It’s chaos out there redefining Gen Alpha marketing strategies. Just take Generation Z and some big opinions on Gen Alphas. Their way of speaking online has been dubbed as “brain rot” by Gen Z, the demographic that also calls Alphas “feral, crazy, and iPad-addicted sad, beige babies.” The scariest thing about this summation is that it’s partially backed by data on Alphas. Take that less than half of Alpha Californians can read at grade level or the exclusionary insular new language that Alphas created for themselves online.
Alphas are taught to think critically so, don’t tell them what to buy. Let them see themselves in your products, in your online community, and in your C-suite. Vulnerability is a desirable characteristic for next-gen brands and retailers, prescriptive advertising is not.
Let’s break this down. “Feral” is defined by Oxford Languages as “…in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication.” The term makes sense for Alphas, whose critical developmental years transpired during pandemic induced lockdown. Alphas were unleashed on the world after escaping the captivity of their collective youth. But when it comes to their behaviors, there are additional factors at play.
Behind the Schism
If you ask Gen Z why Alphas are so “crazy,” the first thing they’ll mention are their gen’s indulgent millennial parents. The second? Their iPads. Phones and laptops are also factors, but 66 percent of Alphas began using iPads regularly by age five or younger. Alphas have a unique relationship with technology––they were quarantined during critical developmental years when their iPads became their sole opportunity to grow up with kids their own age. And yes, this growing up took place online. So perhaps their shared language is less a symptom of “brain rot” than it is an irreverent way to build community among peers, remotely. Think about it: sharing jargon and seeing the same memes were the only way that young Alphas connected with one another for years.
Maybe that’s why 43 percent of Gen Alphas had a tablet before the age of 6, and a whopping 58 percent had a smartphone by the age of 10. You can’t attribute their affinity for technology to teeny-bopping either. More than 36 million children (ages 0–11) are active internet users, which exceeds teen (ages 12–17) internet users by 11.6 million. While the oldest Alphas are age 14, the reality is that very young children are using technology at an age that their predecessors can’t comprehend.
They’re also using it with a regularity that their predecessors can’t understand. U.S.-based Alphas between 8 and 12 years old consume an average 4 hours and 44 minutes of screen time a day for entertainment alone. This jumps to an average of 7 hours 22 minutes for 13 to 18 years old––that means that modern-day teens are spending almost an entire 9-to-5 workday on screens; for fun, of their own volition. It’s a new world.
Are Millennial Parents Messing Up?
When I asked my Gen Z students about their opinions on Alphas, the first thing they said was “Their parents are too easy on them.” They also raised concerns about how pampered Alpha “screenagers” will transition into real life, lacking the apparently exemplary social skills of Gen Z. They rounded out the discussion by calling Alphas “disrespectful” due to parental coddling, which was of particular interest, as my millennial cohorts are the Alpha parents in question.
Millennials were the first generation to build online communities (Myspace, anyone?) where irony reigned. My generation birthed the concept of liking something “ironically.” From reality TV to following influencers, we loathe we also birthed the concepts of hate watching and doomscrolling. And yes, many of my millennial peers also gave birth to Alphas. It makes sense that millennial parents had children who took their affinity for irony and online community-building to the next level. Since millennial parents use slang derived from memes, it also makes sense that the Alphas took this slang to the next level when building community with their peers.
Not to mention the fact that large language learning models like ChatGPT, CoPilot, and Gemini are now ubiquitous. It’s getting harder by the day to differentiate the real from the deepfake, so why wouldn’t Alphas use a constantly evolving jargon to peacock their authenticity? Less than 50 percent of Alphas identify as “non-Hispanic white,” so English is a second language for many youngsters. Fortunately for them, if not for their Gen Z naysayers, TikTok culture knows no borders.
Steer Clear of “Brainrot” Jargon
More Alphas use TikTok than watch traditional television. However, before you send your marketing team on TikTok to harvest the latest buzzwords, note that authenticity remains at the forefront for Alphas. So does respect. While Alphas may not have the respect for their elders that was ingrained in more mature generations, they sure do expect their elders to respect them. Retailers utilizing slang about which they have little to no understanding can easily come off as inauthentic or condescending.
Rather than try to dress up marketing jargon in words like “skibidi” that no person who has gone through puberty would ever use, retailers should focus on highlighting:
- Product use cases
- Active ingredients (especially if they’re organic)
- Ways the company furthers Alpha’s core values––diversity, mental health awareness, sustainability, and equal pay.
- Gamification (Alpha loves their video games)
- Community-building
Inauthenticity in any form is the kiss of death for this recently unleashed generation, so trying to cop their jargon without a test panel of real kids giving the language the OK is playing with fire. Millennial parents aren’t raising kids with a “because I said so” or “because that’s the way it’s always been” mentality. They’re bequeathing a dying world to their children and, as such, can’t exactly act like they and all adults inherently do everything right. Alphas are taught to think critically so, don’t tell them what to buy. Let them see themselves in your products, in your online community, and in your C-suite. Vulnerability is a desirable characteristic for next-gen brands and retailers, prescriptive advertising is not.
