Is Generation Alpha Doomed?

🔥 [FREE] Hybrid Ministry Strategy Guide🔥

https://hybrid-ministry-40060036.hubspotpagebuilder.com/free-hybrid-ministry-e-book

💥[CUSTOM] Hybrid Coaching💥

https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/coaching

======================================
DESCRIPTION
Is Generation Alpha doomed?
With things like skibidi toilet rizz, brainrot and their utter disdain for the state of Ohio, can these kids even come back from all that?
Not to mention Covid-19 destroyed a lot of their educational impact, many can't read and are having a hard time with that, can this generation come back from all that?

Who is Gen Alpha, and how can educators, teachers and pastors make an impact on this generation?

======================================
📓SHOWNOTES
//SHOWNOTES & TRANSCRIPTS
http://www.hybridministry.xyz/112

//MEET GEN ALPHA
https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Alpha-Mark-McCrindle/dp/0733646301

👉 STAY CONNECTED WITH NICK
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clasonnick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hybridministry/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clasonnick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HybridMinistry
Website: https://www.hybridministry.xyz

======================================

🆓 FREEBIES 🆓
Level up your youth ministry game with these freebies!
🔗 https://linktr.ee/clasonnick

======================================
🛠️TOOLS
Some of the below links are affilate links in which we do recieve a small commission based on your purchase or use of products
VIDIQ
https://vidiq.com/hybrid

BEST DYM RESOURCES
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/dym

OPUS.PRO FOR AI SHORTS & REELS
https://www.opus.pro/?via=a5d361

//YOUTUBE STARTER KIT FOR UNDER $100
https://www.hybridministry.xyz/articles/youtubestarterkit

AUTO POD
https://autopod.lemonsqueezy.com?aff=MX7Vv

--------------
🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Is Generation Alpha Doomed?
01:42 The Birth Years of Current Generations
03:44 Who exactly is Generation Alpha?
06:29 Defining Characteristic #1
08:17 Defining Characteristic #2
09:22 Defining Characteristic #3
10:53 Defining Characteristic #4

11:46 Defining Characteristic #5
--------------
✍️TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:01 - 00:00:20:11
Nick Clason
Is Generation Alpha doomed? Check out this quote. It says youth today love luxury. They have bad manners. They have contempt for authority. No respect for older people. And they talk nonsense when they should be working. They contradict their parents. They talk too much in company that guzzle their food. They lay their eggs on the table and they tyrannized their elders.

00:00:20:16 - 00:00:41:00
Nick Clason
Now, if you think that this is talking about Generation Alpha, then give me a like. If you think it's like my generation Z. Go ahead and give me a subscribe. And if you think you know that this quote was within the last century, then you owe me a turning on the bell. Because in this episode and in this future playlist, we're going to be exploring the world of Gen Alpha.

00:00:41:00 - 00:01:08:03
Nick Clason
But would you be surprised to know that this is actually a quote from the Greek philosopher Socrates, who lived between 470 and 390 9BC yes, the fact that the next generation throws older generations off their scent is not an uncommon phenomenon in human history. I mean, just look at the fact that this quote came all the way back from Socrates.

00:01:08:03 - 00:01:37:10
Nick Clason
So we're going to be exploring Gen Alpha, and are they doomed? If you've been on YouTube or searching on social media, you've heard things like they are doomed, they're in trouble. What even is this generation? Who are these skinny, rich toilet kids like? What does any of this even mean? The fact of the matter is, like generations that are younger often throw off generations that are older, and the older you get, the harder it is to connect and have a bridge back to that younger generation.

00:01:37:16 - 00:01:58:14
Nick Clason
So in the world today, the current generations that we have living are our builders. And they were born in 1925 through 1945. They are the elders of are the oldest generation that's currently alive to this day. And then moving on, we have the boomers who are in some cases still in the workforce, but all beginning to start to phase out.

00:01:58:14 - 00:02:22:12
Nick Clason
And they were born in 1946 through 1964, and probably the oldest, in the workforce, majority is generation X, and they were born in 65 to 69. And then shout out to me and all my other fellow millennials, we were born in 1980 through 1994. Gen Z was then born in 95 through 2009 and then finally Gen Alpha.

00:02:22:15 - 00:02:42:10
Nick Clason
They are quantifying it at 2011 through 2024. And so I got the lion's share of this research from Mark Mccrindle and Ashley Fell's book. It'll be linked down below in the show notes. If you're interested in checking out, it's called Generation Alpha. Understanding our children and helping Them Thrive. So let's talk about some of the different things about Generation Alpha.

