The occasion was the screening of a film called y Now, produced by NBCUniversal Integrated Media’s Curve Films. The short documentary portrays nine members of Gen Y as they transition into adulthood. The film, which is mainly being used for research purposes, was created to complement The Curve, their extensive report on the same topic.

Below are a few takeaways that cover both conventional wisdom about Gen Y’s mindset and more recent trends.

Growing influence. Gen Y includes 76 million people in the U.S. who were born between 1978 and 1995. Now they comprise the majority of those in advertisers’ coveted age range of 18 to 49. Given Gen Y’s large numbers and high degree of social media connectivity, they wield increasing influence on brands.

Optimistic perspective. “They grew up in a relatively positive political and economic environment, doted on by their parents,” Lavigne-Delville noted. “As a result, they have a more optimistic outlook on the recession than Gen X.”

New lifestage between adolescence and adulthood. “Gen Y has had an extended adolescence, or a soft launch into adulthood,” Lavigne-Delville commented. “Due to the recession, they have been ‘lifestalling,’ or sitting it out and reassessing their options. In fact, for many in Gen Y, they consider adulthood to start in their twenties. Also, there’s no agreement regarding what constitutes major adulthood milestones.”

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