Generation Alpha explained: years, traits and UK survey data

Alastair Greener FPSA Generational communication expert, author and President of the PSA UK and Ireland 2026 Published 5 September 2026 · 10 min read

Generation Alpha were born between 2013 and 2024, so they are aged 2 to 13 in 2026 and will start entering the workforce from about 2031. Our 2024 UK survey of 4,067 people asked 201 Gen Alpha children aged 8 to 12 directly how they communicate. 67% already have a phone, 72% talk to friends through online games and 62% have never sent an email. This guide sets out the data and what it means for parents, teachers and employers.

67%of Gen Alpha 8 to 12 year olds have a mobile phone of their ownCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

72%of Gen Alpha communicate with friends through online games or virtual worldsCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

62%of Gen Alpha have never sent an emailCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

57%of Gen Alpha phone owners are not allowed to use their phone at school at allCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

Most of what is written about Generation Alpha is guesswork extrapolated from Gen Z. Our 2024 survey of 4,067 people in the UK did something different: it asked 201 children aged 8 to 12 directly how they communicate. As far as we know it is the only UK survey of its kind to have done so.

Who are Generation Alpha?

Generation Alpha (Gen Alpha) are the people born between 2013 and 2024, which makes them 2 to 13 years old in 2026. They follow Generation Z (born 1997 to 2012) and come before Generation Beta (born 2025 onwards). The name is commonly credited to the Australian social researcher Mark McCrindle, who proposed starting again with the Greek alphabet once the Latin one ran out at Z.

The boundaries are conventions rather than facts. The Pew Research Center, whose cut-offs we use for every generation up to Gen Z, has not published a definition of Gen Alpha, and some writers start the cohort in 2010. We use 2013 to 2024 because it follows Pew's Gen Z end date and matches our 2024 survey's age bands; someone born in 2012 or 2013 is a cusper. The full table is on our generations explained page.

Gen Alpha are the first generation born entirely after the smartphone became ordinary. Their parents are mostly Millennials, they have never known a home without wifi, and the oldest were at primary school when Covid closed classrooms in 2020. Their formative years have included the cost of living squeeze and an argument, still running, about whether children should have phones at all.

When will Gen Alpha enter the workplace?

The oldest Gen Alpha turn 18 in 2031, so they will begin arriving in apprenticeships and first jobs from about 2031 and as graduates from about 2034. By the mid 2030s a workplace could contain six generations at once, and our 2024 survey respondents will be the vanguard.

The Gen Alpha in our survey

Our 201 Gen Alpha respondents were aged 8 to 12 in 2024, 52% boys and 48% girls. One caveat: the socio-economic question was answered by their parents, and 49% came from AB households against a national profile of 27%, so the group is more affluent than the country as a whole. Treat the figures as a first sighting, not a census.

How does Generation Alpha communicate?

Gen Alpha communicate through games, voice notes, WhatsApp and, unusually, in person. 72% talk to friends through online games or virtual worlds, 72% have left a voice note, 60% use WhatsApp and 49% use emojis all the time. 62% have never sent an email. Asked how they would say happy birthday to a friend, 54% said they would visit in person, the highest of any generation.

Communication habit (2024 survey)	Gen Alpha	Gen Z	Millennials
Use a smartphone to communicate	75%	95%	97%
Use a tablet to communicate	50%	30%	35%
Use WhatsApp	60%	87%	91%
Use Snapchat	25%	66%	27%
Use TikTok	25%	61%	32%
Use emojis or stickers "all the time"	49%	43%	39%
Ever leave voice notes	72%	85%	75%
Never send emails	62%	8%	3%
Communicate with friends through online games	72%	59%	36%
Have ever used an AI platform such as ChatGPT	13%	59%	48%
Use social media much	38%	91%	86%
Like phone calls and "do it a lot"	38%	32%	35%

Source: Communication Habits and Preferences 2024, our survey of 4,067 UK people. Gen Alpha respondents were aged 8 to 12; Millennials are labelled Gen Y in the survey.

