Play on Alpha: who will replace the buzzers
Meme zoomers can breathe a sigh of relief: angry critics have shifted their attention to the alpha generation. Children born from 2010 to 2024 are blamed for their obsessive fascination with gadgets, poor speech, and lack of interest in reading. Izvestia investigated whether the claims against the younger generation were justified, whether it was possible to get teenagers out of smartphones and prepare them for practical life.
What is a digital native?
Psychologists call modern children digital natives — that is, people who grew up in the digital age. Unlike previous generations, alphas had access to technology from infancy, which influenced their learning style and interactions with the world. Anna Guseva, a practicing psychologist, emphasizes that these children grew up with touchscreens, voice assistants, and streaming, and many of them are raised by millennial and buzzer parents who themselves grew up "digitally," which affects their parenting style.
— If we talk about the advantages of alpha, then they have high skills in finding information and switching between media, — says Anna Guseva. Alpha prefers visual and multimodal forms of communication, which promotes the development of global thinking and interaction with different cultures. They learn languages faster and easier, and they have increased awareness of modern issues. Alphas demonstrate high tolerance, global thinking, and a desire for self-expression.
According to Guseva, the rapid adaptation to technology, the ease of multimodal learning, and access to a huge amount of knowledge give modern schoolchildren many advantages. But there are also gaps in the quality of education and upbringing. The smart speaker immediately gives you a ready answer, and if the child didn't know something before, he asked his parents and teachers and went to the library for information. It took time, but the bonus was deep assimilation and comprehension of information, live interaction with people. Alphas perceive information in the story mode. Hence the superficial attention and lack of depth of concentration.
According to clinical psychologist Sergey Volkov, the average concentration of attention in modern children aged 5 to 13 years is about 7.5 seconds. For comparison, this indicator is 8-9 seconds for goldfish, and 12 seconds for millennials, the expert emphasizes. Generation X (1960-1985) can best concentrate and hold attention for 15 seconds. Meanwhile, mindfulness is at the heart of learning and brain development.
— Judging by the statistical analysis of messengers and social networks, half of the children spend at least three hours a day there, — says Volkov. — It's not just a game with gadgets, it's a system that rebuilds the brain. Experts from the US Institute of Public Health studied 500 papers by different students and came to the conclusion that the more time a person spends behind the screen of any gadget, the worse his concentration becomes.
The clinical psychologist draws attention to the fact that 95% of alpha children expect an immediate response to any click or any external action. They don't know how to wait at the neurological level. This feature is called "the inability to delayed gratification," and previously it was considered a mental disorder, the expert emphasizes.
— Speed and inability to concentrate are two different things. Children of the alpha generation lose the ability to so-called mind wandering, when the brain switches between different thoughts, but then returns to the main task. In the process of switching between tabs and games, mind wandering is removed from the thought process and is not mastered by them," comments Sergey Volkov.
A clinical psychologist advises not to confuse knowledge of gadgets and the ability to use them. Modern technology is designed so that anyone can use it, but no more than 1,000 engineers around the world know exactly how it works. Children can easily use the interface, which adults often confuse with technical skill.
Another disadvantage of the alpha Wolves generation is that children have forgotten how to be surprised.
— There is a region of the brain that is activated if we see something very exciting and interesting, — explains the expert. — It is very difficult to be surprised if you have seen a "bombardier crocodile in a hat" since childhood. Lack of interest completely eliminates intellectual motivation. They are not interested in exploring and discovering the world, they are not interested in how it works. There will be few real scientists in this generation, because these people are bored of learning new things themselves. But they will be ready to watch if they are shown something.
According to Volkov, the alpha generation has a poorly functioning system affecting the frontal areas of the brain, which, when a person is distracted, help him understand that it is time to return to the task.
"People who are unable to hold their attention cannot master emotional control,— complains the clinical psychologist. — So, the only support in life for them will be their personal desire, without taking into account the consequences for others, without calculation and strategic sense.
The Crazy Column
Anna Guseva draws attention to such unavoidable factors as anxiety and sleep disorders, characteristic of modern children, since they are constantly locked into gadgets, and the brain is overloaded with information.
— The picture here is even more depressing than it seems, — agrees with his colleague Sergey Volkov. — Since 2016, the number of children suffering from depression has increased from 9% to 13% (including zoomers). But if we talk only about the alpha generation, then the numbers are even worse. From 2020 to 2025, depression increased by 25% among children aged 6 to 12. 30 years ago, the diagnosis of "depression" in a child caused confusion and alertness, and now it is becoming a massive disease.
The clinical psychologist emphasizes that, according to forecasts, 33% of children under the age of 12 are expected to develop depression by 2028. And that's only because they've been using gadgets since childhood.
Not everyone can handle the flow of information. According to Anna Guseva, children often come across content that is "outgrown" beyond their age. There is also a high risk of misinformation, since even the smartest speakers are not always perfect.
Modern artificial intelligence systems have inherited a key weakness of their teaching method — dependence on the quality of the source data, says Andrey Rybnikov, senior lecturer at the Department of Instrumental and Applied Software at RTU MIREA.
"Algorithms do not follow ready—made instructions, but form their own ideas about patterns, extracting them from statistical samples," comments Rybnikov. — If the training data contains distortions, the system does not just reproduce them, but enhances them. Thus, language models trained on network texts without filtering begin to broadcast subjective attitudes and false associations, creating the illusion of authenticity even from unreliable sources. This phenomenon is known as data bias and is consistent rather than random.
