Gen Alpha are kids who are currently 1-to-16 years old. These are the kids who are in your nursery, your preschool ministry, your elementary ministry, and your student ministry.
A lot of people are vying for their attention and some are very good at connecting them.
In my last post, I shared the top YouTube channels and shows that kids watch.
Today let's take a deeper dive into how to get the attention of Gen Alpha kids.
Gen Alpha viewing habits.
YouTube - 75%
Video on demand - 66%
Mobile games - 62%
YouTube shorts - 52%
Console games - 48%
TikTok - 38%
Facebook - 30%
Broadcast TV - 28%
Instagram - 26%
88% of parents say their 2-5-year-old prefers YouTube over VOD or broadcast TV.
Ages 2-to-9 prefer cartoons.
Ages 10-12 prefer comedy.
Boys favorite gaming channels
Flamingo
Lankybox
EthanGamer
Craftee
Unspeakable
Gaming w/Jen
Girls favorite gaming channels
Flamingo
Gaming w/Jen
Lankybox
Big School
Craftee
FGTV
43% of new movies are discovered by kids on YouTube.
55% of parents say they co-view YouTube with their kids.
Cartoons are most popular for co-viewing.
Second screening (watching 2 screens are the same time)
Almost half of Gen Alpha kids watch YouTube or play mobile games while watching TV.
Parents are also second screening - 39% play mobile games and 36% watch YouTube while watching TV.
YouTube ads drive 50% of parents to make a purchase for their child.
Influencers.
80% of kids ask for something they've seen an influencer talk about. Toys and games make up over half of the requests.
76% of kids ages 10-12 remember ads created by influencers.
32% of kids find new movies through influencers.
Boys favorite mobile games.
Lego
Roblox
Plants vs Zombies
Disney Games
Bubble Shooter
Talking Tom
Among Us
Sonic
Girls favorite mobile games.
Happy Color
Bubble Shooter
Disney Games
LOL
Among Us
Talking Tom
Lego
Roblox
Brands that have their attention.
Lego
Pokemon
Barbie
Hot Wheels
Fisher-Price
Play-Doh
Bluey
Crayola
Nerf
Collectible Interests boys share with their parents.
Lego
Marvel
Pokemon
Hot Wheels
Disney
Star Wars
Harry Potter
Roblox
Labubu
Pop
Jellycat
Sonny Angel
Collectible Interests girls share with their parents.
Lego
Barbie
Disney
Pokemon
Marvel
Harry Potter
Labubu
Jelly Cat
Pop
Roblox
Star Wars
Sonny Angel
It is interesting to see the stat of parents engaging with their kids in shared interest collectibles. This reminds me about partnering with parents. If we provide quality and engaging resources for kids and parents together, we can see parents getting involved in the discipleship of their kids. Maybe the reason why we aren't seeing more parents taking the lead in discipling their children is because we haven't provided them with quality, engaging resources for this.
If you want to connect with kids, then mention some of the brands in this article. They will be impressed that you took the time to learn about their interests and you will have their attention.
Here's an example.
One Sunday I walked into one of the classrooms and noticed there was a boy sitting in the back of the room by himself. You could tell from his countenance that he was not a happy camper. One of the leaders in the room shared with me that he had been disrupting the service and they finally had to move him back by himself.
I went over and sat down by him. I tried to talk with him, but he looked the other way and wouldn't acknowledge me. After a minute of him ignoring me, I decided to try something else. Here's what I did. I ask him if he liked video games. For the first time, he turned and looked at me said "yes...I love video games."
I asked him what system he had at home and what his favorite game was. After a few minutes of talking about video games, I told him I was going to go up and participate in the worship song the other kids were now singing. I told him he could stay where he was or he could come up and join me if he wanted to as well.
I went up front and started singing with the other kids. A minute later I felt a tug on my shirt. I turned around and it was the boy from the back of the room. He was smiling and said he wanted to join in the worship. For the rest of the class time he behaved and participated with a good attitude. The cause...someone cared enough to enter his world.
I would encourage you to use the brands and stats we have talked about in this article as a way to connect with Gen Alpha kids.
Show them you care enough about them to enter their world. Talk about what has their attention during the week. By doing this you will get their attention and open the door to impact them for Christ.
Many of the stats in this article came from precisify.com.
