At the start of January, Gen Beta began to be born into the world.
Whilst there’s no centralised authority that decides when each generation starts and ends, the general consensus is that Generation Alpha began in 2010 and ended in 2024, with Generation Beta following on this year as we reach the quarter century mark.
Generation Beta will continue being born until 2039, by which point they’ll make up 16 percent of the world’s population. Whilst Alphas grew up in a world of social media and increasingly smart technologies, Betas will only ever know a world where AI is increasingly sophisticated and commonplace, and will exhibit ultra-high technological fluency.
Whilst the naming of generations is now going through the Greek alphabet (with the previous three taking X, Y and Z, respectively), outside events often end up replacing the original name. For example, Gen Y are more commonly known as Millennials. Before Gen X, the Baby Boomers got their name from, you guessed it, the surging birth rate that followed World War II, whilst the Silent Generation comes from an article in Time magazine in the 1950s, which alluded to how those children were taught to be seen and not heard.
At some point in the near or far future, Gen Beta might be known as something completely different. Maybe Gen AI?
If you’re confused by all the labels and various dates surrounding the generations, here's a quick (generally accepted) breakdown.
Silent Generation: 1926 - 1945
Baby Boomers: 1946 - 1964
Gen X: 1965 - 1980
Gen Y (Millennials): 1980 - 1995
Gen Z: 1996 - 2010
Gen Alpha: 2011 - 2024
Gen Beta: 2025 - 2039