Alpha beta testing

Gen Z is so passé. It’s all about Gen Alpha now.

Yes, the Zoomers are being shuttled off the mortal coil of cool to be replaced by their younger brethren.

Despite the fact that the youngest Alpha is barely six weeks old, they’re not messing around.

Gen Alpha already has $100 billion direct spending power, and this will grow to $5.5 trillion by 2029, as the eldest reach working age. While we’re not quite at the stage of 12 year olds flashing a credit card, their influence over family spending is significant, with Hilton reporting 70% of parents choose holiday destinations based on their children’s interests.

A lot of what Alphas are suggesting is, of course, fuelled by social media. With even the most geriatric of the generation still only 15, perfectly curated recommendations form part of the only world they know. 

But for how much longer is an intriguing question.

This week, Snap joined Meta in announcing how many accounts it had blocked as a result of Australia’s social media age ban. Like many other platforms, they flagged serious concerns about the law. 

But this doesn’t seem to stop the idea of a ban spreading. In fact, it’s taken on a distinctly European flavour.

First, 60 Labour MPs in the UK wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for a ban. Then, France’s lower national assembly passed a bill to ban social media use by under-15s, a move supported by President Emmanuel Macron. And this week, Spain announced plans to introduce a similar policy.

While Australia was seen by many as a test case for such a law, other governments appear to have skipped the test in the belief a case has been made. 

What this means for Gen Alpha is still a mystery. But without the only real means they know of accessing brands and making recommendations to their parents, that spending power they wield may shift back to older generations. Maybe the Zoomers aren’t quite done yet.