The tablet is the Gen Alpha device: 50% use one to communicate, the highest of any generation, against 30% of Gen Z. 77% use at least one messaging app, with WhatsApp (60%) far ahead of Snapchat and TikTok (25% each) and Instagram and Messenger (10% each).

Online games are a social space, not just a pastime. 72% of Gen Alpha communicate with friends through games or virtual worlds, 50% do so several times a week or more and 19% every day, against 59% of Gen Z and 36% of Millennials. When a child says they are "playing with friends" on a console, they usually mean it literally.

Voice is more popular than the stereotype suggests. 72% of Gen Alpha have left a voice note and 25% would send one for a friend's birthday. 38% like speaking on the phone and do it a lot, higher than Gen Z (32%), and only 1% hate it. If a call goes unanswered, 46% would send a message and 14% would leave a voicemail. WhatsApp (41%) is their most likely way of contacting a friend or relative, with phoning second (19%). Two channels barely register: 62% have never sent an email, and only 13% have ever used an AI platform such as ChatGPT, the same proportion as Baby Boomers.

Generation Alpha and screens

Most Gen Alpha 8 to 12 year olds already own a phone, most got it before they were 11, and most are not allowed to use it at school. 67% have a mobile phone of their own and 65% a smartphone. 73% of those with a smartphone got it at 10 or younger. 57% of phone owners are not allowed to use it at school at all, 22% may use it at breaks and lunchtime, and 63% have rules at home about when and how they use it.

Those figures are the backdrop to the phones-in-schools debate. The 57% school ban among 8 to 12 year olds falls to 35% among 13 to 15 year olds, so restrictions loosen sharply at secondary school. We set out the arguments in Should we keep phones out of schools?, and Emma Clark, a former English teacher, described the reality behind Australia's under-16 social media ban in Gen X Raising Gen Z: Anxiety, Schools and Smartphones.

Social media has not yet taken hold. 38% of Gen Alpha use social media much, against 91% of Gen Z. Those who do use it are prolific posters: 50% post content of their own at least every couple of days, the highest of any generation, mostly things that made them laugh (56%).

Their motives are the ones adults worry about. 50% of Gen Alpha posters say they post because they enjoy getting likes and shares, more than double the 24% across all ages, and 47% because it is just something everyone does. The most cited reason, though, is a kind one: 59% post to make people smile. Mark Saxby, founder of Positive Social, discussed healthier habits in Social Media and Its Intergenerational Impact.

What does Gen Alpha mean for parents, teachers and employers?

For parents, the data suggests rules are normal: 63% of Gen Alpha have rules at home about phone use. Older respondents in our survey repeatedly raised concern about the effect of technology on younger generations, from the loss of face-to-face skills to the "art of conversation". The children themselves are the generation most likely to visit a friend in person on their birthday.

Emily Haslam-Jones, a therapist and specialist in co-regulation, explained how parents and carers can rebuild trust and emotional regulation with children in Generational Connection, Co-Regulation and Raising Gen Alpha. Joe Rowntree, comedian and founder of Anxiety Uncovered, explored parenting in a permanently connected world in Anxiety, Humour and Raising Kids in a Smartphone World.

For teachers, the platforms are already in the classroom. 47% of Gen Alpha 8 to 12 year olds use school platforms such as Google Classroom to talk to teachers and classmates, rising to 61% of 13 to 15 year olds. Among under 16s who use them, 31% love it, 49% do not mind it and nobody hates it. Former school superhead Nick Bowen, who spent 20 years leading large secondary schools, reflected on why today's students question more in School Superhead on Why Today's Students Question More.

For employers, the message is to look at Gen Z and prepare for more of the same. The 2031 intake will arrive having never used email as a personal channel (62% never have), expecting to message and voice note colleagues, and treating a shared online game as a normal place to socialise. Gen Z's preference for messaging over phone calls is the rehearsal.

