Génération Y

KEYWORDS: SOCIAL NETWORKS - TEENS - WEB CULTURE - PUBLIC AREA - LOL (LAUGHING OUT LOUD) - DIGITAL ECONOMY

Monique Dagnaud explores in depth the cultures of this new generation, from several different angles: the emergence of a "digital identity" and the rapid boom of new sociability based on perpetual conversation, exchange of images and amateur artistic productions. Then she analyses the political dimension: "LOL" culture is full of schoolyard jokes, but also of hacker raids and protest actions (from the great assemblies of the Arab spring to the "disgrace" of Puerta del Sol); and finally she broaches intellectual property piracy and the attraction of a zero or low-cost economy.

One thus she observes the development of new psychological profiles—a way of living in constant company—of which the economic impact remains to be seen.

The author: Monique Dagnaud is a sociologist at CNRS, and teaches at the EHESS and the INA