It has been quite a considerable number of years since I was actively engaged in media theory and commentary, during my university studies and the years immediately following as I endeavoured to discover if a career in the media was going to suit me, so excuse me if I'm a little rusty.

I read an article in Newsweek this morning about the generation gap and the sub-category we are now apparently referring to as 'millennials'. Previously, you may have referred to these people as 'Generation Next' or 'Generation Y', or my personal favourite, 'Generation Whine'.

As social and media analysts clamber over one other to coin new and clever terminology in order to pigeonhole an otherwise intangible grouping of people numbering, of course, in the tens of millions, I started to think about these categorisations; why we feel we need them and how they shape our perceptions.

Yeah, enough of those rants about bumper stickers, let's talk about something juicy.

Without regurgitating the facts and figures for you here, suffice to say, the article pointed out that the overwhelming majority of us still believe in the generation gap; a kind of demarcation point between age groups commonly defined as post-war 'baby boomers', their children - 'generation x' and the current, much-maligned 'millennials'. Make no mistake, if you were born between 1980 and 2005, the rest of us are looking down on you, very, very unimpressed. This group has had more opportunities, more pre-disposed wealth and most importantly, more access than any generation preceeding it. By access I mean they are able to communicate and particpate in ways that many of us would only have dreamed about; they are the children of the digital age, mobile phone in one hand, blanky in the other.

This level of media access has the ability to make them more savvy, more aware and more involved. But that's not the way 'millennials' are viewed generally. These are spoilt children with a sense of entitlement out of balance with their level of knowledge or expertise. Or so we're told. At 31 I have the enviable ability of calling myself Gen X whilst operating in close proximity to 'millennials' (possibly in order to observe their behaviour and report back to central control). The specific political, economic and environmental factors that have influenced these social movements we call generations will now have a major impact on this group, who are probably for the most part unaware that the torch that will be passed to them comes saddled with more pressure than any before it.

The generation gap works particularly well for media and marketing people as the ability to group target publics and consumers is a key ingredient in the process. This is why you find yourself answering surveys where you must tick the age box 30-45 despite the fact that someone 15 years older than you has ticked that same box and this is quite possibly the ONLY thing the two of you will have in common. If we can say, for example, that 'baby boomers' are concerned about the welfare system and the economy, that 'generation x'ers' are concerned about quality of life and future job prospects and that 'millennials' are concerned that Facebook's new profile page is not as navigable as the last version, then we have already drawn our conclusion and we can go home.

Did you see what I did there? That was a pie in sky example of target market sampling, but my hypothesis that framing or skewing the results shows how easy it can be to say that anyone under the age of 30 cares more about social networking than the economic crisis they will inherit. Thus, the data can be presented pretty much as fact to the concerned media buyer and the process of revamping their image for the target market can begin. If kids identify with Pete Wentz, then we shall have kids that look like Pete Wentz in our KFC commercials.

The categorisation of the generation gap I will concede is necessary to a degree, and furthermore can be quite useful, but I think we must be careful how the questions and their responses are framed in the media because 'millennials' are watching and listening in great numbers and despite what you might believe, they care what the rest of us think of them. Don't you?