The kids are alright
What a theatre trip taught me about Gen Alpha
Image credit Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
We hear a lot about the next generation's supposed shortcomings. Short attention spans, social media addiction, superficiality. The narrative often skews pessimistic, painting a picture of young people who are perpetually distracted, chronically online and emotionally stunted by their devices.
I've worried about this too. But a recent theatre trip showed me a completely different side to this rising generation and what they are capable of.
An unexpected audience
Blood Brothers is a pretty gruelling watch. Written in the 1980s, it’s the story of twins separated at birth who, in a shocking denouement, die in a tragic double murder. Set in working class Liverpool, there are themes around poverty and opportunity, fate and superstition, loss of innocence, motherhood and crime. It may be decades old, but many of the questions this musical raises are still on the money.
It being a rainy Tuesday night at a regional theatre, I was expecting a predominantly Silver-Surfer audience. In fact, the majority were aged 15 or 16, as Blood Brothers is now a GCSE drama text; all the local schools had bussed in their students to see it performed.
“This young audience turned out to be the highlight of the evening. From minute one they were bought in and fully absorbed”
Whilst the show itself was enjoyable, this young audience turned out to be the highlight of the evening.
Open-hearted enthusiasm
From minute one, they were bought in and fully absorbed in the performance. Not a sign of cynicism or teenage awkwardness. Gasping in horror, shrieking at the rude bits, roaring with laughter when there were moments of light relief. The auditorium was swimming in deeply-felt emotion.
“The auditorium was swimming in deeply-felt emotion.”
Yes, in the interval hundreds of phones lit up in unison as the teens jumped onto Snapchat, scrolling and selfie-taking, doing exactly what we’ve been told is destroying their capacity for presence.
Image credit Gadgets Now by the Times of India
But the moment the lights dimmed for Act Two, their attention pinged right back to the story. They toggled effortlessly between digital and analogue, between social connection online and emotional engagement IRL.
“They toggled effortlessly between digital and analogue”
At the end of the show, they didn’t wait for permission to show their appreciation. In an almost unanimous wave, they leapt to their feet to deliver an immediate, whooping standing ovation.
The performers who had just been giving it their all for two and a half hours were visibly touched. At last, an audience that was showing pure, unguarded appreciation for their storytelling and craft.
What this means for the future
We spend a lot of time worrying about the next generation. We fret about the impact of technology on their mental health, about whether they'll be able to connect meaningfully in an increasingly digital world.
Maybe we don't need to worry quite so much.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
“They demonstrated an emotional range and openness that many adults have learned to suppress.”
These kids didn't just understand a tragic story written in a different era, they felt it viscerally. They demonstrated an emotional range and openness that many adults have learned to suppress. They showed they could be fully present, even while maintaining their digital connections.
If Gen Alpha brings even a sprinkling of this unguarded open-heartedness into workplaces and communities, the future could be brighter than we think.
“If Gen Alpha brings even a sprinkling of this unguarded open-heartedness into workplaces and communities, the future could be brighter than we think.”
Perhaps instead of trying to fix what we assume is broken in this generation, we should be asking what they might teach us about balancing connection and presence, about feeling deeply without apology, about bringing full energy to the things that matter.
The kids, it turns out, are more than alright. They might just be the change-makers that our worn out, cynical culture needs.
What's your experience been with Gen Alpha? Have you had your assumptions challenged? I'd love to hear your thoughts.