A Reddit post about a sibling who was concerned after discovering their younger sister had performed poorly on a school quiz has sparked conversation about the academic future of Generation Alpha.
The post, shared by u/Every-Succotash-3580, was titled “Anyone here worried about their Gen Alpha siblings.” It has gained 2,900 upvotes and hundreds of comments since it was posted on July 17 on the r/GenZ subreddit.
“Posting here since I’m Gen Z and didn’t know where else to post this,” the user wrote in the caption accompanying a photo of the quiz. “I found this in my little sister’s backpack and you can imagine my shock when I saw this.”
The image, which shows a marked-up quiz paper with only one correct answer, raised questions for the older sibling, who added: “Bro got one answer right and yea she’s an iPad kid playing roblox 24/7…I was the OG [original] iPad kid tho and I didn’t struggle in school so I’m really confused… it’s too early to say she’s cooked tho I gotta make sure she becomes a functioning member of society.”
Generation Alpha, which includes those born between 2010 and 2025, is the first cohort raised entirely in the digital age. According to an August 2024 study published in the International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, this group has been shaped by “constant connectivity and digital immersion.” The study notes, “with the coming of the Alpha Generation, education entered new paths and embraced a whole new era of learning powered by technology, creativity, and adaptability.”
The study said “it is expected of Gen Alpha learners to break all traditional educational standards by forcing educators to rethink and rethink their conventional approaches to teaching.”
The Reddit community had mixed reactions to the post and its implications. Some users questioned the fairness of generalizing Gen Alpha based on one child’s quiz.
“To be honest, I don’t know the answer to half these questions,” admitted u/Salty_Pension5814.
Others tried to contextualize the quiz. “It’s just normal guided reading,” wrote u/capincus. “They’re testing the ability to obtain specific information from a known section of reading, not whether or not you already know the answers.”
While some downplayed the broader implications, others pointed to signs of concern. “She’s not even dumb or anything,” argued u/Lambadi_Genetics. “She has complete lack of effort or curiosity to learn.”
One of the most upvoted comments came from u/sweet_mint13, who wrote: “I’m sorry but this was open book? Her parents need to sit down with her and help her read I don’t know how old she is but when she reaches high school she is going to be expected to be reading long books and expected to explain what the main idea is, the theme, writing down paragraphs.”
Another user, u/cowboysfromhell1999, emphasized the simplicity of the task: “The fact that they’re giving exactly what page the answers are on, makes it worse. I was gonna say off the top of my head. I don’t really know any of these to be honest, but I mean they’re giving the answers. Just read the book…”
U/antsyamie noted that the situation might be more individual than generational, saying: “1999 I think this specific instance might a your sister thing and not a gen alpha thing lol.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
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