Gen Alpha is already shaping the digital landscape around them. Attest surveyed 1,000 U.S. parents of 15 and 16 year olds and the results point to a generation that treats smart tools as routine. The headline is clear. Search and artificial intelligence play core roles in how these teens learn, create, and communicate. Social platforms still matter, but their grip looks weaker than in prior cohorts.
Parents report extreme device penetration. Ninety two percent of 15 and 16 year olds own a smartphone. Consoles are the next most common device, with just over 74 percent owning one. Smart TVs reach 70 percent, 67 percent have a PC or laptop, and 52 percent use a tablet. Half of teens juggle five internet enabled devices, and many households include smart speakers, smart watches or fitness trackers, and VR headsets. Twelve percent even own smart glasses.
That device web matters because it shapes how kids find answers. Nearly half of parents (46% to be exact) say their teen uses AI as a search engine, adopting conversational queries and expecting context rich responses. A similar share, 44 percent, turn to AI for schoolwork. More than a third, 39 percent, experiment with AI generated images and videos or build small sites and apps. One in four parents say their teen regularly chats with AI, sometimes for advice or emotional support.
Parents feel the shift, and they feel uneasy. Fifty four percent say they are concerned about AI’s impact on career prospects and life chances, and 23 percent are very concerned. For brands and schools the task is twofold. Make use of AI where it helps learning and creativity, and build guardrails that reduce dependency and exposure to misinformation.
How teens spend time online reflects this mix of tooling and entertainment. More than half, 55 percent, scroll social apps three or more hours each day, according to parents’ estimates. Time on social media breaks down further. Twenty nine percent spend one to two hours daily, 28 percent spend three to four hours, and 27 percent spend more than four hours. Only 13 percent use social media less than an hour a day and 2 percent do not use it at all.
Gaming remains a major social channel. Forty three percent of teens play more than three hours a day, and 20 percent play over four hours. For many, games serve as the social backbone, offering private, shared spaces where friends meet without public feeds. TV and streaming still take attention, but the hour bands differ from older groups. Thirty nine percent watch one to two hours of TV daily, 27 percent watch three to four hours, and 14 percent watch more than four hours.
Those patterns reflect preferences. Gen Alpha often moves from a search or AI prompt to a short video and back again. They expect systems to be interactive and helpful rather than merely informative. That changes where and how marketers reach them. In public feeds they are less visible. In private gaming communities and conversational tools they are highly active.
Financial behaviors show early independence. Fifty three percent receive more than one hundred dollars a month. The most common allowance band is fifty one to one hundred dollars, which covers 21 percent of teens. Nearly 26 percent hold part time jobs and 58 percent still receive parental allowances. For spending, fast food is frequent: 28 percent eat multiple times a week and another 28 percent do so weekly. Digital purchases also matter. Twenty one percent make in game or app purchases weekly, and a further 30 percent buy digital items a few times a month.
Savings and access to banking vary by income, but overall Gen Alpha looks unusually banked for their age. Forty eight percent have more than one thousand dollars in savings. Ten percent report more than ten thousand. Only 10 percent have no savings. In accounts, roughly a third have a traditional bank account, 28 percent have a digital account, and 51 percent have a dedicated savings account. Fifty one percent own debit cards and 29 percent use prepaid cards.
Income divides appear across these numbers. Teens from households earning over one hundred thousand dollars are far more likely to report higher savings and to have access to trust funds. For example, 17 percent of those teens will have trust funds compared with 7 percent among lower income peers. Those differences carry into career intent and guidance. Computer science ranks as the top career choice overall at 19 percent, but nearly a third of teens from higher income homes favor it versus just 6 percent from homes earning under fifty thousand.
Two other risks stand out. Parents worry about misinformation and mental health. Seventy one percent say they are concerned about their teen’s vulnerability to online falsehoods, with a third very concerned. And about a quarter of teens often struggle with mental health. The survey finds 13.5 percent struggling very often and 11.5 percent somewhat often, while a further 22 percent experience occasional problems.
Finally, neurodiversity shapes experience and community. One in three parents say their teen has been diagnosed with, or is being assessed for, a neurodiverse condition. ADHD is the most reported at 24 percent, autism is named by 9 percent, and dyslexia or dyscalculia by about 5 percent.
Put together, these numbers sketch a generation that treats AI and search as utilities, that socializes in private and gaming spaces, and that holds meaningful early financial power. For brands and educators the takeaway is practical. Meet them where they go, build tools that help and protect, and treat AI as the interface they already expect.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.
