Generation Beta, the newest generation, will be born roughly between 2025 and 2039. This group will be the second generation, after Generation Alpha (born 2010-2024), to be born entirely within the 21st century. Many Beta generation members will live into the 22nd century.
Researcher Mark McCrindle projected that Generation Beta will include about 2.1 billion people, making it the second largest generation after Alpha’s 2 billion, according to axios.com. By 2035, they will represent 16% of the global population. McCrindle, who also named ‘Generation Alpha,’ says their lives will be shaped by technology and climate change.
Technology will be a defining factor for this generation, just as it has been for Alpha. Generative AI is emerging as they are born, and its long-term impact is unknown.
Potential increased tech regulation will also affect Generation Beta. The EU has already introduced stricter rules, influencing large tech companies. The US is considering legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act. TikTok also faces a possible ban in the US.
The World Economic Forum predicts that misinformation, disinformation, and negative AI outcomes will be major global risks in the next decade, alongside climate and environmental issues.
Generation Beta’s parents will primarily be Gen Z and younger millennials. These parents, having experienced economic and social challenges, will likely focus on financial and environmental sustainability. McCrindle says, “Generation Beta will be shaped by parents who, in a lot of ways, lived through economic and social challenge…And that creates a resilience, a grit, an ability to respond to uncertain times but a conservative outlook — a desire to save, a desire to reuse, a focus on not just growth and ever more accumulation.”
Falling global fertility rates and rising life expectancy will create demographic shifts during Generation Beta’s lifetime. McCrindle predicts concerns will move from overpopulation to population sustainability.
Generation Beta will come of age during significant changes in governance, media, business, and global politics, further shaping their experiences.
