Generation Z and Gen Alpha: The Latest Generations
Generational issues are a perennial favourite. Analysing one’s own generation and comparing it to the next is of great interest to the media and the public alike. With more generations coexisting than ever before — in the home, school, workplace and marketplace — this interest has never been more so than today (McCrindle, 2018).
GENERATION-WHA?
Traditionally, a generation has had an average interval of 20 to 25 years, signifying the time between the birth of the parents and the birth of their offspring. However with cohorts changing quickly in response to new technologies, this interval is irrelevant in today’s age. Changing career and study options and shifting societal values, also contribute to major generational changes (McCrindle, 2018). Additionally, the average time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring has stretched out from two decades to more than three.
Today generations are defined but what is happening socially rather than biologically. “A generation refers to a cohort of people born within a similar period who share a comparable age and life stage and who were shaped by a particular period’s events, trends and developments” (McCrindle, 2018).
McCrindle (2018) states, “While most of us have heard of the Builders, Boomers, Gen X-ers, Y-ers and Zeds, not many would be aware that there are two additional generations, making seven in total. These generations are those in their 90s (the Federation Generation) and those born since 2010 (Generation Alpha)”.
The generations we are teaching now in both school and kids/youth ministry, are those of Generation Z and Generation Alpha. They are post-milestone, post-linear, post-literate and post- logical.
Post-life stage
Chronological markers are not fit to provide a full picture of a person’s life stage, but the transition between life stages are more fluid and can depend on many life- shaping experiences.
Post-linear
Life today is not linear but a mosaic of reinvented roles and options. It is no longer lived in a traditional sequence, transitioning from education to career to retirement.
Post-literate
In this digital era, communication is not restricted to the spoken and written word but is multi-modal. The Internet is not a literate tool but an interactive, hyper- linked medium of discovery, sound, video and images. In order to accelerate communication, correct spelling and the rules of grammar do not apply to them when texting and using online chat.
Post-logical
The age of reason has given way to the age of participation leading to a post-logical view of the world. It is not the era of experts but the era of user-generated opinion.
INTRODUCING GENERATION Z
Information sourced from McCrindle (2019) Unless otherwise specified.
Generation Z are the students of our world today are the children of Generation X, the cohort that follows Generation Y, and who are born between 1995 and 2009. Comprising around 20% of Australia’s population and almost 30% of the world’s population, they are the largest generation ever. Connected through digital devices, and engaged through social media, they are the first fully global generation.
McCrindle’s consultancy predicts that Generation Z will make up 27% of the workplace by 2025, with half of them having a university degree. They are also predicted to seventeen jobs, five careers and live in fifteen homes in their lifetime.
For Generation Z, coming of age in the 21st century has given them a unique perspective- having been shaped in uncertain economic times with the Global Financial Crisis, while also being internationally connected and engaged through global brands and global technologies.
INTRODUCING GEN ALPHA: THE NEWEST GENERATION
Information sourced from McCrindle (2019) Unless otherwise specified.
Gen Alpha are our pre-schooler and kindergarteners of today. They are the children of Millenials, born since the year 2010 — the same year that the first generation iPad launched. There is an estimated 2.5 million Gen ‘Alpha’s born around the globe each week. Born and shaped fully in the 21st century, they are the first generation that we will see in record numbers in the 22nd century as well. They are logged on and linked up — known as ‘’digital natives”. They are the most technologically literate and materially endowed generation to live.
Schawbel (2017) predicts that “Gen Alpha will be the most connected generation yet spend much less time talking to their peers in person. There will be clear psychological challenges with this generation as they will feel more alone, despite being so connected.”
Generation Y’s are waiting longer to get married and have children, so Gen Alphas are likely to have older parents. Gen Y’s were always made to feel special, and that will carry onto Gen Alpha (Schawbel, 2017).
Susan Fourtané from Interesting Engineering (2018) says, ‘Schools need to start preparing programs that are flexible enough to be adapted and changed quickly.
The right way to teach young Alphas is by developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It will be necessary for Generation Alpha children to be able to see problems from different perspectives.’
SO WHAT HAS CHANGED?
LIFE STAGES
Younger generations are delaying traditional milestones. GenY and Gen Z are post-life stages. Where once childhood transitioned straight to adulthood and then split by the teenage years, the 21st century has seen a delay in this transitioning. Today tweens, then teens, then KIPPERS (kids in parents’ pockets eroding retirement savings), and finally, adulthood follow childhood (McCrindle, 2018).
RELIGION
Nearly all Australians identified themselves as Christian the year the oldest of the Builders were born. Today, just over 60 per cent identify as Christian, with a third of these more explicitly identifying as “spiritual but no main religion” (McCrindle, 2018). Of the Australians who identify with the Christian religion, just 1 in 4 states that they “actually practise” their religion and an even smaller proportion of Australians, 8 per cent are regular church attenders.
