The Business Case for Understanding Generation Alpha

A Harvard Business Review x Journey white paper

Close your eyes and imagine a time and place where children receive their allowance in virtual currencies. Picture kids having a gaming experience on a soccer field where they are able to play sports aided by augmented reality (AR), or imagine them as they sit in the shopping cart their parents are filling with groceries.

Envision a time when a youngster can build a roller coaster online before actually riding their creation for real at a theme park. Visualize people expressing themselves in virtual worlds through their avatars, which they prefer buying clothes and accessories for, and being able to make calls to loved ones using AR filters while wearing virtual AR outfits.

Now open your eyes because this world isn’t the future. It’s the world that Generation Alpha is currently growing up in.

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Defined as those born between 2010 (the same year the iPad was launched) and 2024, Generation Alpha are set to be the largest generation in the history of the world. More than 2.5 million are born globally every week and when they have all been born (in 2025) they will number almost 2 billion. 

That’s 2 billion people whose choices and values will shape where our world goes over the next century.

By the time they reach age eight, this generation is forecast to surpass their parents' technological skills.

They are expected to be among the builders and users of the metaverse and spatial computing.

They will push virtual reality to the limits of our imagination and they’re already leading the charge…

I’m delighted to have been involved in the Harvard Business Review x Journey white paper on the business case for understanding Generation Alpha.

You can check out the report to find out more.