Are kids really growing older younger, or are we missing the point?

All the years I’ve researched kids (from the Alpha generation) something always really stood out to me. It’s hard to describe exactly what it is, but I’d say it’s something akin to being proud of being a kid. A celebration and appreciation of this life stage, an unusual (compared to my generation's oblivion anyway) self-awareness that this is a fun stage…or at least is meant to be.?

I was desperate to grow-up. A committed daydreamer who despite not really knowing what she wanted to do, just dreamed up that it would certainly be exotic, exciting, unpredictable and adventurous. All of which was only accessible as an adult and so I itched for all the stages along the way, part time jobs, driving, boyfriends were relished and all a step closer to leaving home and travelling. Adulthood (which of course started immediately at 18, lol) was cool. It was full of choice and freedom. But I’m not convinced that Gen Alpha have this same point of view. With phrases like ‘cost of living’, ‘global crisis’ and ‘climate deadline’ looming all around them, to them the future of being an adult is different to what my expectations were (i.e that scene in Home Alone where Kevin orders room service from an expensive hotel - still hanging out for that one tbh).

The phrase ‘kids growing older younger’ is so commonly used it has it’s own acronym; KGOY (that’s when you know you’ve really hit the big time in the corporate world). Yet, it’s never been an expression I’ve chosen to use. It undermines Alpha and their experiences and I don’t think it’s as simple as the convenient acronym suggests. It’s also a statement usually used in a final way, as in - this is just how it is now so we better keep up versus why are some of these things happening and what is our role in that??

There is some fact to the statement; puberty is starting earlier. It’s hard to find a definitive reason why and it’s possible a convergence of factors is causing the onset of puberty to begin younger (especially in girls). Causal factors on the table include weight gain / obesity, stress, exposure to more mature themes/content and consumption of chemicals in diet. There has also been some exploration into the role lockdowns and covid-19 played in its impact on bringing puberty forward. But this is not typically what people have in mind when they comment on kids getting younger older. It’s more their behaviour, attitudes, how they think, what they’re into, how they play (or don’t), their use of technology and social media and how risk taking behaviours are becoming more extreme. For example in the UK it has been suggested that ketamine, a class B drug has replaced weed as the entry level party drug taken by school children from age 14 in some cases. Meanwhile new research from OfCom records that one in four UK children have a mobile phone.?

Yet I still come back to my hunch. They’re not growing older younger, they want and expect to join in. They intercept content not made with them in mind and treat it like it’s talking directly to them. They are nervous about the future and feel the weight of what might lie there for them and getting ready (or freaking out).?

They’re growing up in the unfun world and as a consequence they try and age up to blend in, prepare, make sense of it and…survive.?

Younger members of Gen Alpha I’ve met through research seem to have an innate understanding that they think differently to older generations, in a way that transcend lifestage or even generation. It’s almost as if they have a new world perspective and know it, which would make sense when we consider the point in time they have been born and zero? experience of a world pre hyper connectivity. On this point I think Alpha kids pre puberty strongly identify as being imaginative and creative but don’t always feel encouraged to fully unleash this potential and find themselves rubbing up against old world structures which don’t always make sense or suppress their potential and perspective on the world.?

Older members of the generation, immersed in user generated content receive advice from a range of role-models and the results of that are a real mixed bag. We have girls taking skin care advice for youthful skin whilst still being the owners of actual youthful skin and we have boys listening to questionable tips on dating, sex and relationships. At a time when identity is forming, adolescents are spongy and they are soaking up a lot of gunk. This is unquestionable and despite the glimmers in between of wholesome and inspiring mentors who show alternative ways to live and inspire their dreams, it can be outweighed by a focus on building identity on superficial building blocks. Blocks which are fragile, that easily crumble and are often uncomfortable. This isn’t about wanting to grow up in a hurry, it’s about responding to the constant feedback loop of ‘shoulds’ and ‘coulds’.?

It’s difficult for businesses who design for Alpha to know what to do. Stick to wholesome and traditional and your brand can feel out of place, irrelevant and ‘uncool’, but participate in fitting into the presentation of superficial and up-aged themes, means adding to the problem, reconfirming that yes, this stuff really does matter, keep watching…we’re here with you too.?

The solution??

Original brands, with original ideas.?

Most brands seeking to get the attention of Alpha are preoccupied with trends. They ask what they’re already doing in an effort to be relevant and hold a space in their kid-culture. But what if that’s a place they want to be distracted away from? What if they’re craving experiences, ideas and ways to play (offline as much as on) that no one is thinking about because they seem a bit leftfield from what they’re doing already. What if the best ideas aren’t about adding more, they’re about taking away? What if Alpha want brands to really see them. To see them, not as responders to an onslaught of samey themes dominating their thoughts, but as a cohort with an incredible collective imagination, with a creative potential that often sits unleashed, discouraged or bored of being used on the same things over and over??

What if Alpha doesn't have to choose? What if they can feel cool and invited to join in with the wider world because that’s how they see themselves, but they’re able to do that in a way that brings them joy, makes them good, that pushes their maturity and what they can handle but holds their hand along the way and says, adulthood is actually pretty cool, you’re going to be fine, you’re going to great things there, there is hope and you’re going to be part of it.?

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