Generation Alpha: What is it? Is it true?

A new generation has been born. “Generation Alpha” is the latest term for a clear group of people born in a particular era. I wanted to learn more about this new generation. Fortunately, Dr. Sean Lyon, one of the world’s leading authorities on generational issues, is a colleague and a good friend of mine. I asked Sean a few questions about this new generation.

How did you start studying the differences between generations?

Student in the 1990s when I was a PhD, I was in class while Bill Clinton was being fired each, and I talked about him with fellow students leadership Style and where it came from, one of them said, “Well, this is what happens when there’s a baby boomer president.” At that moment, the light bulb went off in my head and I realized that generational stories were something people are starting to use to explain the differences between people. So I started pulling through this thread and checking out things like attitudes and worldviews if there was a difference in generations. I settled on value as a core issue and I went. That was 30 years ago.

People tend to be familiar with Generation Y, Generation Z and Boomers, but there’s been a lot of talk about the new generation these days. What is it called and what is characterized?

During the baby boom, it was a demographic phenomenon. There were many people born at the same time. Generation X is named after the book Douglas Copeland. When the next generation came, lazy marketers added new letters and got Generation Y and Generation Z. I started this process deeply into the alphabet and now that I’ve exhausted the letters, I’m starting with Generation A -Alpha. It’s the pinnacle. Everyone wants to be Alpha. We will fix our hopes dream In the new generation, who wants them to solve all our problems, we are ultimately disappointed, and then we turn to the next generation to do the same. Rinse and repeat.

What is the difference between this generation?

These generations of Alpha children have not yet been hit even in adulthood. They are the oldest and 15 years old, so I don’t know if there’s anything very different about them as adults. This is the game’s change. We don’t wait any longer to see how our generation is emerging as adults. I saw what context created them and made them different from the generations that went before. It assumes that every 15 years, a new generation will arrive. I was talking to a reporter recently. The reporter asked me what I thought, saying the generation beta was coming. I think this is ridiculous. What can I say about a baby that is different from the baby born two days ago and four days ago?

That being said, we are really talking about social change when we talk about generations because we tend to change generations. You can identify many of the current trends. Individualism is one of them. This has grown for a long time. We teach children to look to themselves. The collectivism we might have during World War II gave way to the attitude of “What do you think of me?”

Technology is another big trend. Technology today is far more transformative than technology that has influenced great grandparents, like refrigerators and cars. Modern technology like artificial intelligence It will change the way we work, how we interact with each other, and how we interact with the world. These technologies change rapidly, changing the way people think and act. It’s changing the way people do teeth. So we have a generation that grew up in a world where you can’t trust your eyes. Everything you see is a place where it can be manufactured, not the real thing. They’ll do that distrust Their own senses and their own sense of reality may change.

What do you think are some of the psychological consequences associated with this generation?

Basically, the concept of generations conflicts Identity. We are trying to understand a world where our bodies and minds are changing faster than they can adapt. So we’re accumulating stress. We are not going to adapt to constant change. It will create anxiety And we see a lot of people reporting mental health issues. We see people struggling with social interactions. Loneliness of rising. suicide The idea is off the charts compared to previous generations. phone, Social Mediaall immersion in all this change becomes part of your identity. So, the research question that is important to me is how people come to identify with generations and identify other generations?

In some of your work, you question the very value of the concept of generational differences. why is that?

The word generation is a misnomer. Social generations do not match genealogy generations. We are not cicadas. Not all of us have babies at the same time, and they are not a cohort running together, making it difficult to cut generations into categories. The concept of generation is inherently flawed. Is it like asking when the waves start?

interesting. Thank you for doing this research and shedding light on this thought-inspired topic.

you’re welcome.