00:02:42:10 - 00:03:03:23
Nick Clason
So first and foremost, every generation since boomers spans of about 50, at least 15 years. Right. And they've used, labels to kind of, letters to label these different generations. And so there have been other attempts made, for example, like millennials, but when you use something like millennials, it actually creates a little bit of a vague birth range.

00:03:03:23 - 00:03:27:15
Nick Clason
And so while we are oftentimes called millennials, they're also just called Gen Y by a lot of sociology and researchers. And so then thus as we got to Gen Z, we started back over at the beginning alphabet. And that's how we get Generation Alpha. Some people have proposed to code generation Alpha. Corona owes due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the fact that they lived during that and in some cases were even born during that.

00:03:27:15 - 00:03:49:09
Nick Clason
But they, while Covid was a massive part of their upbringing, in their childhood, they will continue to be shaped by the next three to 5 to 10 years. And not just that singular moment, though it felt longer than a moment did it? Not of Covid 19. But the next question I want to kind of uncover and unpack is who exactly is Gen Alpha?

00:03:49:10 - 00:04:18:11
Nick Clason
You know, by December 2024, they are predicting that Generation Alpha will have a total of 2 billion globally, which will make them the largest generation in the history of the world. Technology and customization have shaped their childhood, and while Gen Z saw the rise of customization generation, alpha is going to begin to see the rise of personal ization.

00:04:18:13 - 00:04:47:20
Nick Clason
And so Covid 19 will likely transform how Generation Alpha has approached technology, education, work, face to face interaction, mental health, and the concept and topic of resilience. But while our oldies are moving up into the ages of eight through about 12 years of age, they're calling the phenomenon. And those students and those kids who are that age, they're calling it the phenomenon of up aging, which means that kids in the 8 to 12 range are actually growing up faster.

00:04:47:24 - 00:05:17:02
Nick Clason
They are maturing physically earlier than other previous generations. And so kids are getting older quicker. And that's what we're seeing, some of this, interaction of them on, on social media and on YouTube and, and acting and seeming a little bit more like adults. But also adolescence is being pushed back further. So they're aging up quicker, but adolescence is being pushed back further because adult, life often was characterized by things like marriage or as characterized by things like having children or getting a mortgage.

00:05:17:02 - 00:05:40:01
Nick Clason
But those things are now being pushed back. And this generation, they're predicting, will stay in education longer. They'll start their earnings later and they'll stay at home longer than was the case with some previous generations. And so we're seeing this phenomenon of them being ushered into being older earlier, but staying in adolescence. It's longer. It's an interesting phenomenon.

00:05:40:01 - 00:05:59:20
Nick Clason
And it creates and it's certainly unique and complex challenge for those of us who are in education or in, in, the church space. But I love this concept that generation Z saw the rise of customization, but Generation Alpha is now seeing the rise of personalization. Think about the algorithms and the, different eyes that are now out there.

00:05:59:20 - 00:06:21:22
Nick Clason
Like these are completely radical phenomenons and it completely changes and re formats the way that certainly boomers and certainly Gen X and all of us have approached education of certain, groups of people and mass education moments. And so I want to explore in the next section five characteristics of generation Alpha that are worth us paying attention to.

00:06:21:25 - 00:06:51:01
Nick Clason
And, how it then will shape the way that we educate and innovate and approach this generation. So characteristic number one is digital, right? They are not just I love the way that Barna put this. They're not just digital natives, they are not digital dependents. Right. So while Gen Z probably didn't get their first device until later elementary school generation Alpha has always had access to devices, even if it's not their own right.

00:06:51:01 - 00:07:17:23
Nick Clason
Like research has actually, noticed and noted a drastic uptick in screen and app based play among children. The US reported that in ages 18 through 12, they consume on average four hours and 44 minutes of screen time per day, but that average increases up to seven hours and 22 minutes. If a student is between the ages of 13 and 18 years old.

00:07:17:23 - 00:07:39:11
Nick Clason
So digital and apps and screen time, it's not going away. And so all of us in the education space and as parents, we have to figure out how do we navigate this as it's being inundated more and more and more and more? I mean, I just think about the phenomenon of Disney, you know, pre 2014. You go around, you do fast passes and you have to walk to different rides in the park and grab a fast pass ticket.

00:07:39:11 - 00:08:01:04
Nick Clason
And it would tell you when to return for your return ride time. But now every thing is mobile. And while that's convenient, certain critics of Disney have made a comment that you go to the park and you have to be glued and tied to your phone all day long, the only way to truly experience the park the best way, the most optimal way, is through digital.

00:08:01:04 - 00:08:32:21
Nick Clason
And while that's convenient, and certainly for a podcast like mine, which is the hybrid ministry show, it doesn't take into account the fact that sometimes we just want to be present. We want to be free and tethered away from our digital devices. Another characteristic, characteristic number two, is that they are a social generation. So although in-person social interaction may certainly be an area that needs work in Generation Alpha, kids today are more than any other generation X, extensively socially connected to and shaped by their peers.

