2025 marks the beginning of a new generation that Canadian experts predict will be fully immersed in fast-paced technological advancements.
The incoming Generation Beta encompasses anyone born between 2025 and 2039. They follow Generation Alpha, who were born between 2010 and 2024.
Both names were coined by demographic research company McCrindle, which named the generations after letters of the Greek alphabet to signify how the incoming generations will be raised in an entirely different world, one of never-before-seen technological integration.
WHAT WILL GENERATION BETA LOOK LIKE?
Gen Beta will be the children of younger Gen Ys (Millennials) and older Gen Zs. According to McCrindle, they will make up a mere 16 per cent of the global population by 2035.
The theory of a smaller population is echoed by York University Associate Professor Natalie Coulter, who says the desire for having children has flattened a bit over time as people consider a future of uncertainty, fueled by current issues, such as the climate change crisis and rapid urbanization.
“I think it’s a tough place to sometimes think about having children,” Coulter explained to Now Toronto in an interview on Thursday.
“We can see it coming. I think that’s the reality that’s going to shape so much of our children’s lives.”
A 2024 report from Statistics Canada says that Canada’s fertility rate hit a record low in 2022, sitting at 1.33 children per woman. In addition, another report by the agency proved that parents are not only having fewer children, but also are having them at older ages in comparison to parents in previous generations. The delayed fertility rate has occurred alongside an increase in young adults living with their parents, where more than one third (35.1 per cent) of young adults between ages 20 to 34 years were living with at least one of their parents in 2021.
Read More
Gen Beta will also be the first generation to experience a tech-saturated world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with the technology expected to be widespread in multiple industries from education to healthcare to entertainment.
Sean Lyons, a professor at the University of Guelph and an expert in intergenerational differences, predicts that as Gen Beta ascends into childhood, they will embrace AI in ways beyond our current comprehension.
“We’ve seen that each successive generation tends to adopt the technology of the youth and make it their own, and that children are using technology at younger ages. I imagine that by the time this generation is in their late childhood they’ll be using generative AI tools to create all kinds of things that are just novelties to us right now,” Lyons said in an email statement.
“For instance, they’ll probably have tools that will allow them to create their own stories and videos that are tailored to their individual interests. The media they consume will be super-customized to their preferences.”
For Gen Ys and Zs, many witnessed the real-time change from dial-up internet to Wi-Fi or from keyboard flip phones to fully touch-screen devices. Lyons suggests that there won’t be any groundbreaking gadgets headed to the market anytime soon, but believes that AI and updated software will surely shift the technological landscape.
“We’ve probably hit a plateau for devices. Phones, tablets and computers are still getting faster and more powerful, but they really aren’t changing that much. Wearable technology and augmented reality are possibilities, but they haven’t really taken off to date. It will probably be the software applications that are new for this generation,” Lyons explained.
“Pairing generative AI with phones will probably be the frontier for new technology. But you never know what new technology is poised to revolutionize how we communicate, work and play!”
Coulter also believes Gen Beta will move towards wearable technologies, such as smart glasses, but warns the risk of privacy breaches.
“Technology is going to be connected more and more to our bodies,” she said.
“We already have cameras everywhere, but now we have this constant surveillance, and it’s hard to tell who’s filming you, who’s watching you, who owns that film, and how that might get overlapped with facial recognition… this idea of constantly filming and screening our immediate environment attached to our body is definitely something that I think we’re gonna have to contend with.”
WHAT NAME TRENDS CAN WE PREDICT FROM GENERATION BETA?
Traditional names like Olivia, Charlotte, Noah and Liam constantly swept baby name lists over the last decade. But as the world has become more accepting of diversity, Coulter suggests that we could begin to see that reflected in how the children of Gen Beta are named.
Read More
“We know that people are much more fluid. I think it will definitely influence some parents. I think other people might kind of be really resistant towards this and really sort of push a particular gendering of their names as a reaction,” Coulter said.
Lyons agreed that the idea of unisex, non-binary names could be a possibility in the future, and that traditional names could eventually begin to take a backseat.
“Canada is growing more culturally diverse every year, so I would expect that baby names would reflect that,” Lyons said.
“The traditional names like Liam and Olivia may hold for people with a Western Anglophone background, but I’d expect them to be less common overall.”
WHAT COULD GEN BETA’S WORKFORCE LOOK LIKE?
While the earliest that someone a part of Gen Beta could be employed is in 2039, it’s important to note that the landscape of working has also shifted. In the last 15 years, hobbies such as online video content creation have become full time-jobs, while office jobs in some industries have become completely obsolete. While it’s hard to say what careers will look like in a couple of decades, Lyons says he believes one thing that is required is the constant need for people to keep learning to adapt in an ever-changing world.
“The careers that we pushed for kids 20 years ago were in STEM fields like software engineering and computer science. Those fields have changed a lot over time. We know that our population is aging and that will continue as a trend. Healthcare and eldercare will always be important career options,” he said.
“My hope is that we see a resurgence of students who take an interest in arts, humanities and social sciences as well. In the age of AI and divisive politics, we need more critical thinking skills than ever before,” Lyons added.
