"Generation Y Not" look to new ways of tackling life’s challenges

Opportunistic, outgoing and open to new experiences – is this you? Are you a member of the experimentation generation, actively trying out new ways of tackling life’s challenges? This new generation of entrepreneurial young adults, “Generation Y Not”, is being celebrated this summer across a series of nationwide events – and we want you to get involved.

In this video, psychologist Rob Yeung introduces “Generation Y Not” and we ask young people across Britain how they experiment.

A new piece of research, commissioned by Bulmers No.17 Cider, has revealed that a unique subset of young Brits are making their own way in an uncertain world. “Generation Y Not”, aged 18-24, is rising to the challenges of today’s society through experimentation and are actively exploring new opportunities in both work and leisure.

"Generation Y Not” is learning to look out for themselves; experimenting with who they are and finding new ways to tackle life’s challenges. Aged 18-24 and equally split between the sexes, there are more than three million “Generation Y Nots” in the UK today, actively experimenting within a society heavily impacted by the recession.

The new ‘experimentation generation’ is ‘always on’; born into the age of the internet, technology and social networking are a cornerstone of young people’s lives. The new research found that more than two thirds (71%) like or love social networking and four out of five (81%) have more than 100 Facebook friends – double that of the rest of the general population.

The success of the likes of Plan B, Tinie Tempah and Robert Pattinson – with careers spanning music, acting and filmmaking – has heralded the arrival of a new man, willing to take a gamble and driven by ambition. It seems the days of Mr Conventional are numbered…