Social analysts reveal the top five trends that will shape the lives of Australians in 2025
Next year will be the first time in history seven generations will be alive at the same time ranging from Generation Builders who were first born in 1925 all the way through to Generation Beta who will start being born next year.
Social analysts McCrindle made the revelation as they unveiled the top five trends that will shape the lives of Australians in 2025.
McCrindle director of solutions Geoff Brailey said at the end of the year 0.2 billion people from Generation Builders would populate Earth right through to the biggest generation of all, Generation Alpha.
Those born from 2010 to 2024 will have a global population of 2 billion people with analysts predicting they will leave a global economic footprint of $2.56 trillion by the time the youngest reach the age of five years.
Camera IconAt the end of the year one in four people on Earth will be part of Generation Alpha and under the age of 15 making them the largest generational population in history. Credit: Supplied
“One in four people on planet Earth will be under the age of 15 and part of Generation Alpha, a generation that will live to the next turn of the century, entering into the 2100s,” he said
“Those children, young teens and teens we’re raising or leading or teaching right now will be here for that next turn of the century.”
While fertility rates were declining across the globe, overseas migration was driving Australia’s population growth with more than 500,000 migrating from overseas in the last 12 months.
“That is the size of Canberra,” Mr Brailey said.
“So this leads us to the first trend for 2025, which is really the story that Australia’s population is speeding ahead of the delivery of housing and infrastructure, and that is partly due to this rapid growth.”
Camera IconThe social analyst said 2025 would be the “era of the big build” and a critical year for infrastructure as people flocked to Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia from overseas. NewsWire /Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia
Australia will enter the “era of the big build” in 2025
The social analyst said 2025 would be the “era of the big build” and a critical year for infrastructure as Australia continued to grapple with housing and infrastructure pressures brought on by rapid migration growth.
The analysts found Australians thought the capital cities were becoming too expensive, congested, noisy and overpopulated.
Mr Brailey said the cities were failing to perform as intended because the experience did not meet what people hoped for in terms of affordability and accessibility.
“We need to unlock infrastructure … 2025 is going to be a critical year where we need to prioritise what are the right types of infrastructure, whether it’s housing, education, health, transport, digital infrastructure, community or energy infrastructure,” he said.
Camera IconMcCrindle found Australians believed its capital cities were becoming too expensive, congested, noisy and overpopulated. NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: News Corp Australia
Australia to grapple with productivity and individual desires
The analysts predicted Australia would also grapple with “the productivity paradox” were strong participation, systems and processes in the workforce were needed, but were challenged by workers with individual desires.
“They want to curate a bespoke career, mixing those different jobs over a career and they want work life balance, work might not be everything to everyone” he said.
“There’s a difference in those individual needs of the work and the life stage that people are at, as well as people want to have creativity and agency in how they get the job done.
“We want to find that sweet spot amid the paradox of high engagement.”
McCrindle surveyed Australian workers and found many felt like they had to work overtime to get their job done, with almost three in five saying it was hard to find a flow because there were so many interruptions.
“People are feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work they’ve got each week, and so it’s quite a stressful scenario that we’re seeing in the workplace,” Mr Brailey said.
Camera IconThe analysts predicted workplaces would grapple with productivity and the needs of individual workers. NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia
Australians to loosen social responsibility values under cost of living pressures
The third trend to shape Australia in 2025 is the “consumer compromise” with more than half of Australians saying they would have to forgo their social responsibility values to buy a product they needed because of cost of living pressures and inflation.
Mr Brailey said many people from Generation Y and Z had taken on a second job or started a side hustle to get ahead and were 3.6 times more likely than Baby Boomers to take on extra work.
“Across the board, people had to respond to these challenging times, cut back on their dining out and entertainment and they’ve had to change their shopping habits to save money,” he said.
“This is biting where it hurts in those lifestyle areas for Australians and those everyday purchases have had to change.”
Camera IconIn a digital first world, Aussies will be craving a digital detox in 2025 as they spend an increasing amount of time on their devices. NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia
Australians crave a digital detox in 2025
Australians will be looking for a digital detox in 2025 with McCrindle director of advisory Ashley Fell saying technology had fundamentally changed how we engaged in everyday life.
Ms Fell said people were becoming less optimistic and more sceptical about technology and how much our devices knew about us and exchanged our private information.
She said as people spent more and more time on their digital devices, a discourse had emerged around the negative impact it was having on their daily lives, and people were now contributing less to social media and consuming more information.
“When we segmented these insights by generation, I’m sure it’s not a surprise that it really is affecting our younger generations disproportionately compared to those older generations,” she said.
Ms Fell said Generation Z had grown up alongside this technology and it was placed in front of them from a young age, and a majority struggled to disengage from social media.
“They have become a part of … this global unintended experiment where we thrust these devices and platforms into their hands at a really young age, and now we’re starting to see the downsides of that,” she said.
“It makes sense that society and governments and even Gen Z themselves are pushing back on its use.”
Camera IconIn 2023, South Australia banned students from using smart phone and smart watches at school. Picture NewsWire / Emma Brasier Credit: News Corp Australia
Ms Fell said parents were now pushing back and putting boundaries in place for their own children’s health and safety and were now delaying setting up social media accounts for their children as long as possible.
“What this trend means for leaders and for those of us across society is that there is a desire among us for meaningful human connection,” she said.
“While today’s world is still digital first, and in 2025 it will be digital first, its leaders have an opportunity to facilitate and model what true community looks like.
“To respect people’s boundaries when they choose to engage with technology or social media and to look for ways to help younger generations establish healthy boundaries with their devices.
“That’s the digital detox trend that we’re going to see across reforms and government and in society in 2025.”
Camera IconMcCrindle director of advisory Ashley Fell said 2025 would be a milestone year in terms of generational shifts as Generation Beta are born making it the first year seven generations will be alive at one time. Credit: Supplied
2025 a milestone for generational shifts
According to the futurists, “generation acceleration” will make 2025 a milestone year in terms of generational shifts as the first of Generation Beta are born making it the first year seven generations will be alive at one time.
“This pace of generational change is certainly accelerating, we’ve got more generation mixing in our communities than ever before,” Ms Fell said.
“So understanding the context that shapes each generation is going to be helpful, even an appreciation of slang is helpful and we’ve seen from this youngest generation, the oldest of whom in Gen Alpha, are going to be turning 15 and entering our workforces in 2025.
“This year marks the final year of Gen Alpha being born as a generation, which means that the whole generation will be here in 2025 they’ll be the largest generation we have, and they have influence and economic contribution beyond their years.”
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