The Impact of COVID-19 on the Next Generation
By: McCrindle
There is a generation that comprises more than 1 in 7 people, who are influencing the purchasing power of their household and are key to the future, yet few people have heard of them. Within the next four years they will outnumber the Baby Boomers, and many of them will live to see the 22nd century.
We’re talking about Generation Alpha, the current generation of children who began being born in the year 2010. They are the children of the Millennials, and often the younger siblings of Generation Z. We gave them the name Generation Alpha (of the Greek Alphabet) because, being born entirely in the 21st Century, they are not a return to the old but the start of something new.
The impact of COVID-19 on the next generation
While it will be some time before we know the full extent of how COVID-19 will impact and shape this generation, the oldest of them turn 11 in 2020, so many of them will remember aspects of this global crisis. Over the last few months, many watched mum or dad work from the kitchen bench (while parents also kept an eye on their children as they learnt from a virtual classroom). They might not know why we need to stay 1.5 metres away from other people, but they know that we should. The fact that they can’t go to the park or to visit grandma or grandpa is not lost on them.
According to our latest research, more than four in five adults (84%) believe COVID-19 will play a significant role in shaping the children of today. Specifically, it is the impact of technology being more integrated into their lives, online education, expectations of work in the future and their resilience where adults feel the greatest impacts will be felt.
In order for us to lead this next generation through a time of crisis, it is important that we understand them, their context and the world that is shaping them.
Article supplied with thanks to McCrindle.
About the Author: McCrindle are a team of researchers and communications specialists who discover insights, and tell the story of Australians – what we do, and who we are.