[via Mashable] You heard that right, folks. Those 18-34 year olds aren’t ‘Generation Y’ anymore, they’re now being referred to as

Basically this.

‘Generation C’ by Nielsen.

(Read the original announcement by Nielsen here.)

Check it out:

The C stands for “connected,” and the group comprises Americans between 18 and 34 — who are defined by their digital connectivity, Nielsen and NM Incite’s U.S. Digital Consumer Report says. They consume media, socialize and share experiences through devices more than other age groups.

The most recent U.S. Census finds 18- to 24-year-olds make up 23% of the population. Yet they watch 27% of online videos, constitute 27% of visitors to social networking sites, own 33% of tablets and use 39% of smartphones. When it comes to watching TV, they are exactly in proportion with their ratio of the population, representing 23% of TV viewers.

Personally, I was gunning for ‘Generation #’ or ‘Generation FYMTG+’ (Generation Facebook-YouTube-Myspace-Twitter-Google+), but I’ll just have to deal with Gen-C.

On an actual personal note, I tend to dislike broad terms that describe a large group of people – no matter how ‘accurate’ they may be. To imply that ‘Connected’ is a positive portrayal – and defining trait – of the 18 to 34 demographic is anything but good; as it’s admitting that all 18 to 34 year-olds do is tweet and update their statuses. Which isn’t true, but now becomes conjecture. (But that’s a blogpost for another time!)

Check out this cool infographic provided by Nielsen, indicating trends relating to the name change:

Click to enlarge