Let’s Take an In-depth Look at Generation Alpha
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[Card News Episode 1] Let’s Take an In-depth Look at Generation Alpha
“Generation MZ” refers to Millennials born between 1981 and 1995 and Generation Z born between 1996 and 2005. Generation MZ is in the limelight now but will be succeeded by Generation Alpha. Gen Alpha is made up of all the kids born in 2010 onward. As of 2020, the oldest of the demographic cohort were 10 years old and in 5th grade.
Major Generations of Our Time
| Boomers Born | 1955~1963 |
|---|---|
| Gen X Born | 1970~1979 |
| Millennials, or Gen Y Born | 1980~1994 |
| Zoomers, or Gen Z Born | 1995~2009 |
| Gen Alpha Born in 2010 or later | 2010 or later |
(Source: McKinsey Korea and Contenta)
As fertility rates drop, families tend to concentrate their spending on one child. For this reason, 8-pocket and Gold kids newly-coined terms, are being used to describe Gen Alpha children.
※ “8-pocket” refers to a phenomenon in which a total of eight relatives, including parents, maternal and paternal grandparents, aunts and uncles, open their wallets for one child.
※ “Gold kids” refer to only children who are being treated like princes or princesses.
From 2007 to 2017, the kids industry, whose prime target is Generation Alpha, more than doubled, from KRW 19 trillion to KRW 40 trillion. The parents of Gen Alpha occasionally pay substantial admission fees to take their children to indoor play facilities.
Frequency of Indoor Play Facility Use
| Non-governmental entities | Public organizations | |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | 0.2% | 1.5% |
| Three to four times a week | 1.4% | 6.2% |
| Once or twice a week | 20.2% | 16.7% |
| Once or twice a month | 51.7% | 38.7% |
| Once or twice every six months | 26.5% | 36.8% |
Source: Jayeon Heo, 2020. 2020 Time Use Survey of Preschoolers. Seoul: Seoul Institute.
Average admission prices
| Non-governmental entities | KRW 23,001 |
|---|---|
| Public organizations | KRW 12,387 |
Source: Jayeon Heo, 2020. 2020 Time Use Survey of Preschoolers. Seoul: Seoul Institute.
In the post-COVID era, outdoor play and sports venues have seen a rise in popularity. To be more specific, a sizeable proportion of children visited outdoor spaces multiple times, including parks, playgrounds and other outdoor play areas (90.2%), and forest parks (83.3%).
Percentage of Repeat Visitors in a Post-pandemic World, by facility type
| Outdoor | Outdoor play areas such as parks and playgrounds | 90.2% |
|---|---|---|
| Forest parks | 83.3% | |
| Outdoor sports facilities | 52.8% | |
|
Indoor |
Libraries | 42.6% |
| Exhibition and experience facilities | 38.4% | |
| Privately-run indoor play facilities | 36.4% | |
| Indoor sports facilities | 26.2% | |
| Public indoor play facilities | 26.0% |
Source: Jayeon Heo, 2020. 2020 Time Use Survey of Preschoolers. Seoul: Seoul Institute.
The parents of Generation Alpha are quite willing to devote their time to provide their kids with a chance to engage in play/cultural activities. They are inclined to drive 20 minutes to get to these play/experience facilities.
Average amount of time spent travelling to play facilities: 23
| Exhibition/experience facilities | 37 |
|---|---|
| Forest parks | 29 |
| Outdoor play areas such as parks and playgrounds | 24 |
| Public indoor play facilities | 23 |
| Indoor sports facilities | 21 |
| Outdoor sports facilities | 21 |
| Privately-run indoor play facilities | 18 |
| Libraries | 15 |
Source: Jayeon Heo, 2020. 2020 Time Use Survey of Preschoolers. Seoul: Seoul Institute.
As Generation Alpha kids are being raised by their millennial parents who turn to the Internet, they are comfortable with digital media from early childhood. On average, 71% of kids aged four to six spend more than one hour consuming media per day.
As of 2018, 60% of lower elementary school students owned mobile phones. Elementary students commonly use their phones to play mobile games online. The increased use of mobile devices among youngsters has influenced their career aspirations. A growing number of kids aspire to be either a YouTube content creator, a webtoon creator or a professional gamer.
Mobile Phone Ownership Rates for Lower Elementary School Students
| 2015 | 40.8% |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 45.2% |
| 2017 | 52.4% |
| 2018 | 58.4% |
Source: Yoonhwa Kim, 2019. “Analysis of Cellphone Ownership and Usage among Children and Adolescents.” Chungcheongbuk-Do: Korea Information Society Development Institute.
Suggestion from the Seoul Institute
There is a need to focus on the characteristics of future generations like Gen Alpha and offer public facilities that reflect the different lifestyle they are growing into.
The 2020 Time Use Survey of Preschoolers
- A sample of respondents: 450 preschoolers aged four to six who are cared for under the Nuri program residing in Seoul.
- Survey period: September to November 2020
- Content: Features of households, facility usage patterns, satisfaction levels with facilities and time use
Source: Jayeon Heo, 2020. “Planning Public Facilities for the Following Generations.” Seoul: Seoul Institute.
Source: Jayeon Heo, 2020. “Planning Public Facilities for Next Generations”