Welcome Generation Alpha

There is much written about the demographic cohorts known as Gen X and Gen Y…and 2009 was the end year of the Gen Z cohort.  So now that we’ve exhausted the demographic alphabet, it looks like we start at the beginning.

About a week ago two dear friends of mine welcomed their first child into the world – a 6 lb 12 oz baby boy – a new member of “Generation Alpha”.  Demographers believe his generation, born from 2010, will be the most formally educated generation in history.  Australian researcher Mark McCrindle, the author of The ABC Of XYZ explained Gen A babies would begin school earlier and study for longer as compared to those from previous generations.  Or will they?

What will shape the world for these babies – most of whom will be the children of Generation Y, the grandchildren of the younger Baby Boomers and the younger siblings of Generation Z.  Will they live in a virtual world like their older siblings?  How will the echos of the recent recession color their understandings of money and prosperity?

An article in the medical journal The Lancet suggests that more than half the Gen A babies born in industrialized nations can expect to live to 100.  How and what should we teach a generation that will be on the planet in 2110?  One thing is for certain, their generation (like all others) will be shaped by the events, leaders, developments and trends of its time.

So little Rohan, only 10 days old, maybe the entrepreneurs who read Fast Company will help lead us all to think about what we can do to leave you and your Gen A cohort a world worth inhabiting in the next century.