Emerging Insights into Generation Alpha: What Parents and Practitioners Need to Know
By Caleb Roose, MDiv
Research & Training Project Manager, Fuller Youth Institute
Founder & Coach, Good Enough Dads
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📞 909-351-0720
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Growing Up in a Different World
Growing up today looks different from how it has for any previous generation of teenagers in the United States.
From access to AI chatbots like ChatGPT, to social media–based news sources such as TikTok, to rising political polarization, today’s adolescents are coming of age in a world where both they and the adults guiding them are navigating seismic social and technological shifts.
For those who care about young people, it is essential to continually refresh our understanding of who teenagers are today. While many developmental aspects of adolescence remain the same, Generation Alpha — the youngest cohort of today’s teenagers, born after 2010 — possesses unique characteristics that must be understood to support their growth amid this increasingly complex landscape.
Meaning: Who Is Helping Teenagers Find Answers to Their Biggest Questions?
Like generations before them, teenagers today wrestle with deep questions of identity, belonging, purpose, and faith (Powell & Griffin, 2021).
| Construct | Simple Definition | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | My view of myself | “Who am I?” |
| Belonging | My connection to others | “Where do I fit?” |
| Purpose | My contribution to the world | “What difference can I make?” |
| Faith | My spiritual beliefs and worldview | “What do I believe about God(s), spirituality, and the world?” |
Yet unlike prior generations, Gen Alpha doesn’t just seek answers from parents, teachers, religious leaders, or other trusted adults. They also turn to AI chatbots and strangers online for advice, community, and meaning.
Despite these new and sometimes questionable sources of influence, research continues to affirm that parents remain the most significant figures in their children’s lives. Their role in helping young people interpret truth, value, and belonging has never been more crucial.
Reflection Question:
As teenagers ask their questions of identity, belonging, purpose, and faith, how are you or your organization supporting their search for answers?
Purpose: The Opportunity for Parents and Practitioners to Make an Impact
It is often assumed that parents’ influence fades as children enter adolescence. Yet research from Common Sense Media (2025) and OneHope (2024) reveals that the majority of U.S. teenagers still identify their parents as their most influential figures.
This finding reframes how we think about family and community impact. The most significant difference any organization or professional can make in the lives of teenagers today often flows through their parents.
Generation Alpha is distinct in that most members not only recognize their parents’ influence — they actively seek it. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for collaboration between practitioners, educators, and families to shape young lives from the inside out.
Reflection Question:
As teenagers search for identity, belonging, purpose, and faith, which of these quests could you or your organization support more deeply?
Passion: Young People Need Caring Parents and Adults in Their Lives
In my work as a researcher, trainer, and parenting coach for fathers, I’m encouraged that even amid the noise of modern life, most teenagers still want their parents’ voices above all others.
This insight underscores a vital truth: equipping parents and practitioners with current research on Generation Alpha isn’t just important — it’s essential.
To meet this generation’s unique needs, fathers and mothers alike must embrace their lasting influence and stay emotionally and relationally engaged well into adolescence.
When we do, we help shape a generation that is more secure, self-aware, and ready to contribute.
Well-Being: Positioning Fathers for Maximal Influence
While the opportunity to shape Generation Alpha is immense, many fathers struggle to balance their identities as caregivers and professionals.
A study by Boston College’s Center for Work and Family (Harrington et al., 2017) found that millennial fathers (born between 1980 and 1996) experience far greater conflict between work and family than previous generations.
They want to be fully engaged in their children’s lives — yet they still pursue meaningful careers.
Too often, these men feel trapped between being the ideal worker and the ideal parent. The result is what I’ve termed a career-caregiving conflict (Roose, 2024).
The solution isn’t to choose one role over the other — but to integrate both holistically. Fathers who adopt systems thinking begin to see how work, home, and purpose intersect. By aligning their daily choices with their values, they learn that success and presence are not mutually exclusive.
Holistic integration allows fathers to become the reliable sources of wisdom, care, and stability that teenagers seek as they navigate their biggest questions.
Reflection Questions:
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How often have you noticed fathers struggle to balance their roles between work and home?
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How has work stress impacted your ability to show up as your best self for your own children?
Conclusion: Guiding the Next Generation with Intention
By applying the latest research on adolescent development and addressing the realities of modern fatherhood, practitioners can help parents — especially fathers — achieve greater balance and alignment.
In doing so, we equip them to guide their children toward authentic answers to questions of identity, belonging, purpose, and faith.
Generation Alpha doesn’t need perfect adults. They need present ones — mentors and parents who model humility, curiosity, and care.
Call to Action
Join me on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the 27th International Families and Fathers Conference – Next Generation in Los Angeles.
In my workshop, “Insights into Generation Alpha: Emerging Findings from U.S. National Studies on Today’s Teenagers,” I’ll share in-depth research and practical tools that reveal how young people today are answering life’s most important questions in both digital and face-to-face spaces.
You’ll walk away with evidence-based insights, fresh strategies, and frameworks that will help fathers, families, and organizations cultivate deeper connection and lifelong resilience.
See you in Los Angeles.
References
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Harrington, B., Fraone, J., & Lee, J. (2017). The new dad: The career-caregiving conflict. Center for Work and Family, Boston College.
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OneHope (2024). Gen Alpha: The Next Generation. OneHope Research.
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Powell, K., & Griffin, B. M. (2021). 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager. Baker Books.
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Robb, M. B., & Mann, S. (2025). Boys in the Digital Wild: Online Culture, Identity, and Well-being. Common Sense Media.
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Roose, C. (2024, February 13). A Dad’s Guide to Better Work-Life Balance in Career, Family, and Finances. Good Enough Dads.
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Roose, C. (2025, September 17). How to Move Beyond Compartmentalized Thinking to Build the Dad Life You Want. Good Enough Dads.
Connect with Caleb Roose
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