Read next: Study Finds Image-Generating AIs Struggle With Basic Instructions Despite Visual Appeal
Parents report extreme device penetration. Ninety two percent of 15 and 16 year olds own a smartphone. Consoles are the next most common device, with just over 74 percent owning one. Smart TVs reach 70 percent, 67 percent have a PC or laptop, and 52 percent use a tablet. Half of teens juggle five internet enabled devices, and many households include smart speakers, smart watches or fitness trackers, and VR headsets. Twelve percent even own smart glasses.
That device web matters because it shapes how kids find answers. Nearly half of parents (46% to be exact) say their teen uses AI as a search engine, adopting conversational queries and expecting context rich responses. A similar share, 44 percent, turn to AI for schoolwork. More than a third, 39 percent, experiment with AI generated images and videos or build small sites and apps. One in four parents say their teen regularly chats with AI, sometimes for advice or emotional support.
Parents feel the shift, and they feel uneasy. Fifty four percent say they are concerned about AI’s impact on career prospects and life chances, and 23 percent are very concerned. For brands and schools the task is twofold. Make use of AI where it helps learning and creativity, and build guardrails that reduce dependency and exposure to misinformation.
How teens spend time online reflects this mix of tooling and entertainment. More than half, 55 percent, scroll social apps three or more hours each day, according to parents’ estimates. Time on social media breaks down further. Twenty nine percent spend one to two hours daily, 28 percent spend three to four hours, and 27 percent spend more than four hours. Only 13 percent use social media less than an hour a day and 2 percent do not use it at all.
Gaming remains a major social channel. Forty three percent of teens play more than three hours a day, and 20 percent play over four hours. For many, games serve as the social backbone, offering private, shared spaces where friends meet without public feeds. TV and streaming still take attention, but the hour bands differ from older groups. Thirty nine percent watch one to two hours of TV daily, 27 percent watch three to four hours, and 14 percent watch more than four hours.
Those patterns reflect preferences. Gen Alpha often moves from a search or AI prompt to a short video and back again. They expect systems to be interactive and helpful rather than merely informative. That changes where and how marketers reach them. In public feeds they are less visible. In private gaming communities and conversational tools they are highly active.
Financial behaviors show early independence. Fifty three percent receive more than one hundred dollars a month. The most common allowance band is fifty one to one hundred dollars, which covers 21 percent of teens. Nearly 26 percent hold part time jobs and 58 percent still receive parental allowances. For spending, fast food is frequent: 28 percent eat multiple times a week and another 28 percent do so weekly. Digital purchases also matter. Twenty one percent make in game or app purchases weekly, and a further 30 percent buy digital items a few times a month.
Savings and access to banking vary by income, but overall Gen Alpha looks unusually banked for their age. Forty eight percent have more than one thousand dollars in savings. Ten percent report more than ten thousand. Only 10 percent have no savings. In accounts, roughly a third have a traditional bank account, 28 percent have a digital account, and 51 percent have a dedicated savings account. Fifty one percent own debit cards and 29 percent use prepaid cards.
Income divides appear across these numbers. Teens from households earning over one hundred thousand dollars are far more likely to report higher savings and to have access to trust funds. For example, 17 percent of those teens will have trust funds compared with 7 percent among lower income peers. Those differences carry into career intent and guidance. Computer science ranks as the top career choice overall at 19 percent, but nearly a third of teens from higher income homes favor it versus just 6 percent from homes earning under fifty thousand.
Two other risks stand out. Parents worry about misinformation and mental health. Seventy one percent say they are concerned about their teen’s vulnerability to online falsehoods, with a third very concerned. And about a quarter of teens often struggle with mental health. The survey finds 13.5 percent struggling very often and 11.5 percent somewhat often, while a further 22 percent experience occasional problems.
Finally, neurodiversity shapes experience and community. One in three parents say their teen has been diagnosed with, or is being assessed for, a neurodiverse condition. ADHD is the most reported at 24 percent, autism is named by 9 percent, and dyslexia or dyscalculia by about 5 percent.
Put together, these numbers sketch a generation that treats AI and search as utilities, that socializes in private and gaming spaces, and that holds meaningful early financial power. For brands and educators the takeaway is practical. Meet them where they go, build tools that help and protect, and treat AI as the interface they already expect.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.
Read next: Study Finds Image-Generating AIs Struggle With Basic Instructions Despite Visual Appeal
