“What will the future bring for beta babies?” Wait, what?!? Who’s already naming babies born today as Gen Beta? A desire to mindlessly watch football during the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day quickly pivoted into a rabbit trail of endless questions running through my head. Clever marketing strategy, Prudential, and now this college professor, who is easily intrigued by concepts connected to generational theory, is no longer pondering which team has the best chance to beat Ohio State for a national championship but is brainstorming research questions related to our newest generation, evidently named Gen Beta.

Perhaps the extra interest in this particular game was due to the fact that Ohio State easily defeated Tennessee in a playoff game or that the Ohio State/Oregon matchup reminded me of the trip with students to the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015, but this game had my full attention. I wasn’t multitasking reading Teaching With AI with the volume muted or puttering around the house, so when Prudential’s Gen Beta advertisement aired, I was Paying Attention.

As someone whose anxiety and peace of mind are closely tied to financial security, I appreciate advertisers encouraging people to plan ahead, thoughtfully consider Life Plans, and take intentional actions when possible. It’s a reality that many people delay thinking about their future needs, especially during the phase known as Emerging Elderhood. Additionally, organizations sometimes reduce employee retirement packages during financial downturns, so there are valid reasons to be thinking about the future. However, it is a little concerning that an entire generation is being named before these babies even leave the hospital.

Feasibly, this could be a generation that will be forced to “reimagine retirement” as Prudential offers. Admittedly, I’m already Wrestling with how AI is going to alter higher education and the future careers of our students, so maybe it’s not such a stretch to accept that life will look radically different for Beta Babies than anything we’ve witnessed in humanity so far. But I really just wanted to watch a football game, not consider all the ramifications that a new generation brings! There have already been three distinct times I’ve made significant alterations to my courses in response to changing students, I’m not sure I’m prepared to grapple with the changes ahead for Gen Beta.

Thankfully, I have the ability to investigate topics like these in efforts to satisfy my Burning Curiosity about Gen Beta; and there are many brilliant educators and researchers who will devote their life’s work to helping all of us understand how to best care for future generations, to genuinely aspire to a flourishing Generational Remix. However, more than anything, I am grateful for the security that my faith brings me, even as I face these futuristic concerns. Whether it’s how AI will change higher education, what role should Christ-followers have in leading future generations to flourish, or questions that I cannot even begin to imagine, I still see Hope Ahead. Not only do I see hope with the promises I find in Scripture, but with the reassurances of authors like Tony Reinke and many others who encourage us to intentionally consider the future of humanity. Not approaching it with a Cloud of Fear but with the assurances that we have an anchor In God that holds steady, no matter how much the world changes to resemble the sci-fi movies of our youth.

So, Gen Beta, I welcome you to this sometimes-crazy world in which we live, and I challenge all of us to do our best to leave it Better Than We Found It!

References:

Bowen, J.A. & Watson, C.E. (2024). Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Business Wire. (2025, January 1). “Baby steps’ toward retirement: Prudential gives Generation Beat a savings kick start and launches first-of-kind study. Retrieved from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241217226022/en/

Reinke, T. (2021). God, technology, and the Christian life. [Kindle version]. Crossway.