People born from 2010 on are the first fully digital generation. They are mostly the children of millennials. They have spent large chunks of their lives on screens, largely spurred by the pandemic that took hold in 2020. And there will be more than 2 billion of them by next year. They are Generation Alpha
Gen Alpha Traits
While COVID-19 impacted the entire global population in one way or another, much of Gen Alpha’s behavior was shaped by the pandemic.
Restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 resulted in fewer in-person interactions and a greater reliance on digital communication for catching up with family and friends, work, and—particularly impactful for Gen Alpha—school.
Research firm GWI found in a 2022 survey that 38% of students spent most of their after-school time on social media, rising to 43% on weekends, and 43% of respondents preferred communicating with friends online over the weekend, overseeing them in-person.
Other studies have also pointed to an increase in allergies, health issues, and obesity, driven in part by all of that screen time.
But the tide is starting to turn, as more recent research from GWI detected a shift toward spending more time with friends in real life and participating more in sports and other exercise while beginning to curb their screen time.
One theory is that Gen Alpha was born with devices and has been using them for their entire lives, so those devices are not as much of a novelty as they are for older generations who grew up without them.
Another factor is that Gen Alpha spent much of their screen time on platforms that encouraged them to contribute, and not merely consume content, including Minecraft, Roblox, TikTok, and YouTube.
This has helped people in that age group become more sociallly aware and knowledgeable about global issues such as climate change, as well as more likely to share their opinions and views.
“Gen Alpha is definitely an interesting generation,” Open Influence Senior Creative Strategist Gem Garcin said. “We are starting to see millennial parenting influences. I think purpose and tech is really big for this generation.”
Some creators from older generations are making it a point to study Gen Alpha, with OI Senior Creative Director Sierra Moore spotlighting Faith Hitchon and the “trend reports” that the creator files from the pickup line at her daughter’s middle school.
Millennial Parents Help Mold Gen Alpha
Children take after their parents, and, in this case, Gen Alpha children take after their millennial parents.
Heather Dretsch, assistant professor of marketing at North Carolina State University, notes that millennials are conscious of the products they use, and their Gen Alpha offspring gravitate toward the same brands and products.
She added that as a result, Gen Alpha consumers are aware of lower-quality knockoffs and strongly prefer the top brands and products in whatever category they are shopping.
Marketing to Gen Alpha
Authenticity and transparency are key when accounting for Gen Alpha’s focus on issues such as climate change and social justice.
Gen Alpha consumers are aware of the long-term impacts on society from various industries, products, and services, and the brands behind them must respect that knowledge and be clear and truthful about their impact, mission, and potential solutions.
Those brands must also acknowledge transgressions of the past and own up to them, incorporating messaging into their campaigns on ways they are working to reverse damage they may have caused previously.
As for specific product areas that are big with Gen Alpha, Moore said, “I know the pre-teens are super into skincare, which is interesting—even nice expensive skincare that older generations use, like Drunk Elephant.”
Garcin added, “They’re riding on the backs of trends. For example, so many Gen Alphas were literally crying as they got Stanley tumblers for the holidays.”
While Instagram and TikTok remain popular destinations for Gen Alpha, YouTube is the key platform for reaching them, with Gen Alpha flocking to the Google-owned video site for content including educational fare, gaming videos, and product reviews.
Brands must walk the line between keeping in mind how different messaging works for Gen Alpha and Generation Z, yet being mindful of the impact of the former’s millennial parents and ensuring that the campaign takes them into account, as well.
Gen Alpha is bullish on content and technology that keeps them connected and informed, as well as providing opportunities for them to participate, rather than passively consuming content.
“Brands should show how they’re on the cutting edge of technology, as well as any social good the brand is up to,” Garcin said.
Marketers must also be mindful of the short attention span of Gen Alpha, and they should strive to capture attention as quickly as possible within the content, and not give their audience time to think about clicking elsewhere.
Humor tends to strike a chord with people of any age, and the success of one of the first memes attributed to Gen Alpha, Skibidi Toilet, illustrates that point. Skibidi Toilet creator Alexey Gerasimov now boasts 38.2 million subscribers to his DaFuq!?Boom! YouTube channel, as well as 2.8 million followers on TikTok, drawn by something as simple as an animated head spinning inside a toilet bowl.
User-generated content resonates with Gen Alpha, particularly in the short video format popularized by Reels on Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. Brands targeting Gen Alpha should team up with younger creators who have a better chance of being more relatable when discussing their products or services.
Creators who are proficient at developing interactive experiences, such as challenges and other initiatives that encourage user participation, should be sought out.
Generation Alpha has also shown that they are drawn to visually stimulating content, opening the door for developments in emerging technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality.
Once brands find creators that fit their needs, they would be wise to explore long-term partnerships, resulting in a consistent flow of content and deepening relationships with their audiences.
Open Influence’s team stays on top of the latest trends and is here to help you maximize your creator campaigns. Open Influence is a leading global creator marketing agency dedicated to creating engaging campaigns.