Generation Alpha stereotypes versus the data

"iPad kids who can't talk to people." 50% do use a tablet to communicate, but 54% would visit a friend in person for their birthday, more than any other generation, and 38% like phone calls and make them a lot, more than Gen Z (32%).

"Screen addicts." 38% use social media much, against 91% of Gen Z and 86% of Millennials. 57% cannot use a phone at school at all and 63% have rules at home. The heavy screen time is in gaming, and 72% of that gaming is social.

"AI natives." Not yet. 13% of Gen Alpha have ever used an AI platform, the same as Baby Boomers and well behind Gen Z (59%). They are growing up alongside AI rather than fluent in it.

"They only want likes." 50% of Gen Alpha posters do say they post because they enjoy getting likes and shares. But 59% post to make people smile, and what they share most is things that made them laugh (56%). That is a generation seeking connection with the tools it has been given.

How to communicate with Generation Alpha

Assume the tablet, not the laptop. 50% of Gen Alpha communicate on a tablet and only 28% on a laptop.
Meet them in the game. 72% talk to friends through online games. For parents, sitting alongside for a session tells you more than any lecture about screens.
Use voice freely. 72% leave voice notes and 38% like phone calls a lot. Voice is not the barrier it is for some of Gen Z.
Expect emojis and stickers. 49% use them all the time, the highest of any generation.
Do not send an email. 62% have never sent one. Use the family WhatsApp group (60% use WhatsApp) or the school platform.
Explain the rule, then keep it. 63% already live with rules at home and 57% with a full ban at school. Children accept consistent limits more readily than adults expect.

Emily Haslam-Jones: Generational Connection, Co-Regulation and Raising Gen Alpha: rebuilding trust and emotional regulation with children.
Nick Bowen: School Superhead on Why Today's Students Question More: 20 years leading large secondary schools.
Joe Rowntree: Anxiety, Humour and Raising Kids in a Smartphone World: parenting in a permanently connected world.
Emma Clark: Gen X Raising Gen Z, Anxiety, Schools and Smartphones: anxiety in schools and Australia's under-16 social media ban.
Mark Saxby: Social Media and Its Intergenerational Impact: healthier social media habits.

Every Gen Alpha figure on this page is on the Communication Habits and Preferences 2024 page.

Frequently asked questions

What years are Generation Alpha?

Generation Alpha were born between 2013 and 2024, which makes them 2 to 13 years old in 2026. The boundary is a convention: the Pew Research Center has not published a definition and some writers start the cohort in 2010. We use 2013 because it follows Pew's Gen Z end date of 2012.

When will Gen Alpha enter the workforce?

From about 2031, when the oldest Gen Alpha turn 18 and begin apprenticeships and first jobs, with the first graduates arriving from about 2034. By the mid 2030s a workplace could contain six generations. Employers wanting a preview should look at Gen Z: Gen Alpha share their preference for messaging over email, only more so.

Who comes after Gen Alpha?

Generation Beta, born from 2025 onwards. The label continues the Greek alphabet sequence that began with Alpha and is commonly credited to Mark McCrindle. Gen Beta turned one in 2026, so there is no research on them yet; our Generation Beta guide explains what can reasonably be said about a generation that cannot yet talk.

Do Generation Alpha have phones?

Most do by the age of 8 to 12. In our 2024 survey 67% of Gen Alpha had a mobile phone of their own, 65% a smartphone, and 73% of those with a smartphone got it at 10 or younger. 57% are not allowed to use it at school at all, and 63% have rules at home.

Why are they called Generation Alpha?

Because the Latin alphabet ran out. After Generation X, Y (the Millennials) and Z, the next cohort needed a new name, and the Australian researcher Mark McCrindle is commonly credited with proposing a fresh start using the Greek alphabet. Alpha is followed by Beta, born from 2025.

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Generation Alpha explained: years, traits and UK survey data