Gina Germano

Generation Alpha is the first generation to be born into a fully technological and connected world.
These kids, born between 2010 to 2024 and known as Gen Alpha, have grown up with social media available at their fingertips from a very young age.
“[My younger cousins] are always glued to their iPads,” sophomore Sophie Tran said. “They literally got iPads for their second birthday.”
The media that younger children consume evidently has a strong impact on them. According to a New York Times article covering safety of young users on TikTok, data reveals that almost half of the daily users in the United States in June 2019 were estimated to be 14 or younger.
The addictive short-video format that TikTok uses increases usage dramatically.
“[TikTok] made me really addicted to my phone because I’m still constantly checking TikTok and social media,” Maky Olberg, an eighth grader at Iron Horse Middle School, said. “It’s also drastically changed my sleep schedule a lot.”
The content on TikTok can also influence kids’ attitudes, as they tend to copy what they see online.
Sophomore Michelle Kennedy said her younger cousin’s terminology changed with more exposure to TikTok.
“She started swearing more and she also knows really really inappropriate things,” Kennedy said.
A survey conducted by non-profit company Thorn’s research shows that 40 percent of 742 children ages nine to 12 who were surveyed in the United States used Instagram at least once a day in 2021.
As Instagram’s target audience is 16-24 year olds, Gen. Alpha kids are exposed to content that isn’t meant for their age group.
“Everyone is always trying to be like each other [on Instagram],” Kenzie Owens, an eighth grader at St. Raymond Catholic School in Dublin, said. “[Instagram] can affect people’s mental health when they aren’t the same as everyone they see online.”
Young viewership of these apps increased between 2019 to 2021, when COVID-19 was at its peak.
“During [the lockdown, social media] provided more of an opportunity for healthy socialization,” Cal High AP Psychology teacher Kacie Endicott said. “I think it was sort of a lifeline in some ways like socialization with peers.”
Added Golden View Elementary School third grade teacher Christy Stevens, “[There has been] great changes in the behavior and ability of kids to focus and remain attentive.”
To adapt to these changes, the curriculum at Golden View changed to focus on social emotional learning to help students to engage better in the classroom.
Dublin High sophomore Jenna Palattao also noticed a change in her younger brother’s attention span.
“I can’t have a normal conversation with my brother without his AirPods in or his phone on TikTok,” Palattao said.
With exposure to the internet, Gen. Alpha is relying on technology in a way parents probably didn’t intend.
“[Parents] don’t really know all the stuff that’s actually on the internet, you know, and how much you can be exposed,” Palattao said.