Alpha-kids, part of the growing generation of tech-savvy-tykes, are everywhere. Children born into a world of glowing screens and connected devices, the Screen-Time-Zombies were both mere minutes-old when they first encountered a Smartphone taking their pictures. Alpha-kids grow up with iPads in hand, never live without a Smartphone, and have the ability to transfer a thought online in seconds. One-year-olds, sitting on Papa’s lap, reach out to iPads, swipe it to unlock, and then launch their favourite app. The exponential technological changes, among others, make Generation-Alpha the most transformative generation ever. Unlike previous generations, which have simply used technology, Alphas will spend the bulk of their formative years completely immersed in it. They’ll play a computer game or use a Smartphone application than ride a bike, tie their own shoelaces or swim unaided.
When we grew up, there’re no iPads, Google phones, Facebook or Snapchat. We never had to worry about our digital identity or the blue light glowing from gizmos. There’s nothing like walking into a room and then finding adults and children, all with their minds, immersed inside their glowing digital devices. Children born in the late 80s or 90’s grew up with the dawn of the Internet. They’re there for the mobile phone explosion. They’re the first generation to try “texting.”But for kids born from 2000 onward, especially those born after 2010, it’s almost a different world. They grew up surrounded by the Internet, mobile devices and instant connections. For baby-boomers technology is pervasive in our world, but for children, it’s ever-present, always in abundance. They grew up never knowing any different. Children take to technology very readily and easily. Screens are fun and addicting and there’s an endless array of entertainment found on the Internet.
The youngest kids may be using technology most passively, watching videos on a Smartphone or tablet. By 2 or 3, they’re able to interact with apps. Once children hit school age, social media may become their primary interest, as they use these platforms to interact with friends, and share videos, memes, and other content. Facebook and YouTube are leaders among this age group, but sites like Moshi Monsters and Club Penguin aren’t uncommon. Apps like Snapchat quickly become more popular as the kids get a bit older, allowing them to send fun, short videos to others. And it’s likely their friends are on it, too. Snapchat paved the way with its fun stickers, filters, and voice changers—something which Facebook and Instagram have since picked up as well. Baffled at hearing infants talk about ‘hyperlinks’, ‘pop-ups’ and ‘downloads’, ‘User interface’, ‘Cookie’, ‘Algorithm’, ‘Hyperlink’, ‘Icons’, etc. parents admit to asking tech-savvy toddlers for help with problems on our phones or tablets.
Early brain development supports critical periods in children under the age of 7. During these times, the chemistry of the brain is ideal for learning new skills and taking in fresh information. The pliable minds of children actually become wired in ways that are strikingly different to previous generations. With the increased use of internet, the human brain is actually changing in its physical structure. Imprinting is any kind of phase-sensitive learning that’s rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behaviour. It’s most obvious in the nidifugous birds, which imprint on their parents and then follow them around. Even if parents enjoy the momentary peace that comes with handing a small child a gadget to play with, kids who’re interacting with the screen get better much faster, make fewer mistakes and learn helpful tools. With screens having become a virtual babysitter, attitudes of parents support this notion. As phones are in their parents’ hands all the time imprinting happens even when infants may not yet be able to talk or walk. It’s no surprise that the babies in our arms accept the existence of screens so readily. With the latest gadgets to hand from birth, their inquisitive, sticky fingers smeared mashed banana all over iPhones/iPad screens and Xbox controllers. In the 21st century where a technological device is almost always within arm’s reach, even when parents are strict on screen time, struggle to resist letting their children look or touch the devices when they’re using them. Two year old toddlers know as much about using a Smartphone or tablet as many of the Baby-Boomers.
Children under five years old have an uncanny knack for knowing how to master new technology. Fast-forward to 2018 and beyond, and you’re now responsible for raising a child whose life will revolve around digital technology, and who’ll have to be tech-smart, tech-savvy, and tech-safe to survive out there in the wild. The intuitive nature of modern devices may also be responsible for the instinctive way with which children interact with them. Touch screens, for instance, are manipulated by tiny fingers with relative ease. It’s natural for children to discover things through touch. A Smartphone can be a useful and natural tool in their quest for discovery. From Smartphones to tablet computers and game consoles, it isn’t unusual to see toddlers intuitively swiping screens and confidently pressing buttons.
Playtime hasn’t disappeared. It’s just changing. The internet is a little like an online playground. While kids aren’t as likely to be running around and playing outside, they’re inside slaying dragons and going on adventures, and doing everything their parents did; maybe using a different medium. Now games like Minecraft and Terraria are part of their daily lives. They text their Nan, they download apps, they take photos and make them Smartphone wallpapers. Imagine if their daily lives started to work like a digital obsessive with a compulsive need to share everything. They wouldn’t just be able to go out into the garden for a casual kick about – they’d need to set up a live stream over twitch with ongoing commentary – then edit the funny bits into a YouTube video, promoted via Twitter. Playing hide and seek in the park would involve GPS tracking and geo-locating one of them, only to find that he’d attached his Smartphone to a squirrel. Their bedtime stories would be delivered via a series of Snapchat mimes.