Apple is addressing the future needs of children today. The Alpha generation, born after 2010, will have a different attitude towards internet usage compared to previous generations.
This topic has been discussed many times, and Apple's Vision Pro provides a good example of how to address future problems and needs instead of present ones. Many people criticize virtual reality headsets, such as the Vision Pro, by asking how they solve any problems. However, these people fail to understand that they will be old one day.
"Every generation uses internet information differently!"
The Baby Boomer generation, born between 1940 and 1970, views the internet as Facebook, where they can interact with friends and family, get local information, and use Line to communicate with their peers. They did not grow up with the internet, so it presents a significant learning obstacle. Therefore, communicating with distant relatives, sharing photos, news, and videos are significant incentives for them to use the internet.
The Millennial generation, born between 1970 and the 1990s, view the internet as a form of "public relations" that showcases their best side to the world. Their online presence must be flawless, with natural-looking filters and a luxurious yet straightforward lifestyle that others envy. They are taught not to showcase their negative side online because those records will affect their employment opportunities. Coming from mostly middle-income families, they use the internet to "enhance" their mediocre lifestyle and create a positive image of themselves.
Generation Z, born between the 1990s and 2010, are forced to use the internet. They must access all information online and have grown tired of it, even starting to "make fun" of it. They refuse to create a specific style and enjoy uploading blurry and vague moments, funny or satirical content, and their own erotic content. They treat the internet as a form of creativity or profession, believing that being "real" is being themselves. When Generation Z children display their innocent and funny selves on TikTok, they are often shamed and criticized by Millennials, as one group represents authenticity, while the other is afraid to be themselves. Generation Z believes that "being serious means losing." They hate the internet but must rely on it to survive. That is how Web3 culture started.
Generation Alpha, born between 2010 and now, will be the most privacy-conscious people since the internet became popular. They grow up hating their parents for posting their childhood photos on the internet and blame them for putting their private moments online. They will look back at the past generations and think, "How could those people be so shameless?" and leave so many traces online that can be used as templates for AI artificial intelligence. They will create "anonymous characters - Avatars," where everyone is a "game character," and the appearance is AI-generated, and each person has a different identity (aka alter ego). On the internet, they will not know who the real person behind the screen is.
"In the internet world, no one flaunts their real-life."
That's what older people do because only they must see and touch "property." Younger people showcase their virtual financial and virtual world. In that world, everyone can define their own rules and world, everyone is relatively equal, has eternal life, and is not limited by the cruelty of reality. That is how Metaverse concept started.
From now until the "metaverse era," it will take about a generation, 10-20 years. Apple is a company with very stable revenue, providing hardware products, software, research and development, services, original entertainment, and innovative technology. Only it has the ability to develop a large-scale trend that takes 10-20 years to cultivate from scratch. The success of this product depends on the future development of the entire ecosystem, not just the product itself.
Today, Vision Pro is just an entertainment device, but in the future, it will be a social tool, just like how the iPhone was just a phone in the past and now is everything to everyone.
"Every generation uses internet information differently!"
In 20 years, we can complete today's work with a single sentence to AI, and our experience and attitude towards personal identity will undergo significant changes.