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The young and the restless
年輕躁動
Meet Generation Alpha
認(rèn)識一下阿爾法世代
People are curious about what’s in store after Gen Z.
人們很好奇Z世代之后是什么。
What comes after Z?
Z之后是什么？
Lots of names have been pitched for the world’s youngest generation, born roughly since 2010.
人們?yōu)槭澜缟献钅贻p的一代，也就是大約2010年后出生的人，提議了許多名字。
Some are predictable, such as “iPad kids” and “Generation AI”.
有些名字是可以預(yù)料的，比如“iPad小孩”和“AI世代”。
Others are perplexing, as with “Polars”, which nods both to growing polarisation and shrinking ice caps.
其他名字則令人疑惑，比如“極地”一詞，這個詞既暗示日益加劇的兩極分化，也指代正在縮小的極地冰蓋。
One name has caught on in the English-speaking West: “Generation Alpha”.
有一個名字在西方英語世界流行開來：“阿爾法世代”。
It symbolises a fresh chapter, says Mark McCrindle, the Australian demographer behind it.
取這個名字的澳大利亞人口學(xué)家馬克·麥克林德爾說，這個名字象征著一個全新篇章。
He canvassed people for ideas nearly 20 years ago; many suggested the name “Gen A”.
他在大約20年前向人們征集意見，許多人提議用“A世代”。
But rather than go back to the start of the Latin alphabet, he pivoted to the Greek one.
但麥克林德爾沒有去拉丁字母表的開頭，而是轉(zhuǎn)向了希臘字母表。（注：A是第一個拉丁字母，阿爾法是第一個希臘字母。）
“Alpha” has recently become a buzzword.
“阿爾法”最近成了一個熱詞。
A slew of reports and surveys has been published about these youngsters, revealing things they are interested in (video games, sports) and not (recycling, the news).
關(guān)于這些年輕人的一系列報告和調(diào)查已經(jīng)發(fā)布，揭示了他們感興趣的事物（電子游戲、體育），以及不感興趣的事物（廢物回收、新聞）。
Punters have even predicted the future: Alphas, they say, will be the most innovative cohort yet.
賭客們甚至還預(yù)測了未來，他們說，阿爾法世代將成為最具創(chuàng)新性的一群人。
Such insights make for good headlines.
這樣的觀點很適合當(dāng)新聞頭條的標(biāo)題。
But social scientists agree that it is too soon to identify the distinctive characteristics of a cohort that includes toddlers.
但社會科學(xué)家一致認(rèn)為，現(xiàn)在就確定這一群體有什么鮮明特征還為時過早，畢竟其中還有剛學(xué)會走路的幼兒。
Predicting how these children will turn out as adults has “no more value than astrology”, says Bobby Duffy, a professor at King’s College London.
倫敦國王學(xué)院的教授鮑比·達(dá)菲表示，預(yù)測這些孩子成年后的表現(xiàn)“與占星術(shù)一樣毫無價值”。
Plenty of judgments made now will be proved wrong in the future.
現(xiàn)在做出的許多判斷將來都會被證明是錯誤的。
Research is largely driven by commercial interests.
研究在很大程度上是由商業(yè)利益驅(qū)動的。
Alpha is projected to be the world’s largest generation, with more than 2bn members.
預(yù)計阿爾法世代將成為全球規(guī)模最大的一代，成員數(shù)量將超過20億。
By 2029 nearly $5.5trn will be spent on Alphas a year, predicts Mr McCrindle’s research firm.
麥克林德爾的研究公司預(yù)測，到2029年，每年將花費近5.5萬億美元在阿爾法世代身上。
That presents an opportunity for businesses, and for the marketing firms that advise “how to prepare for Gen Alpha”.
這為企業(yè)帶來了機(jī)遇，也為那些教你“如何為阿爾法世代做好準(zhǔn)備”的營銷公司帶來了機(jī)遇。
Restrictions around marketing to youngsters prevent many insights.
限制對年輕人進(jìn)行營銷阻礙了人們獲取許多洞見。
Governments regulate advertisements aimed at minors, and stop their personal data from being collected without parental consent.
各國政府監(jiān)管針對未成年人的廣告，并禁止在未經(jīng)父母同意的情況下收集他們的個人數(shù)據(jù)。
Some surveys about Gen Alpha are filled out by parents, who interpret their children’s habits.
一些關(guān)于阿爾法世代的調(diào)查是由父母填寫的，父母解讀了孩子的習(xí)慣。
Many of the conclusions drawn do not apply to the youngest, nappy-wearing members.
而且許多得出的結(jié)論并不適用于最年幼的、還在用尿布的成員。
There are disagreements about who exactly counts as Alpha.
關(guān)于到底哪些人算作阿爾法世代也存在分歧。
Mr McCrindle thinks the cohort should include those born between 2010 and 2024.
麥克林德爾認(rèn)為，這一群體應(yīng)該包括出生于2010年至2024年間的人。
Yet other firms say Gen Z only stopped being born in 2012.
然而其他公司表示，Z世代的出生截止年份應(yīng)該是2012年。
Because there is no official taxonomy, one person’s Z is another’s Alpha.
因為沒有官方的分類，所以一個人眼中的Z世代，可能是另一個人眼中的阿爾法世代。
But no one can deny that Alphas are in their formative years.
但無可否認(rèn)，阿爾法們正處在成長期。
Attitudes and values change as people grow up and settle as they come of age.
態(tài)度和價值觀會隨著人們的成長而改變，并在成年后逐漸穩(wěn)定下來。
It will be at least five years before Alphas are old enough for real differences to be seen between them and others, reckons Mr Duffy.
達(dá)菲認(rèn)為，阿爾法們至少需要五年時間，才能成長到足以看出他們與其他人有什么真正差異。
Until then the generation will keep pundits, and parents, on their toes.
在那之前，這一代人將繼續(xù)讓專家們，以及父母們，保持警覺。
