Gen Beta: What We Know About the Next Generation

I’m a millennial mom and periodically have these startling moments where I realize I’m not one of the kids anymore; I’m the adult. One of those moments happened when I recently learned my Gen Alpha kids (who are still just in daycare and elementary school) aren’t part of the youngest generation anymore. Babies born in 2025 will be part of Gen Beta. There are now TWO full generations between the one I was born into and the current one!

Gen Beta will be born into a post-pandemic world

Gen Beta kids are born into a world after the COVID-19 pandemic ended. Their older Gen Alpha siblings lived with the pandemic as a big part of their childhoods. My 10-year-old daughter started kindergarten virtually in 2020, and my 3-year-old daughter was born into a very restricted world in 2021. Meanwhile, their Gen Z family and friends may have missed out on some of their big teenage milestones: a cancelled high school graduation, a sports season cut short, and a general feeling of isolation from their friends.

During the pandemic, the world spent a few years experiencing changes to our deeply ingrained ways of living. Then, we got used to the shifts that stuck around and became permanent new ways of life. Gen Beta will have these post-pandemic changes as parts of their daily lives, even if they didn’t experience them firsthand. For example, their parents might work remotely, they may have telehealth visits for minor ailments, and they will certainly always have home entertainment available on a nearby screen.

Gen Beta will have always lived with AI

A few years ago, “AI” was a term I heard occasionally but infrequently. Now, it’s becoming part of everyday technologies at lightning speed. Gen Beta’s birth follows this acceleration of AI, so they will grow up with it intertwined with their daily life. Previous generations experienced the infancy of AI and remember first experimenting with it in different ways (“Alexa, play Baby Shark”). AI will be ubiquitous to the current generation, including when they start school in a few years.

AI has already entered the classroom through new learning technologies, and it’s only positioned to grow. According to Carnegie Learning’s The State of AI in Education report, 77 percent of educators surveyed believe AI is useful, and only 1 percent of respondents found no benefit to using AI in the classroom. An article from the University of Illinois Office of Online Programs discusses how AI can be used to individualize learning and reduce educator time spent on administrative tasks. These benefits make it indisputable that AI technology will become a big part of Gen Beta’s schooling.

Technology will continue to advance rapidly during their lifetime

Gen Beta will live alongside tools that only exist as far-fetched ideas right now. This can sound intimidating for parents tasked with helping their “Beta babies” safely navigate these new technologies. It can also sound exciting, as Kimberly Bryant, Founder of Black Girls Code, shared in a study done by Prudential Financial, “I think Generation Beta is a possibility generation… there’s a lot of possibility there that they will have access to tools and opportunities to create a world that looks very different than what we’ve ever seen and experienced before.”

“Generation Beta is a possibility generation… they will have access to tools and opportunities to create a world that looks very different than what we’ve ever seen and experienced before.“

Gen Beta will be disproportionately affected by climate change

Using generational categories allows us to look at how a big event shapes the world for those of a certain age. For millennials, it was events like 9/11 and The Great Recession. For Gen Beta, that event is likely to be climate change.

These children will be raised by millennial and Gen Z parents, who are already eco-conscious. They are likely to make environmentalism and sustainability a core value for their household. According to Pew Research Center, 71 percent of millennials and 67 percent of Gen Z believe “climate should be a top priority to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations.” And 61 percent of millennials and 67 percent of Gen Z have “talked about the need for action on climate at least one to two times” in the past few weeks.

Growing up in a household that prioritizes sustainability will shape the priorities and values of Gen Beta around our changing planet that they will carry into adulthood. Because of this focus, demographer Michael Haan believes that Gen Beta will try to make positive changes to impact climate change.

“Beta Babies” will be largely raised by Gen Z and younger millennials

Gen Beta will be largely parented by Gen Z and younger millennials—the most tech-savvy and diverse generations of parents to date. Just as the experiences of my millennial youth shaped my parenting approach, the next generation of parents’ experiences will shape theirs.

While most millennials grew up without social media, that is not the case for Gen Z. And it will likely affect their parenting approach around the hot-button topic. According to Ashley Fell from McCrindle, Gen Z parents know firsthand about problems that accompany using social media at a young age and are more likely to limit screen time.

“Gen Z parents know firsthand about the problems that accompany using social media at a young age and are more likely to limit screen time.”

Conversely, I was part of the millennial generation that started to experience social media in my late teens. I don’t know a world where I had access to these tools as a child. So I am parenting through these issues as I learn about them myself.

And I’m not alone. Other parents seeking a research-based perspective on social media and smartphone use made Jonathon Haidt’s book, The Anxious Generation, a New York Times best-seller in 2024. In it, Haidt explores a connection between mental health issues in children and screens. The book also includes practical tips for parents navigating this ever-changing landscape.

Mental health awareness

Today’s parents are incredibly aware of the importance of mental health and the challenges it presents. According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 40 percent of parents of kids under 18 are extremely or very worried about their child struggling with anxiety or depression.

I think this is a big shift from previous generations of parents, as these topics used to be more taboo. As the years pass, mental health conversations have become more and more common to openly have without shame. I personally feel more open to having these discussions than I did as a teen around 20 years ago. Today’s children will benefit from having a more understanding environment—and hopefully more support—if they experience mental health challenges.

Diversity and inclusivity values

Today’s children will also benefit from being raised by a generation with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. According to another Pew Research Center survey, Gen Z is supportive of societal change such as same-sex marriage and comfort with gender-neutral pronouns. Gen Z is also the most racially and ethnically diverse generation to date. So many Gen Z parents will be bringing those values into their homes, and their Gen Beta children will be raised in an environment with diverse identities and perspectives.

How can parents of Gen Beta prepare?

We’re just at the beginning of Gen Beta, and it’s too early to know what major events might shape their world. And if you’re the parent of a Gen Beta kid, learning what you can and making the best possible decisions for your family with the information you have means you’re already doing a great job. Every generation has faced uncharted new terrains, just like Gen Beta is about to.

And, 15 years from now, we’ll be analyzing Gen Gamma!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brigette Marshall, Contributing Writer

Brigette is a mom of two little girls and works full-time in project management, both at home and in the office. She loves book clubbing, antique shopping, watching documentaries, and convincing her husband to cook gourmet meals for her.

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Babies Born This Year Will Be Gen Beta: What to Know About the Next Generation