Older parents, climate change and AI: say hello to Generation Beta
Kendra Seguin | CBC News | Posted: January 6, 2025 10:00 AM | Last Updated: January 6
Babies born in 2025 will be the first members of the next generation
Baby Boomers grew up in a wealthy post-war world, while Generation Z was raised with an iPhone in hand. The most recent Generation Alpha spent their childhood knowing the face masks and work-from-home lifestyle of the pandemic.
In 2025, enter Generation Beta.
The newest generation is expected to grow up in a world defined by technology, smaller families and ongoing climate change, according to London demographers.
"Generation Beta are children who are born between 2025 and 2039 so we can think about what is going on with their generation in terms of the different dimensions of their lives," said Kate Choi, a sociology professor at Western University.
Generations, also known as birth cohorts, are often defined by a key historical event, said Choi. The Silent Generation came of age during World War II and Millennials were the last to be born before the turn of the millennium.
"Because of that experience, they have a similar cultural understanding or they are really influenced by that social event," Choi said.
Birth cohorts are also impacted by the environment that surrounds them and the environment that influenced their parents when they grew up, she added.
While some demographers say generational categories are not always the perfect way to define groups of people, whose ages can span upwards of 20 years, it can explain how humans shape the world around them.
"I like these cohorts because it is not just age, but age interacting with the exposure to certain characteristics," said Michael Haan, a demographer who also teaches at Western.
Technology 'baked right into their anatomy'
While both demographers said they do not know exactly which historical events will influence Generation Beta, they said current trends in technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation will likely be a factor.
"Generation Beta is going to have AI baked right into their anatomy of how they handle, deal with and solve problems," said Haan.
He said that while current generations are already experimenting with AI, Gen Beta will be the first to have it embedded in their daily lives as they come of age. That will have a learning curve, he said.
"AI is the wild west," said Haan, comparing it to the early days of the internet. "It's almost impossible, at this point, for us to predict where AI will go next and how we can set up the safeguards to ensure that we don't do something catastrophic to ourselves."
Choi said the learning curves that older Millennials and Generation Z overcame while growing up with social media will likely affect how the next generation behaves online.
"These individuals are being born to parents who have been using social media all throughout their lives, and they also understand both the benefits and challenges that come with social media usage," Choi said, adding that some countries are also beginning to add legislation to limit minors' use of social platforms.
"I foresee that Generation Beta individuals will opt for more restrictive usage of social media," she said.
Older parents, smaller families
The next generation's parents will also impact the challenges they face as they grow up, said Choi.
She said lower fertility rates worldwide, such as Canada's rate of 1.26 per cent in 2024, will make for smaller families.
"This is the generation of children who are less likely to have siblings," she said. "Some of these children may also not even have cousins."
She also said that Millennial and Generation Z parents are waiting longer to have kids, meaning the next generation will have older parents.
"Older parents tend to be wealthier and more emotionally prepared to raise children, so in many regards that will contribute to the socioeconomic advantage of Generation Beta children," Choi said.
"At the same time, the fact that they have older parents also means that they will have to confront issues associated with caring for their parents at a younger age."
Haan said Generation Beta's life goals may also be different, following in the footsteps of their parents' later entry to the labour market and given the economy they will grow up in.
"I think Beta is probably one of the first generations that has it in their head that they may not be able to own their own dwellings because the price of housing will be so high," he said.
Facing climate change
Choi and Haan both expect climate change will be the key issue that Generation Beta will need to confront.
"This is the generation of children who will be disproportionately affected by climate change and extreme weather events," said Choi.
Haan said that while climate change will affect Generation Beta, he is optimistic that the cohort will try to make a change because of it.
He said there are some indirect factors that may help the next generation combat climate change. Smaller homes could mean a smaller environmental footprint and using technology to work from home or for other amenities could reduce the amount of emissions through travel, Haan said.
"My hope is that they're going to be one of the first generations that really takes it seriously and really starts to work against the highest effects of climate change because they will experience it most directly," Haan said.