- A TikToker showed her Gen Alpha daughter pretending to pay for an order using a landline phone.
- The video has sparked discussion about how technology is shaping the way that children play.
A mom posted a TikTok video of her toddler pretending to "pay" for things by holding a landline phone up to a scanner, sparking discussion about the unique ways modern technology is shaping Gen Alpha's imaginations.
Gen Alpha refers to children born between 2010 and 2024, who have grown up with the internet and modern technology as a significant part of their daily lives.
A TikToker who goes by Amy Elizabeth posted a video posted on August 5 saying her kids were playing "drive-thu."
"In case you didn't feel old yet," she said, explaining she expected the kids to use a credit card or cash to pretend pay. The video cut to her daughter holding up a clunky cordless telephone for her mom to scan. "She pays by phone now," she said.
@amyelizabeth24514 Wild… #90skid #genalpha #millennial ♬ original sound - Amy Elizabeth
Viewers found the video amusing, and many shared examples of their own children making them "feel old" referencing new technology while playing imaginary games.
One viewer wrote that her son told her that his kitchen is "all online now" while they were playing imaginary kitchens together. Another wrote that her daughter told her, "I have a mobile order," while they were playing imaginary McDonald's drive-thru.
Others were amused by the irony of Amy's daughter using such an older-looking phone to mimic such a modern method of payment. Amy replied that she had refused to give them her iPhone to play with.
One viewer wrote that she feels like an "old woman paying with a check at the grocery store" because she still uses her credit card to pay for things.
Another viewer wrote that the video reminded them of an episode of "Bluey," an Australian animated preschool television series. In the episode, which is called "Phones," the characters play restaurants with their grandad and make him use an app to order food, which they then deliver to him on a scooter to mimic an online food delivery platform such as DoorDash or UberEats.
Someone else suggested that she should ask her toddler to pretend to talk on the phone to "see if they make a phone shape or flat hand." Another viewer replied to this comment, stating her kids always "hold out their hand flat" when they're pretending to talk on the phone, because they only ever see her talking on speakerphone.
Over the years, several TikTokers have made references to the fact that Gen Alpha holds their hands flat when pretending to talk on the phone because smartphones are the only phones they've ever seen or used.
Many people have also used TikTok to share their amusement about how their Gen Alpha children and relatives hold up fake phones instead of fake digital cameras when pretending to take pictures.
Videos about the new ways that technology has influenced Gen Alpha and the way that they play with toys often spark discussion on TikTok and leave many people thinking about how much technology has changed since they were children.
In August, many people in their teens and early twenties were left grappling with the realities of aging after realizing they didn't understand Gen Alpha humor. This is similar to the way that many millennials felt outdated after Gen Z became the new "it" generation.