A new piece of research has revealed a unique subset of young adults in Britain – “Generation Y Not”. Having witnessed seismic changes such as 9/11 and the global financial meltdown, “Generation Y Not” has learned 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.

71% of ‘Generation Y Nots” is out in the workforce. 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.

More than third (36%) of “Generation Y Nots” like an element of risk in their careers, while 14% of men say they ‘love’ risk. The majority (86%) experiment within the workplace on a daily basis and almost a quarter (24%) actually go out of their way to make themselves stand out from their colleagues. This generation also experiments with style and fashion and how they act, aiming to set and lead their own trends – almost a fifth (19%) of 18-24 year olds considers themselves ‘trendsetters’.