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This generation’s children have two main characteristics: they were born to parents who belonged to the digital generation (Generation Z and its predecessor) and thus lived in an environment full of technologies.

By Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori

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Published: Wed 11 Nov 2020, 9:32 AM

As soon as the Second World War ended in 1945, the struggling societies came back to life, and in less than a year, the annual number of births in America exceeded four million for the first time in history.

This was the mark of a new generation that would later be called the baby boomers. That generation represented the victory of life over death, and perhaps they received a good amount of indulgence and social well-being, that helped them develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and a conviction in being special.


The successive generations were classified according to chronology and the characteristics associated with the phase and were named using the Latin letters. There was the Generation (X), then Generation (Y), which is also referred as the millennials, and then there was the Generation Z, which is the digital generation. Generation Z has been described as a revolution by all standards due to its amazing intellectual skills. Some scholars described its population as “Neodigitals”, like the neoliberals.

You might wonder why we write often about the generations.


The reason is that the signs of a very new and completely different generation are appearing on the horizon. Called the Alpha Generation, its oldest person is only ten years. The children of Alpha generation were born after 2010, and it is said that the Covid-19 pandemic has diverted our attention to their existence and their characteristics, most of which belong to the future more than the present.

The first to call them ‘Alpha’ was the Australian researcher Mark McCrindle, who rejected a suggestion to use the Latin letter A to label the generation as it indicates starting over. Instead, he chose the Greek letter ‘Alpha’, which means the emergence of something completely new and different.

This generation’s children have two main characteristics: they were born to parents who belonged to the digital generation (Generation Z and its predecessor) and thus lived in an environment full of technologies, and, they are the first generation in history to experience a global crisis that was addressed with completely digital solutions.

According to a report by Gartner, the future of digital life with its artificial intelligence and fourth industrial revolution is in the hands of this generation that has what is known as ‘total access’, and the ability to deal with technologies with a high degree of adaptation, flexibility, and agility.

Today, as we are engaged dynamically and actively in designing the future of our country, I believe that perhaps, future foresight begins with observing Alpha Generation because they will dramatically change the rules of the game.

Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori is the Head of Digital Government and Director General, TRA


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