According to McCrindle (2018), this disengagement with religion has hit its low ebb. Over the last few years, there have been significant signs of change with young people beginning to reengage with religion.
After being disappointed by social networking ‘communities’, young people are longing for a community where they don’t always have to be ‘on’, where they can ‘come as they are’ and be part of a community. Beyond Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs is a yearning for something or someone bigger than themselves. This most educated, entertained and endowed generation has experienced so much, so young, that they are not amazed anymore. They live in a culture without awe and transcendence. Indeed, there is a perception from many that organised religion is one of the last places they would expect to find meaning in their spiritual search.
TEACHING AND ENGAGEMENT
Be Real, Relevant, Responsive and Relational.
Real
Do not pretend to know all about their lifestyle; they are merely seeking understanding and respect. If we are less than transparent, it will be seen. This generation can sniff a phoney from a long distance.
Relevant
The style, as well as the content, must be connected to a generation which is visually educated and entertained. We must communicate in the most appropriate format for those we are reaching. In understanding the communication styles of our students, we will be better equipped to reach them.
Responsive
Education can either be teacher-centric, curriculum targeted or learner-focused (sensitive to their learning styles). Adopt the four elements of excellent communication: interest, instruct, involve, inspire.
Relational
With young people spending more time on screens than ever before, averaging 10 hours and 19 minutes of screen time per day, we need to provide a truly counter-cultural offer in its kinaesthetic, practical, and hands-on programs.
There is an old and true saying in education circles: ‘They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!’ Communicating with this generation needs openness. The more we create an environment conducive to engaging with the head (knowledge), hands (application) and heart (inspiration), the more likely the learning will be embedded.
A FINAL THOUGHT
In summary, the generations that are coming through our schools and kids/youth ministries do not want information as they can get that from many other sources. As kids are more and more connected online they are also lonelier than any generation before them. These kids want and need real face to face conversation and relationships.
Organised religion on a Sunday does not work for them. They need discipleship and small groups more than any generation before. A ‘TED Talk” styled preach where people listen to one person does not work for them. They want to collaborate and discuss the real issues of life.
We, churches and schools, need to stop tailoring to the Millennials who were all about the ‘experience’. We need to start thinking of the generations we have entrusted to us now.
Organisations must respond to the times to remain relevant amidst significant demographic shifts, cultural change, and generational transitions.
Scouts Australia commissioned McCrindle to guide the direction of a major Youth Program Review (YPR) through a three-phase project, helping Scouts to engage with the needs and desires of Australian families, their perceptions of Scouting, and what families are looking for in a contemporary youth organisation. The information gathered can be valuable to other programs which cater for children and young people (McCrindle, 2014).
From McCrindle: Scouts Australia Project in Review (2014):
Phase 1 provided qualitative insights through a series of focus groups with current and former Scouts members and Scouting parents, testing Scouting’s current landscape and the changes needed in the program, thus setting the foundation for the Phase 2 and Phase 3 research.
Phase 2 sought to define the needs and desires of Australian families for a national youth program through a comprehensive national study of 1,078 Australian parents with children aged 6 to 18, asking parents about their values and what a youth program should look like for a 21st century Australia. These results were compared to the perspectives of 1,858 Scouts parents.
Phase 3 featured a demographic and social trends scoping study on Generation Z and Generation Alpha incorporating McCrindle data, Australian Bureau of Statistics data, and trend analysis from McCrindle’s generational experts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fourtané, Susan. (2018). Generation Alpha: The Children of the Millennial. Retrieved 22 August 2019, from https://interestingengineering.com/generation-alpha-the-children-of-the-millennial
McCrindle, Mark. (2019). Emerging Trends, Enduring Truth: The Spiritual Attitudes of The New Generations.
McCrindle, Mark. (2018). The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations.
McCrindle, Mark. (2019). McCrindle: Gen Z and Gen Alpha Infographic Update. Retrieved 22 August 2019, from https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blogarchive/gen-z-and-gen-alpha-infographic-update/
McCrindle, Mark. (2014). Scouts Australia Project in Review — McCrindle. Retrieved 23 August 2019, from https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blogarchive/scouts-australia-project-in-review/
McCrindle, Mark. (2014). Scouts Australia: Youth Program Review Phase 3 — McCrindle. Retrieved 23 August 2019, from https://mccrindle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/pdf/blog-archive/Scouts-Phase-3-YPR-Scoping-Study.pdf
Quillen, Abby (2018). ZeroCater: The Workforce’s Newest Members: Generation Z. Retrieved 23 August 2019, from https://zerocater.com/blog/2018/06/04/workforce-newest-members-generation-z/
Schawbel, Dan. (2017). 5 Predictions For Generation Alpha. Retrieved 22 August 2019, from https://danschawbel.com/blog/5-predictions-for-generation-alpha/
