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Growing Up Alpha: The Youngest Generation’s Media & Entertainment Habits
Report summary
Alphas’ online habits are being formed, now.
Gen Alpha (ages 0-10) is living much of its life online already, forming habits — such as high social media usage, interest in “review” and “day in the life” videos, and VR headset ownership — that will set new norms for how every industry engages with them.
Following our groundbreaking March 2023 report on Gen Alpha, this report aims to learn more about the youngest generation vis-à-vis their media consumption habits, device ownership, and entertainment preferences. We researched topics such as social media usage, gaming, and the metaverse, in addition to themes such as childcare and higher education costs.
Key Takeaways
- Half of Alphas are streaming video daily. That includes the youngest Alpha cohort, age 0-4.
- Tablets are universal: 49% of Alphas own one. But Alphas spend the most time on desktop computers and VR headsets.
- YouTube and Disney+ are Alpha’s platforms of choice. 60% and 54% of Alphas use YouTube and Disney+, respectively.
- Parents have become more optimistic about Alpha’s future. Even if they’re unsure of how to they’ll pay for childcare and college.
- Say what? 29% of parents say Alphas use unfamiliar slang. ‘Bet,’ ‘GOAT,’ and ‘sus’ are the most used Alpha slang words.
Data Downloads
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Methodology
Two recent Morning Consult surveys are featured in this report. A 2024 survey of 2,007 U.S. parents with children under the age of 11, fielded Jan. 3-18, 2024, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. A 2024 survey of 1,003 U.S. parents with children under the age of 18, fielded Jan. 3-17, 2024, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
Throughout the report, we compared our 2024 figures to surveys fielded in Dec. 2022. You can see those survey's full methodology here. For several historical questions, we adjusted our question phrasing in the 2024 questionnaire. We noted those instances throughout the report.
We also tapped into our growing database of Gen Z research for additional comparisons. You can review those reports and analyses here.
Data in this report has been updated to correct errors that occurred due to a technical issue.
About the author
Joanna Piacenza leads Industry Analysis at Morning Consult. Prior to joining Morning Consult, she was an editor at the Public Religion Research Institute, conducting research at the intersection of religion, culture and public policy. Joanna graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications and holds a master’s degree in religious studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected].
