By Rob McLaren, Insight
As media professionals, we are inherently passionate about understanding different audiences and how best to engage them. A people-first strategy is foundational to strong media performance and, ultimately, drives business success.
the7stars’ latest whitepaper, Pester Power Repositioned, is the culmination of a yearlong focus on uncovering and demystifying Generation Alpha, the latest and most digitally native generation ever. In recent years, this group has been in the headlines often – from the award-winning Netflix series ‘Adolescence’ to the John Lewis Christmas advert – with the prevailing narrative being one of a life spent in online worlds, of parents unable to break through and unsure what goes on behind closed doors. With the oldest Gen Alphas soon entering adulthood and becoming the consumers of today, it is imperative for brands to move past these portrayals clouded in mystery.
Contrary to the damning portrayal of this generation, this research finds that the relationship between children and their parents has evolved into one of mutual trust. Since 2015, the percentage of children who say their ideas are ‘very different’ from their parents has nearly halved (52% to 27%), while the proportion who say they are granted a degree of financial freedom has gone in the inverse direction, rising from 26% in 2015 to 53% today.
Across almost all categories – from toys and games to technology, entertainment, and holidays – Gen Alpha feel they know more than their parents. Contrary to creating conflict, this enhanced knowledge is fuelling greater collaboration over where the family spends its funds. Almost half (46%) of Gen Alpha say they research holidays on behalf of their parents, while 55% have final say over tech purchases and 34% help to pick out furnishings for the home.
This relationship is being felt and appreciated on both sides of the generational gap, with 60% of parents we surveyed saying their relationship with their children is ‘more collaborative’ than what they had with their own parents growing up, and 65% agreeing they take their children’s opinions into account ‘quite a lot’ when making purchases.
Ultimately, both parent and child recognise that the final say always lies with the adults in the room – and that, despite being born after most social media platforms came into existence and being digital natives from day one, parents are still the most trusted source of information for Gen Alpha. But it is this circle of trust and financial empowerment that should be the prevailing narrative of this emerging generation – not the isolation of Adolescence.
All of which points to an undeniable fact: pester power isn’t dead, it’s simply repositioned. Today’s pester power is more considered: less about, well, pestering, and more about collaborative decision-making in areas of mutual expertise. For brands to win with this next generation of consumers, understanding their trade-off between digital discovery and human relationships will be critical to remaining relevant.
the7stars’ full whitepaper, Pester Power Repositioned, will be released later in Q2 2026.
