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'Digital inequality': Sociologist says 'gen beta', other generational labels don't fit PH context

Andrea Taguines

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — A sociologist on Friday warned against misleading generational labels after a new term was coined to describe babies born this year and onwards: the so-called<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/3/-dawn-of-a-new-era-2025-marks-start-of-generation-beta-1513" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Generation Beta or Gen Beta</a>.</p><p>Kids born between 2025 and 2039 are categorized under Gen Beta.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FprjZ7cAxhY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>According to Australian social research firm McCrindle, Gen Beta will be the first generation to grow up in a world where artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are fully embedded in everyday life.</p><p>But in an interview with ABS-CBN News, Dr. Jayeel Cornelio said while this may be true for the young people in Australia, North America or the rest of the Western world, it does not fit the Philippine context given the digital inequality that the country faces.</p><p>&quot;Dito nga kuryente yung problema e (Even access to electricity is a problem here). So is it proper, therefore, to call our young people as belonging to Gen Z or Gen Alpha or Gen Beta, when, in fact, the problem is, can they finish university? Can they make it to school? Can they finish their education? Will they get a good job afterwards?&quot; he said.</p><p>For Cornelio, the generational labels make for better marketing tools than a way to understand the true plight of majority of the Filipino youth.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/1/generation-beta-checks-in-first-new-year-baby-born-at-fabella-hospital-0815">Generation Beta checks in: First New Year baby born at Fabella hospital</a></div><p>&quot;All the marketing firms design their campaigns around expectations na you are from Gen Alpha, Beta, therefore you&#x27;re techie, and therefore you need this smartphone,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Paano kung ako ay pinanganak in war-torn Mindanao? Excluded siya sa conversation na &#x27;yun (What about those born in war-torn Mindanao? They are excluded from that conversation).&quot;</p><p>Cornelio is pushing for a more nuanced way to identify generations, which he said should not be based merely on age brackets. </p><p>He added that it is too early to tell if AI will indeed be the thing that will have the most influence on this age group. </p><p>“A generation is formed after the fact, so to speak, after we have already seen and discerned the impact of big social trends. Nobody would have predicted (Martial Law), but that was formative of the consciousness of the people at the time which led to the 1986 revolution,” he said. </p><div><strong>ADDRESSING DIGITAL INEQUALITY</strong></div><p>Data ethicist Dominic Ligot meanwhile believes that AI will be the technology that would shape the next generation.</p><p>But Ligot also admits that its impact on Gen Beta will come “in pockets”— with those lucky enough to live in urban areas benefitting first.</p><p>“When you are, let’s say, in the big cities, Metro Manila, BGC, you’re probably merely at the same level as the US in terms of information flow. But when you step out of the NCR (National Capital Region), lalo na when you to go far-flung areas where internet connectivity is spotty, you can argue that many of these towns are still living in the &#x27;90s or early 2000s,” he said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/11/11/21/wider-internet-access-in-ph-still-a-problem-devt-study-agency-says">PH gov&#x27;t still &#x27;very far&#x27; from achieving wider internet access: dev&#x27;t study agency</a></div><p>Ligot also pointed out that while individual AI adoption is high, the problem is in the institutions.</p><p>“(For) the government itself, companies, schools, adoption is quite low,” he said.</p><p>Ligot said addressing this issue involves improving the country’s digital connectivity infrastructure, beefing up cybersecurity, and creating a regulatory framework for AI usage.</p><p>Another important factor, he said, is politics.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/10/27/lawmaker-revives-call-for-body-to-craft-policy-regulate-use-of-ai-1311">Lawmaker revives call for body to craft policy, regulate use of AI</a></div><p>“If we don’t fix politics, it always gets in the way… When the Apple Macintosh was launched, the first Mac, that was 1984. So the rest of the world had a Mac. Tayo, we were struggling under Martial Law,” he said.</p><p>“I think that set us back easily by 20 years because we were struggling with that political drama when other countries were industrializing,” added Ligot.</p><p>Ligot said the Philippines should continue to work on catching up, especially with its regional neighbors, to boost competitiveness.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rb8EvBY_k28?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>A sociologist on Friday warned against misleading generational labels after a new term was coined to describe babies born this year and onwards: the so-called Generation Beta or Gen Beta.</p>

A sociologist on Friday warned against misleading generational labels after a new term was coined to describe babies born this year and onwards: the so-called Generation Beta or Gen Beta.

Digital inequality may leave PH babies out of ‘Gen Beta’

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Digital inequality may leave PH babies out of ‘Gen Beta’

Andrea Taguines,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 04, 2025 11:15 AM PHT

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Updated January 04, 2025 11:57 AM PHT

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