What to know about Generation Alpha
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Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
It's the only generation born fully in the 21st century: the oldest are about 13, and the youngest will arrive in the coming year.
Why it matters: Generation Alpha is the country's first entirely online cohort, and is expected to become the largest in history at more than 2 billion people, Axios' April Rubin reports.
By the numbers: Gen Alpha — born between 2010 and today — made up over 16% of Columbus metro area residents as of 2022, or nearly 336,000 people, per an Axios analysis of the latest American Community Survey data.
- Nationwide, 15% of people belong to Gen Alpha.
The big picture: Mostly the children of millennials, Gen Alpha members are already grappling with the effects of a climate crisis and a pandemic.
- With smartphones in tow, they're no strangers to online play dates, artificial intelligence and widespread social and political challenges.
- Its oldest members are the same age as the original iPad.
Zoom in: A lot has changed in their short lifetimes.
- The oldest Gen Alphas have already lived through six OSU presidencies, 14 generations of iPhones and saw LeBron James leave the Cavs, return and leave again.
The intrigue: Gen Alpha has an inexplicable infatuation with Ohio memes depicting the outrageous and unusual, to the point that "Ohio" is considered one of its slang words.
- The trend resulted in Ohio becoming one of the country's most-Googled memes of 2023.
What's next: Marketers are pouring money into figuring out the tastes and habits of Gen Alpha, which has more sway and leverage over adults' purchasing decisions than any prior generation, researchers say.