EXTREME
July 2010
An inside look
into the hot top-
ics and trends
of today’s
young adults.
WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH YOUNG ADULTS 18-29?
Today’s generation of young adults are in living in a whole new world of fashion, social media, recycling and
relationships.
Texting while driving, tweeting, Facebook
stalking, and living with mom again... These are
all a part of the every day lives of today’s 18-29
year olds. This generation is the first generation
that is “always connected” and immersed in
technology and social media. Today, 72 percent
of young adults are using a social networking
site.
The “loser” stereotype labeling young
adults living at home no longer applies. These 8-
10 million “boomerangers” are unmarried
college graduates working full time and building
up savings for their future.
This generation is environmentally con-
scious and makes eco-friendly decisions such
as using bicycles to commute to work, choosing
canvas grocery bags instead of paper or plastic,
and using refillable water bottles. They are ada-
Lifestyles and
social trends of
young adults
ages 18-29.
mant about recycling and choose to eat healthy
organic foods and stay away from trans fats and
high fructose corn syrup.
Aside from using bicycles for transporta-
tion, mopeds are on the rise and hatchbacks are
growing in popularity. When it comes to music,
CD’s are a thing of the past, this generation is
downloading music from iTunes and 67 percent
have an iPod or mp3 player that they use.
Most of all, this generation is optimistic and
open to change. They are upbeat about the
economy and positive about their futures. They
feel that their education offers them better job
opportunities than previous generations and 60
Here are the facts:
percent feel that their financial fate depends on When it comes to spending, 53
if they are working hard and doing a good job. percent of young adults purchase
green products, even if they are
more expensive!
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[1]
 James is a 23 year-old male who is Although he lives at home, James

JAMES
also has certain responsibilities
a recent college graduate working during the week. He does the
full-time at an accounting firm. grocery shopping and is in charge
of doing laundry to help out his
Although he has a steady job, he
parents. On the evenings, James
has moved back home to save
enjoys playing video games on his
some money before he rents his
PS3 and recently just purchased
own apartment. He has estab-
Red Dead Redemption. He also
lished a budget in order to start
makes sure to keep up with the
saving and is doing fairly well at
new seasons of True Blood and
sticking to it. In the future, he also
update his iTunes list. His recent
plans to purchase a new Honda
downloads include the new
Fit Hatchback.
Eminem and Drake albums.
Each morning, James gets up to
James works hard during the
commute to his new job. As he
week, but he still likes to go out
rides the train to work, he uses his
and have fun with friends on the
iPhone to send text messages,
weekend. He and his buddies find
check his Facebook and send e-
it hilarious to “ice” each other and
mail. Once off the train, he stops
are always hiding and tricking
at Dunkin’ Donuts to grab his
each other to drink Smirnoff Ices
morning coffee and listens to his
before heading to the bar. Once
iPod as he heads to the office. At
out, James sips on tequila on the
the office, James checks in on
rocks and meet new girls. When
foursquare and shares his loca-
he makes a new friend, he makes
tion with his Twitter followers.
sure to add their number to his
After checking in, he gets to work.
iPhone.
James is optimistic that if he
works hard, does a good job and
invests his money carefully, he
will be successful financially. He
doesn’t feel that the economy will
have any impact on his financial
future at all.

Here’s the statistics:

18-29 year olds are the
first “always connected gen-
eration” and are immersed in
social media and new tech-
nology.

Unmarried college graduates

age 22-29 are moving back Most 18-29 yr.
home and working full
time.35 percent chose to
olds are happy
move back to build up their with their lives
savings. 25 percent are back and optimistic
because they lack the finan-
cial resources to sustain a about their
household of their own. futures.

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[2]

Rob is a 28 year-old male living with
his girlfriend in a one-bedroom
apartment in the city.
He works at an advertising agency
and has his own moped, which he
rides to work. The dress at his agency
is casual and Rob likes to express
himself through fashion. Each day he
wears Ray Bans, TOM’s shoes and
Oxford shirts to work. He also has one
tattoo on his back and is thinking
about possibly getting another. At
work, Rob uses is Apple iMac desktop
with wireless keyboard and mouse.
He is a fan of Apple and is an early
adopter of all of their products. He is
currently planning to purchase an iPad
and upgrade to the iPhone 4.
Rob has dedicated his life to living
green and makes sure to recycle and
bring his own bags when grocery
shopping. He also makes his own
coffee in the morning and uses a re-
usable travel mug. Living eco-friendly
is important to Rob and he is doing
his best to reduce his carbon foot-
print. He also likes to buy products
from companies that share his social
and political views.
Rob does his best to stay active and
healthy. He subscribes to Men’s
Health magazine and spends time at
the gym, where he makes sure to use
ROB
is Sigg water bottle to keep hydrated.
Rob also makes sure to eat healthy
and stays away from trans fat and
high fructose corn syrup.
On the evenings Rob enjoys watching
movies with his girlfriend. He orders
them from Netflix and streams them
directly from his Xbox 360. Recent
movies on his queue include: The Hurt
Locker, Avatar and The Blindside. Rob
loves his girlfriend, but is not sure if he
is ready to get married. Instead, they
have decided to post-pone the mar-
riage talk and settle for a long-term
relationship.
During the weekend, he and his girl-
friend enjoy going on bike rides, rock
climbing and going out to local restau-
rants. They also attend concerts and
recently went to see Passion Pit. Rob
also enjoys taking pictures with his
digital camera and posting movies on
YouTube that he has created with his
Flip Camera. He and his girlfriend also
enjoy traveling and are currently plan-
ning a trip India.
Statistics:
38 percent of young adults
have tattoos.
20 percent have posted vid-
eos of themselves online.
Young adults
are delaying Here’s what’s trending:
Mopeds
marriage for The Green Movement
Traveling to India
long-term Healthy living
relationships. Ray Bans and TOM’s shoes
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[3]
 Cooper Hatchback. She constantly
Lisa is a 21 year-old female