00:08:32:21 - 00:08:57:08
Nick Clason
In the book Generation Alpha by Mccrindle and Fellow, it talks about the phenomenon of Ryan and Ryan's world and how kids these days are influenced by that. Like, for example, my kids because of Ryan, he tried one episode. I can't remember, he tried, seaweed. And my kids are like, we want to try seaweed. Never in their life have they ever even been interested or even knew that seaweed existed.

00:08:57:08 - 00:09:20:17
Nick Clason
But they tried it and they liked it. And we still buy it to this day for a snack. And so kids today are influenced by a network that is connected 24 over seven across social, geographical and demographic boundaries. But there's also a downside to this hyper connectivity, such as cyber bullying, and never actually being able to completely disconnect from these networks of relationships.

00:09:20:17 - 00:09:42:19
Nick Clason
Characteristic number three is that they're global. So because of the internet generation, alpha is actually the first truly global generation. I want to share with you the Oxford Dictionary word of the year to highlight how global this generation is. And as you as I read through it. And it'll be listed here on screen. If you're watching on YouTube, you will see just how, what is going on in each of these years.

00:09:42:20 - 00:10:01:29
Nick Clason
It'll be kind of a little bit, trip back down memory lane, especially if you're older and you're a millennial, like me or older. But in 2011, the word of the year by Oxford Dictionary was app. In 2012, it was cloud, 2013, it was a hashtag, followed by 2014, which was the selfie 2015. Look at this on screen.

00:10:01:29 - 00:10:24:27
Nick Clason
If you're watching, it's the face with tears of joy emoji. It's not even a word. It was literally an emoji. 2016 the word was post-truth. 2017 the word was fake news. 2018 the word was toxic. 2019 is climate energy. In 2020, there's a myriad of words Covid 19 lockdowns, social distancing, ISO, Black Lives Matter, cancel culture and superspreader.

00:10:25:03 - 00:10:52:09
Nick Clason
You take your pick of which word matter. But that right there just shows how global and how how much Generation Alpha has actually gone through. So when the only screen in the house think about this was the television. You and I, as parents, we could more easily monitor what our children consumed and watch. But now with a new digital generation with more access to online devices, parents are finding it harder and harder to shield children from the wider world.

00:10:52:12 - 00:11:23:04
Nick Clason
Characteristic number four is that they are mobile, right? The average, stay in one working job has shortened now to just about over three years. The gig economy, which is when organizations will use temporary hires, and independent workers, that gig economy mentality that begins to play a part in this new generation, the world economic Forum predicts that 65% of Generation Alpha will actually end up working entirely new jobs that don't even exist yet.

00:11:23:04 - 00:12:00:26
Nick Clason
They're incredibly mobile, and they're able to be to pivot and to move and be nimble and and kind of string together different opportunities. Far be it away from the way that we as older generations have, have taken it with pensions and retirements and all these types of things like that is becoming a more archaic way of working. And characteristic number five is this generation is incredibly visual, with stories and games have come to life for Generation Alpha students, are facilitated by things like technology and visual apps and videos and content in which they regularly engage with.

00:12:00:28 - 00:12:23:07
Nick Clason
Generation Alpha expects to consume information. YouTube is the second largest and most popular search engine in the world, but for Generation Alpha, YouTube is the number one search engine in the world. And so that idea of visual is just going to continue. But here's the good news if you're an youth minister, your for your education, or if you're in church ministry, you don't have to panic, right?

00:12:23:07 - 00:12:51:25
Nick Clason
Because the generations older than us that say Generation Alpha is doomed. We as educators and as people in youth ministry who often go before, have had generations before us freak out about different generations. You and I, we have the opportunity to stand in the gap and help bring these together. Right? All the way back to Socrates. generations have been freaking out about and looking ahead at the different generation and curious about and unsure of what's different.

00:12:51:25 - 00:13:18:05
Nick Clason
But these things, all of us are aware at the different and the shifting and the ever changing landscape of generations. You and I, as youth pastors, we're well aware of this at one level or another. So how do we, with this information, also make us more effective as educators, as teachers, as pastors in reaching and sharing the gospel with these students in our churches and in our youth ministries.

00:13:18:08 - 00:13:36:13
Nick Clason
You know, I actually have just the resources to help you out with that's linked right here on screen in the very next video. I'm glad that you asked, because I would love for you to take a look at that. And as always, don't forget we're making digital discipleship easy, possible, and accessible, especially for Generation Alpha. So stay hybrid.