Generation Alpha in the Digital Age. Anthropological Shifts and a Contextual Pastoral Response

Michał Wilkosz

michal.wilkosz@gmail.com
Polish Catholic Mission in Germany, Germany (Germany)
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3069-9088

Patryk Piotr Zając


University of Vienna, Austria (Austria)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8764-8253

Abstract

The article offers a theological interpretation of the anthropological and spiritual challenges associated with Generation Alpha, a cohort formed in a fully digitized, technologically saturated environment. It argues that the digital transformation of cognitive and relational patterns is not merely a sociocultural phenomenon but also a theological matter, insofar as it shapes the conditions under which truth, authority, and communion are received and embodied. The analysis critically engages with posthumanist and transhumanist proposals, identifying their normative limitations from the perspective of a Christian anthropology grounded in the human person's orientation toward truth and relationality. Selected phenomena associated with contemporary digital culture – such as nomophobia, cyberbullying, digital narcissism, the Lake Wobegon effect, cyberautomatism, and the incel subculture – are interpreted here as symptoms of existential fragility rather than as indicators of anthropological advancement. In response, the article outlines context-sensitive forms of pastoral practice, including small formation groups, religious tourism, individual spiritual accompaniment, and international retreat centres. These practices are presented not as innovations detached from tradition, but as renewed actualisations of ecclesial care under transformed epistemic conditions. The study contributes to practical theology by clarifying the anthropological and ecclesial implications of digital culture for youth ministry.

Keywords:

Generation Alpha, Theological Anthropology, Digital Culture, Practical Theology, Pastoral Formation, Spiritual Accompaniment, Authority and Truth

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Published
2026-06-30

Cited by

Wilkosz, M., & Zając, P. P. (2026). Generation Alpha in the Digital Age. Anthropological Shifts and a Contextual Pastoral Response. Warsaw Theological Studies, 39(1), 218–236. https://doi.org/10.30439/WST.2026.1.14

Authors

Michał Wilkosz 
michal.wilkosz@gmail.com
Polish Catholic Mission in Germany, Germany Germany
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3069-9088

Michał Wilkosz – pastoral theologian, doctor of theology and Master of German linguistics; educated at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow and the University of Freiburg (Dr. theol.), with a Master’s degree from the University of Silesia in Katowice; completed additional studies in pedagogy, psychology, leadership, and management at the Warsaw School of Economics; his research focuses on pastoral psychology, youth religiosity, and transformations of religious life in migration and diaspora contexts; since 2017 associated with the Polish Catholic Mission in Germany, rector since 2021; author of academic and pastoral publications; presbyter of the Archdiocese of Krakow.


Authors

Patryk Piotr Zając 

University of Vienna, Austria Austria
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8764-8253

Patryk Piotr Zając – philosopher specializing in epistemology, political epistemology, and political theology, with a focus on normativity, epistemic authority, neopragmatism (especially Richard Rorty), and the relationship between religion and democracy in post-communist contexts; currently conducting research at the University of Vienna on populism and Catholicism; co-editor of Threats to Democracy: Nationalism, Populism, Extremism and Christianity’s Response to Them (Unum Press, 2025) and editor of a forthcoming volume with Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; participant and co-organizer of international research projects (including those led by Tomáš Halík) and academic events; member of the American Philosophical Association, the Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie, and The Richard Rorty Society.



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