Something happened in 2010 that nobody planned for.
The iPad launched. Instagram was created. “App” was named word of the year. And the first members of Generation Alpha were born — into a world that had never existed before, where the internet wasn’t something you went to, it was just… everywhere. Always.
Australian social researcher Mark McCrindle calls it “an unintentional global experiment.” Nobody decided to raise a generation on screens. It just happened. Fast.
And understanding that context — really sitting with it — is what I think separates the mentors who connect with today’s young people from the ones who feel like they’re speaking a different language entirely.
I’ve been working with teens and tweens since 2006 and running Shine From Within since 2012. I’ve watched the landscape shift in real time. And earlier this year I ran a deep-dive masterclass on what the latest research is telling us about Gen Z and Gen Alpha — who they really are, what they’re genuinely up against, and what the evidence says they need most from the adults in their lives.
This post is a snapshot of some of what we covered. (You can watch the full masterclass — it’s free — at the end of this post.)
First — who are we actually talking about?
Gen Z were born roughly between 1997 and 2012. The oldest of them are now in their late twenties. The youngest are around 14.
Gen Alpha started from 2010, and the last of them will be born this year, 2026. Right now, if you’re working with young people aged 10 to 16, you’re often working with both generations at the same time.
And here’s something worth noting: the assumption that Gen Alpha is a completely different species from Gen Z is largely untested. What IS different is the intensity of their digital immersion. Gen Z grew up alongside technology. For Gen Alpha, it was simply always there. They’ve never known anything else.
They are also — and this part often surprises people — an incredibly capable generation. Gen Alpha is on track to be the most educated generation in history. They’re digitally fluent, globally connected, and growing up with parents (mostly Millennials) who are more emotionally engaged than any previous generation.
But. There are some serious challenges we need to talk about honestly. Because understanding both sides is what makes you an effective mentor.
What today’s young people are genuinely facing
When I look at the research, three interconnected challenges come up again and again.
Social-emotional development gaps. A major 2024 review of 83 studies found consistent evidence that increased technology use has decreased opportunities for social-emotional development. The mental health data reflects this globally — from declining emotional intelligence in Slovakia to increased anxiety in Russia, to more than half of parents and children in Malaysia reporting they feel “very dependent” on their devices to the point of anxiety when separated from them. Many of the older Gen Alphas also experienced COVID during formative developmental years. They lost safe spaces. Social development was disrupted at exactly the wrong moment. They’re carrying more than we sometimes realise.
Cognitive outsourcing to AI. This is the piece I think most people — even experienced educators and mentors — haven’t fully grasped yet. In a 2025 study of over 5,000 middle schoolers, 72% turned to AI first when faced with a school problem. Not a teacher. Not a parent. Not even their own initial thinking. And when children consistently outsource creative and cognitive tasks to AI, something measurable happens in the brain — divergent thinking (the neurological foundation of creativity) declines significantly. Brain scans show less activation in the prefrontal cortex — the part responsible for planning, decision-making, and executive function.
And it’s not just schoolwork. Kids are outsourcing social skills too. Using AI coaches to help them respond to friends. Having an earbud in during conversations and tapping it for suggested questions. Then finding they can’t navigate a real interaction without it.
A rewired reward system. Dopamine is often called the “feel good” hormone, but it’s really about motivation, seeking, and reward. Traditional learning involves high effort and delayed reward — you study for a week, you get a good result, you get a moderate dopamine response. That’s healthy. That builds resilience. But AI offers something neurologically unprecedented: zero effort, immediate reward, massive dopamine hit. The brain adapts. And when it does, things that used to bring genuine satisfaction and motivation… no longer do.
There’s also something subtler happening with AI use specifically. When a young person is scrolling or gaming, there’s usually at least some awareness that time is being spent unproductively. But when they’re using AI to write their essay? It feels like productivity. It looks like productivity. The neural pathways that would have formed through actually doing the cognitive work? They didn’t fire.
What the research says actually works
Here’s what I find both humbling and deeply encouraging. Across all 83 studies in that 2024 global review, across the neuroscience, across the developmental psychology — the most consistent finding is this:
Experienced, present, trustworthy adults are the single greatest protective factor for Gen Alpha.
Not the right app. Not the right curriculum. Not the right technology.
The right adult.
You don’t have to fix the technology problem. You have to be the relationship.
Research from Sapiro and Ward identifies five core qualities that young people consistently say matter most in the adults who support them — authenticity, consistency, respect, unconditional positive regard, and going above and beyond. I’d add a sixth that feels especially important right now: epistemic trustworthiness. Growing up surrounded by misinformation, deepfakes, and algorithm-driven content, these young people are hungry for an adult whose motives are clear. Who shows up consistently. Who isn’t afraid to say “I don’t know — let’s figure it out together.”
You don’t need to know every platform or trend. You don’t need to understand all the lingo. You need to be genuinely curious. There’s a simple language shift that makes an enormous difference — moving from “when I was your age” to “help me understand your experience.” That signals respect. And it’s a bridge across any generational gap.
That’s how we offer something an AI assistant never can. Actual care. Not just words on a screen.
Want to go deeper?
The full masterclass — Mentoring Gen Z and Gen Alpha — covers all of this and more, including the research on what effective mentoring actually looks like in practice, the different formats mentoring can take, and where you might fit into this picture.
It’s free to watch. You just need to register:
? Watch the free masterclass here
And if you’d like to explore further:
- Take the free quiz — Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Youth Mentor?
- Listen to The Youth Mentor Podcast
- Or when you’re ready to go further — come and join us in the Youth Mentor Training
Keep shining, Amanda
