According to a new survey of U.S. parents of 15‑ and 16‑year‑olds by Attest, members of Generation Alpha treat artificial intelligence and search functions as everyday tools—while traditional social media holds somewhat less sway than with older generations.
What the data shows
- Device use: 92 % own a smartphone, 74 % a console, 70 % a smart TV, 67 % a PC or laptop.
- AI & search usage: 46 % of teens are reported to use AI as a search engine; 44 % use it for schoolwork.
- Creation & experimentation: 39 % experiment with AI‑generated images/videos or build small apps.
- Social media & gaming: While 55 % scroll social apps 3+ hours per day, gaming appears as a stronger social hub: 43 % play more than three hours daily.
- Financially active: 21 % make in‑game or app purchases weekly; 48 % of teens have more than US $1,000 in savings.
- Mental health concerns: About 13.5 % of teens struggle “very often”, and 11.5 % “somewhat often” with mental‑health issues.
What this means for creators, brands & educators
For content creators, marketers, and educators: this generation expects interactive, helpful, AI‑powered experiences, not just passive scrolling. They are less visible on public social feed spaces and more present in private/gaming/AI‑chat environments.
Meeting them means shifting strategy:
- Use search‑ & AI‑based tools in your content mix.
- Explore interactive formats (chatbots, AI‑assistants, exploratory apps).
- Recognize that the “social media feed” is not the only place—they hang out in gaming and private‑community contexts.
- Build with mindfulness of mental‑health and misinformation concerns—they matter for Gen Alpha.
