Alphameisje (Alpha Girl) - Bettina Hogeweg
Bettina Hogeweg follows five-year-old Eline, a Generation Alpha girl growing up between outdoor play, imagination and digital distractions.
© Bettina Hogeweg
What is it like to be a girl today? In Alphameisje (Alpha Girl), Bettina Hogeweg follows the daily life of Eline, born in 2021. Her first months unfolded during lockdown, in a small, sheltered world. Now that she is five, the outside world has opened up again, but digital life is everywhere too.
Hogeweg contrasts parents' analogue childhood memories with a childhood shaped by screens, algorithms and a constant flow of information. Where earlier generations played outside for hours and sometimes felt bored, Generation Alpha grows up with the lure of scrolling and the struggle for attention. Parents, too, cannot always resist their phones.
At the same time, Eline's world is full of glitter, unicorns, princess fantasies and first friendships in the school playground. The series captures the joy of playing in mud, quiet wonder and moments of absorption in a screen. It is a portrait of growing up between analogue magic and digital noise, with the hope that this generation will also look back on childhood with nostalgia.
FotoKabinet is an initiative by Oerkroeg Schiller and OFKC. Drawing on their individual specialisms and interests, the participating photographers and artists bring photography into the setting of a pub.