And what do parents say?
According to this Hotwire study, conducted in July of this year, with a sample of 8,000 people with children between four and nine years old in different European countries (including Spain), the United States and Australia:
87% of Spanish parents believe that the technology their children use will benefit them in their future careers. A figure higher than the international average, which stands at 75 percent.
In this sense, according to this investigation, Spanish parents believe that technology will help them develop skills to succeed in the job they perform tomorrow: 58.9% of parents believe it will help them improve cognitive speed, coordination between the eye and the hand (50.4%) and the ability to solve problems (48.5%).
Ludi García, director of Hotwire Spain, adds that:
“Parents around the world are beginning to realize that their children's use of technology today will help them get the best jobs in the future. As long as the time children spend in front of the screens does not exceed the time they spend playing and playing sports. Technology cannot continue to be seen as a form of cheap entertainment, but as a tool to help them achieve a better future. ”
Children decide on technology purchases
If the results of this survey are accurate, it seems that we will not have to wait for the future adults of the Alpha Generation to be the star consumers in 2025, as the marketing experts point out.
Your decision power is already a reality:
41% of parents have considered their children in the purchase of an electronic device.So, it seems that brands that target families or adults in general, need to keep children in mind also when trying to persuade the purchase.
In addition, the introduction of these parents in social networks (if only to see what their children do) causes new users to appear with whom brands can relate, and not just children.
This video about the Alpha Generation, can broaden your perception of the subject.
The 'pester power' phenomenon
It is a reaction to that decision-making power of children, taken to the extreme. This is the name of the reaction experienced by children between 4 and 6 years old who, after being bombarded with marketing messages, are attracted to a product and ask for it to satiety.
His intention, and that of advertising companies, goes through "put on a show" that overcomes the firmness of the parents and that these, exhausted of fighting against the insistence of their son, end up buying the product you want.
So, now that the toy catalogs surround us and the Christmas ads bombard us, it is a good time to reflect on these invasive trends and decide if we are really going to let the aggressive marketing campaigns be the ones who mark the purchase decisions of our children and therefore ours.
We cannot stop their instinctive use of technology, but perhaps we can delay their incorporation so that they enjoy games and friends and, of course, a time shared with us. Because the Alpha Generation is the future but the present we can still handle it.
Photos | iStock
