Today’s teenagers are online a lot. But what about the younger generation of them?
Gen Alpha, or children ages 10 and under, are already engaging with streaming and social media, according to Morning Consult’s second annual report on the generation, which is based on responses from thousands of U.S. parents to two surveys.
Alphas are relatively new to social media and streaming platforms – and to the athletes and influencers who populate them – but despite their youth, Morning Consult found that Alphas are already developing habits that marketers could want to notice.
The kids are online
According to the report, about half of Alphas stream video content every day, and by age 8, most of them are on social media for up to three hours a day, according to their parents.
- MrBeast, Blue Ivy Carter, Jake Paul, Logan Paul and North West are among the influencers that Gen Alpha tends to view favorably.
- YouTube and Disney+ are the most popular platforms among Alphas: 30% of parents say Disney+ is the streaming platform most used by their children, and 50% say YouTube is at the top of the list in terms of social platforms.
Given age restrictions on many social platforms, there are “a lot more kids on social media than I would expect,” Joanna Piacenza, head of industry analysis at Morning Consult, told Marketing Brew.
“We have to be careful as brands and advertisers, not to market specifically to 6-year-olds, or to minors,” he said. “But knowing that they are on those platforms, Alphas will capture your brand name.”
Alpha fan
Since some Alphas are on social and streaming platforms, according to their parents, it is obvious that they have been exposed to sports content. Morning Consult found that 60% of the generation has watched a professional sporting event on TV and nearly half (47%) have watched college sports on TV.
Parents told Morning Consult that smaller shares have attended games in person – 39% for professional sports and 28% for college sports – and 18% have already participated in fantasy leagues.
- According to the report, the NFL, NBA, MLB and men’s soccer are the most popular sports among Alphas.
- While 9% of Generation Z and all U.S. adults, respectively, identify as “avid” men’s soccer fans, 14% of Alphas are the same, their parents said.
- Women’s soccer and the WNBA are among the least popular sports for Alphas, although a larger share of the younger generation are “avid” fans of these sports than all U.S. adults, according to the report.
Alphabet
Marketers who want to reach Alphas, whether through influencers, athletes or otherwise, may want to learn a new language: Alpha slang. According to the report, nearly a third (29%) of Alpha parents said their youngest child uses slang they don’t understand.
- About a third (33%) have heard their youngest child say “bet”.
- Similar actions heard “GOAT” (32%) and “sus” (31%).
- Another 28% heard “bussin'” and “cap.”
“You can’t talk to them if you don’t know the language they speak, and that’s the language they speak,” Piacenza said. “In two months, this list will be dated.”
This report was originally published on Marketing Brew.