Since the neural network does not have its own criteria of truth, it reproduces the average structure of those texts on which it was trained, Rybnikov emphasizes. As a result, a statistical illusion of agreement is formed, although in fact there is a closure on the repetition of digital noise.
How to protect a child from a gadget
From Anna Guseva's point of view, global problems can be avoided if parents and teachers, aware of the vulnerabilities of the modern generation, develop children in a way that removes the disadvantages. Adults should work in synergy with the child and with the digital space, take into account what the minor likes, which bloggers and how they influence him, which sites he looks at, which articles he reads. Parental control is necessary, but it is better if the parent walks next to the alpha, rather than acting with total prohibitions, Guseva warns. And the main thing is to give children live communication, and not leave them alone with gadgets. Then there will be no reason to say that they were brought up by the Internet.
— Yes, the Internet largely shapes values, language patterns, communication patterns, and self-identification, but family, school, and society are local environments. It still has a key factor," the psychologist comments.
It is necessary to sound the alarm about the poverty of the language if parents and the school do not take care of children, do not develop them, do not teach them to be creative, Anna Guseva believes. This is a problem for more than one generation, because in the absence of normal upbringing, education and communication, the language will become poorer not only for the alpha.
— The reality is that there really is a tendency to reduce the active vocabulary, — complains Guseva. — Now it is fashionable to use slang, memes, simplified speech constructions. But this does not mean universal degradation. So, many alphas have a large passive vocabulary, they are characterized by bilingualism and even multilingualism. And it can save the situation.
However, automation, auto-corrections, voice inputs and other "assistants" sometimes simply kill spelling practice and the ability to build phrases, the psychologist emphasizes. Training to solve strictly defined tasks based on short-term memory also harms development.
— Now students read fewer long texts, and their knowledge is tested with the help of tests. But the same answer books (GDZ) were not invented by alpha themselves — it was created for them," says Guseva. — The question is different — teach, interest, explain why it is not necessary to take only short-term information, but rather to delve into the big one. This is a field of activity for parents and educators.
The expert emphasizes that even if adults are busy, it is necessary to find time to communicate with children and show interest in more than just gadgets.
— A child is a diagnosis of a family. He repeats everything his parents do. If adults read books and discuss good movies, then children will adopt this model," Guseva continues. — Read aloud, discuss what you have read with your children, limit passive consumption of information, and give vocabulary expansion tasks.
According to Guseva, sometimes even students have to explain why they need to read books and write essays.: these outdated classes, from the point of view of young people, help to build reasoned thoughts and learn critical thinking. Degradation and impoverishment of language or mind can manifest itself in representatives of any generation if you do not provide high-quality content. "At least until the age of 21, everyone needs mentoring and constant guidance from experienced adults. And you should not shift this process to gadgets," says Anna Guseva.
— Modern artificial intelligence systems are already able to create coherent texts, formulate arguments, and even simulate an individual writing style. However, their strength lies not in understanding, but in recognizing statistical patterns. Artificial intelligence does not make sense of information, but it is able to analyze huge amounts of data, identify hidden connections and offer new perspectives for reflection. This is precisely its value as a tool for intellectual expansion, not as a substitute for thinking," says Andrey Rybnikov.
From Rybnikov's point of view, AI can play the role of a cognitive simulator in the educational process — a partner in reflection. For example, a teacher can set a model the task of generating an explanation of a physical phenomenon with errors in logic or wording, and instruct the student to find and correct these errors.
— This exercise develops the ability for analytical reading and argumentation. Similarly, generative models can be used to train counterarguments: the student formulates a thesis, and the AI generates an opposing position. The student's task is to substantiate his view, build logic and identify the weak links of someone else's argumentation. As a result, the skill of intellectual self—examination is formed — a key element of critical thinking," comments Rybnikov.
AI helps not to "think for a person," but to "push the boundaries of what you can think about," the scientist emphasizes.
What will the alpha be like
Psychologists believe that the generational problem is not far—fetched - generational analysis is useful. But this process requires caution and consideration of overlapping factors. The psychologist considers generational analysis to be a social construct, with the help of which, showing scientific interest, it is possible to describe demographic shifts and study the effects of growing up in different contexts.
Generational categories at the level of criticism are often overly generalized. At the same time, important intragenerational differences are ignored. Nevertheless, this theory reflects the maturation of society, its change, and the movement forward. It can be considered as a tool for explaining complex social issues with simple schemes that are accessible to each of us," sums up Anna Guseva.
With the help of such a "constructor", you can think about how the alpha will grow up. The clinical psychologist believes that a generation with problems with attention, sleep, and depression is unlikely to manage their finances well. Moreover, alphas grow up in an environment where economic skills are not being formed.
— They are used to neural networks making decisions for them. But financial responsibility requires personal engagement and critical thinking. By all indications, the era of personal economic collapse awaits us. Alpha will become ideal consumers of marketplaces and the gaming industry, but they will not be able to save for an apartment or get a mortgage," the expert summarizes.
According to the clinical psychologist, alphas do not understand the value of things and will be ready to take out any loan to satisfy spontaneous purchases, and this is the very impossibility of deferred satisfaction.
— The trouble is that modern children will become the most educated generation in the history of mankind with the most undeveloped practical skills, — continues Volkov. — According to the IEF, two thirds of the professions in which alphas will work have not even been invented yet. Advanced kids are learning for a world that doesn't exist yet.
At the same time, the clinical psychologist believes that people involved in the Internet will appreciate the simplest "live" things. "But if in childhood we just beat bushes with a stick out of boredom, then they will call this action "ecocardiotherapy in open space," the expert says ironically.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
