Thinking about generations - Lifestyle groups of generation Z and Y

Abstract

The relationship between current generations and the ones that grow up has always been ambivalent. The environment including the scientific-technical conditions and cultural- economic relations which surrounds the generations is changing significantly. Thus the socialization of new generations takes place under these altered circumstances, which means that they are not the same as the former young generations. Acceptance of new values and understanding of new behavioral patterns are difficult for parents, teachers and also for decision makers. In this article, a generational approach is applied to analyze today’s emerging young generation. The study presents the results of the research conducted with questionnaires and it highlights the lifestyle characteristics of today’s 15-24-year-old young people in Hungary, who are members of either Generation Z or the late Generation Y. This topic appears in the research of several academic fields, and the conclusion of the research can not only support the development of the theory, but the practical decisions as well.