By Iana Benjamin • Bar Bulletin Editor-In-Chief
As a family law practitioner, I often think of families and the children within those families. I have seen firsthand the impact that COVID-19 has had on many of these children.
The coronavirus is an epoch of our time, a generation-defining event. The effects of this pandemic will have an enduring impact on those who live to tell the tales of the years 2020, 2021 and maybe even 2022.
Never in my lifetime did I think that I would be living, working and surviving through a pandemic.
Generation Alpha, a term coined by futurist and social researcher Mark McCrindle, are the children born to millennials and the first generation to be entirely born in the 21st century.
This generation comprises more than 1 in 7 people and within the next four years, they will outnumber the baby boomers.
By the year 2025, this generation’s offspring population is expected to reach 1 billion in number and they are on trend to be the largest generation in the history of the world.
Generation Alpha tend to be digital natives, with a deep level of digital literacy because they will grow up using smartphones and tablets as part of their educational development and for entertainment. They already are shaped by technology and they already shape the social media landscape.
A report by Common Sense Media suggests that the amount of time children under age 9 in the United States spent using mobile devices increased from 15 minutes a day in 2013 to 48 minutes in 2017.
According to McCrindle, Generation Alpha will most likely delay standard life markers such as marriage, childbirth and retirement, as did the few previous generations.
McCrindle estimates that Generation Alpha will make up 11% of the global workforce by 2030. He also predicts that they will live longer, have smaller families and will be “the most formally educated generation ever, the most technology-supplied generation ever and globally the wealthiest generation ever.”
What impact will COVID-19 have on McCrindle’s prediction about Generation Alpha? Will Generation Alpha be forever altered by the impacts of the pandemic? Will we see a global shift in the way this generation acts, feels, lives, earns, performs and loves?
This I know for sure: COVID-19 has left its mark on all of us forever. We have learned a thing or two about resiliency and surviving in the midst of so much loss and grief.
Our awareness regarding our mental and physical health is at an all-time high and we are more conscious of taking the time needed to ensure that our well-being is nourished.
Iana Benjamin is a litigation attorney at Cordell & Cordell and editor-in-chief of The Bar Bulletin.