Gen Alpha is online and developing sports fandom, report says

Today’s teens are very online. But what about the generation younger than them?

Gen Alpha, aka children ages 10 and younger, are already engaging with streaming and social media, according to Morning Consult’s second annual report on the generation, which is based on responses from thousands of US parents across two surveys.

Alphas are relatively new to social media and streaming platforms—and the athletes and influencers that populate them—but, despite their youth, Morning Consult found Alphas are already developing habits that marketers may want to note.

The kids are online: About half of Alphas stream video content daily, according to the report, and by age 8, most of them are on social media for up to three hours a day, according to their parents.

• MrBeast, Blue Ivy Carter, Jake Paul, Logan Paul, and North West are among the influencers Gen Alpha tends to view favorably.
• YouTube and Disney+ are the most popular platforms among Alphas: 30% of parents said Disney+ is the streaming platform their children use most, and 50% said YouTube tops the list in terms of social platforms.

Given the age restrictions on many social platforms, there are “a lot more children on social media than I would expect,” Joanna Piacenza, head of industry analysis at Morning Consult, told Marketing Brew.

“We have to be careful as brands and advertisers, not marketing specifically to 6-year-olds, to minors,” she said. “But knowing that they’re on those platforms, Alphas are going to catch your brand’s name.”

Alpha fan: Since some Alphas are on social and streaming platforms, according to their parents, it stands to reason that they’ve been exposed to sports content. Morning Consult found that 60% of the generation has watched a pro sports event on TV, and almost half (47%) have watched college sports on TV.

Parents told Morning Consult that smaller shares have attended games in person—39% for pro sports and 28% for college sports—and 18% have already participated in fantasy leagues.

• The NFL, NBA, MLB, and men’s soccer are the most popular sports among Alphas, per the report.
• While 9% of Gen Zers and all US adults, respectively, identify as “avid” fans of men’s soccer, 14% of Alphas are the same, their parents said.
• Women’s soccer and the WNBA are among the least popular sports for Alphas, though larger shares of the youngest generation are “avid” fans of those sports than all US adults, according to the report.

Alpha-bet: Marketers that want to reach Alphas—via influencers, athletes, or otherwise—might want to learn a new language: Alpha slang. Almost one-third (29%) of Alpha parents said their youngest child uses slang they don’t understand, according to the report.

• About one-third (33%) have heard their youngest child say “bet.”
• Similar shares have heard “GOAT” (32%) and “sus” (31%).
• Another 28% have heard “bussin’” and “cap.”

“You can’t speak to them if you don’t know the language that they’re speaking, and this is the language that they’re speaking,” Piacenza said. “In two months, this list will be dated.”