Gen Zers are freaking out after realizing their kids will be part of 'Gen Beta'

• 2024 will be the last year of "Gen Alpha." Children born from 2025 will be part of "Gen Beta."
• Some Gen Zers are posting about their shock at discovering that will likely include their kids.
• Many people have commented that the name is nowhere near as cool as "Gen Alpha" sounds.

Gen Zers are shocked to realize that 2024 is the last year to have children who will be part of "Gen Alpha," and that babies born between 2025 and 2039 will be part of "Gen Beta."

Gen Alpha is the current youngest generation, born between the early 2010s and the mid-2020s. Members of Gen Alpha are mostly children of millennials and older Gen Zers.

As more of Gen Z, the oldest of whom will turn 27 this year, seems to be heading towards parenthood, some are taking to social media to share their existential stress about the passage of time.

In one video posted on June 28, a TikToker who goes by the username @sar.poooooh wrote that she needed to change her "life plans" after realizing that her time is limited if she wants to have children that are part of Gen Alpha. The video currently has over 3 million views. 

The majority of viewers seemed to agree that "Gen Beta" is a much less impressive name than "Gen Alpha." Many wrote that the video had made them realize they had to hurry to have children.

Some parents also joined in the conversation and wrote that they were proud to have Gen Alpha children.

One viewer announced they were holding out for "Gen Gamma" — which is set to be born after 2040 — so they could have some "Hulk children." This is a reference to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which Dr. Robert Bruce Banner's exposure to high doses of gamma radiation allowed him to transform into the Hulk. 

The first Gen Beta child hasn't even been born yet, but people have been mocking the name for years. In a video posted in March 2021, a Gen Z TikToker who goes by the username @cathcorn said, "I feel sorry for them already and they're not even born."

While many viewers who said they were Gen Z took the opportunity to laugh at the names of upcoming generations, it also sparked a conversation among viewers who said they didn't want to have children at all, some for environmental reasons and others who said they didn't think they could afford to.

Named after the first letter of the Greek alphabet, Gen Alpha is the first generation born entirely in the 21st century. Social researcher Mark McCrindle is credited with coining the name.

Millennials have been saying that Gen Z makes them feel old for some time now. As Gen Alpha's online presence continues to grow, some Gen Zers are finding themselves struggling with many of the same issues that they have been mocking millennials for and feeling increasingly out of touch with the zeitgeist.