Meet Gen Alpha: How to Understand the Next Generation of Teens
Insights from a national study with nearly 3,000 teens.
Faith findings that may surprise you
Most current assumptions about teenagers are shaped by data from prior generations. But Gen Alpha is entering adolescence in a world marked by profound disruption—and their experiences are already reshaping the landscape of the church.
Our brand-new research offers a contemporary understanding of who Gen Alpha is becoming, and how caring adults can guide them with wisdom, humility, and hope. Based on nearly 3,000 surveys and interviews with teens ages 13–17, this first-of-its-kind report explores how Gen Alpha is navigating identity, mental health, and faith, and what this means for churches, families, and mentors today.
What’s different about Gen Alpha?
Over the past few years, leaders have been asking us at FYI the same core question:
What’s different about Gen Alpha—and how can we disciple them faithfully?
To find out, our team launched a new national research project exploring how today’s middle and high school students (born 2010 and later) experience identity, belonging, purpose, faith, and spirituality in a rapidly changing world. This report represents the first phase of a multi-year study including interviews with teenagers, conversations with youth workers, and an advisory group of teens helping us test insights in real time. What we’re learning challenges assumptions, confirms some long-held concerns, and surfaces powerful themes.
Throughout the report, you’ll find reflection questions designed to help you turn this research into practical steps and meaningful conversations.
Key questions and research insights
This report was designed to answer the questions we hear most often from youth workers, caring adults, and ministry leaders:
How are Gen Alpha’s questions about identity, belonging, and purpose changing, and where are they looking for answers?
How do mental health challenges, digital life, pandemic fallout, and distrust of institutions shape their faith journeys?
What do Gen Alpha teens actually believe, and who is influencing them most?
How must churches, families, and mentors adapt to help young people feel known, loved, and equipped to grow in faith?
These questions led us to key findings and insights on this emerging generation, including:
Today’s young people worry about being judged by adults. Teens consistently say trustworthy adults are those who listen without judgment. They’re looking for faith communities that are more welcoming and less critical.
Most teens today are open to faith. Only a small percentage say they’re not interested in faith at all. What’s more, over half of nonreligious teens may still be open to spiritual conversations.
Download the research report to gain more insights and practical ideas on connecting with Gen Alpha.
Download the Gen Alpha & Faith Research Report
Complete the form below to explore the data, read insights directly from teens, and begin reimagining how to disciple the next generation.
Go deeper into the world of Gen Alpha
Meet the Gen Alpha “Nones”: The teens asking quiet questions about God
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