LISA
who works as a stylist in a
local hair salon. She chose
this profession because she
has always been interested
in the all the latest trends.
As soon as Lisa was hired at her hair
salon she decided to move out of her
parents home. Although she is living
on her own, she still regularly receives
financial help from her parents in or-
der to pay her bills.
Lisa is very into social media. She
checks her Facebook as soon as she
wakes up in the morning and makes
sure to tweet what she is doing
throughout the day. She is also an
avid blogger and loves to write about
the newest trends in hair and fashion.
Her blog, “Lisa’s Latest Trends”,
shares photos and tutorials about the
latest hair and make-up trends and
receives numerous hits daily. By utiliz-
ing social media, Lisa has been able
to gain new customers. She uses her
social media platforms to show her
credibility as a stylist and recruit new
clients. She has also convinced her
salon to create a Facebook group and
have promotions on foursquare.
has her phone by her side and admits
to texting while driving even though
she knows she shouldn’t be doing it.
Lisa’s other weekday activities include
watching the latest television shows
and listening to popular music on
iTunes. She uses her DVR to tape all
of her favorite shows and knows that
if she misses an episode of Dancing
with the Stars or Grey’s America she
won’t be able to talk about it with her
clients.
On weekends, Lisa is an avid shopper.
She finds shopping fun and likes to
make purchases in stores and online.
She likes to visit EBay to look for great
deals and has also sold some of her
things on the website as well. She
loves the convenience of her PayPal
account and is known as a top-rated
seller with positive feedback from her
buyers. When Lisa is out shopping at
the mall, most of her purchases are
charged on her credit card. Her most
recent items bought were new nose
rings and a romper. Lisa purchased
the romper because she read in Nylon
Magazine that they were very fashion-
able right now.

After work, Lisa likes to surf the In-

ternet and drive around in her Mini

Did you know:

23 percent of young adults
(compared to 8 percent of
adults) have a piercing in a
place other than an earlobe.

33 percent of 18-29 year 64 percent of

olds agree that shopping is young adults
fun.
18-29 years old
39 percent of 18-29 year have sent or
olds say they regularly re-
ceive help from their par- received a text
ents or other relatives. while driving.

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[4]
TOP 10 LISTS 2010
What’s trending: Cars
Mini Cooper Hatchback
Music
Toyota Tacoma Pickup
Toyota Corolla Sedan
Dodge Charger Sedan
California Gurls - Katy Perry Ft.
Chrysler 300 Sedan
Snoop Dogg
Honda Fit Hatchback
Scion XD Hatchback
Love the Way You Lie-Eminem Ft. Kia Spectra5 Hatchback
Rihanna Chevrolet Equinox SUV
OMG- Usher Ft. will.i.am Honda Civic
Books
The girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Girl who Played with Fire
Private
McKetricks of Texas: Austin
Sizzling Sixteen
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
Love in the Afternoon
Eat, Pray, Love
Eclipse

TV Shows
Airplanes- B.o.B. Ft. Hayley
Grey’s Anatomy
Williams of Paramore Video Games
Dancing With The Stars
Red Dead Redemption (360)
Lost
Billionaire- Travie McCoy Ft. Bruno Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
American Idol
Mars Super Mario Galaxy 2 (WII)
Cougar Town
UFC 2010: Undisputed (PS3)
True Blood
UFC 2010: Undisputed (360)
Cooler Than Me- Mike Posner NCIS
WII Fit Plus (WII)
Eureka
New Super Mario Bros. (WII)
Criminal Minds
Dynamite- Taio Cruz Alan Wake (360)
Haven
Pokémon Soulsilver Version (NDS)
Skate 3 (360)
Find Your Love- Drake
Traveling Abroad
Sri Lanka
Most Important Goals in Life
Patagonia Wine Country
Ridin Solo- Jason Derulo Being a good parent (52%)
Seoul
Having a successful marriage (30%)
Mysore
Helping others in need (21%)
Copenhagen
Not Afraid- Eminem Owning a home (20%)
Koh Kood
Having a high-paying career (15%)
Damascus
Having lots of free time (9%)
Cesme
Antarctica
Top Music Festival Headliners Leipzig

Sound Garden U.S. Travel

Green Day San Francisco, CA
Lady GaGa Charleston, S.C.
Dave Matthews Band Santa Fe, N.M.
Kings of Leon Chicago, IL
Stevie Wonder Carmel, CA
Jay-Z Honolulu, HI
LCD Soundsystem Savannah, GA
Them Crooked Cultures San Diego, CA
Modest Mouse Sedona, AZ
Eugene Mirman
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Theivery Corporation

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[6]