'Generation Y doesn't exist': Really? We're definitely here

A study carried out by French researcher, Prof. Jean Pralong claims that the Generation Y doesn't exist, claiming that the characteristics of those born between the late 1970's and the mid-'90's are 'not verified' in comparison to their older Generation X counterparts.

"For economists, a generation is constituted of people who confront the same conditions at work. The study showed that no difference exists between 25-year-olds and 45-year-olds at work. This shows that on a scientific level, Generation Y doesn’t exist".

The characteristics expected to be found during this study include that of a 'cynical, self-centered and technologically savvy' employee, but were found in both older and younger generations, negating the Generation Y term altogether.

But this researcher missed the mark in the initial differentiation between the non-mutually exclusive 'Generation Y' and the 'iGeneration'. Had he performed a quick Goolge search, he would have found this SEO-bombshell of a post, describing exactly the worth of overlapping demographics.

Nevertheless, the Generation Y still stands as a major investment to future economies and the upcoming workplace. To share just a few examples:

Social media is huge, there is no doubt about it. But people are quick to forget that it was one member of the Generation Y who not only created Facebook, one of the world's most popular sites, but it's the under 30's Generation Y who perpetuate its use.

Though the researcher can find many similarities between the older and younger generation, I can also. The Baby Boomers may well be famed for being the 'the Beatles generation' but now that the albums are available on iTunes, their children are snapping up the downloads like hotcakes.

And as we still recover from economic recession, younger people with fresh ideas, especially those which involve viral marketing and social media are being targeted to help fix economies. US adult millennials may have been the hardest hit in the global financial crisis but their continuing spending is rejuvenating the market.

So even though in practice the Generation X and the Generation Y, combining the efforts with the technologically-minded iGeneration demographics may not appear to be too dissimilar, there are still a wide range of factors which differentiate today's youth as the next-generation of politicians, economists, teachers, lawyers and possibly most importantly, technology drivers.

Adults, don't try and negate us. We are far more worthy to the future of society than you give us credit for. Do you not think?