I don’t really get why we need to apply random letters to generations like Generation X, but Nielsen feels that its appropriate to introduce a new one to the mix – Generation C.

You may be asking yourself what Generation C is. It’s a good question and one they answer on the Nielsen Blog. Generation C is anybody who was born between “the launch of the VCR and the commercialization of the Internet.” Well then, that puts me smack dab in the middle of this newly founded generation.

Nielsen goes on to say that Americans aged 18-34 are redefining “media consumption with their unique embrace of all things digital.” The groups says that this Generation C “is taking their personal connection – with each other and content – to new levels, new devices and new experiences like no other age group.

The group then breaks down some statistics that shows the prominence Generation C has in regards to digital content. Some of the results are surprising while some I knew the moment that everybody in my freshman class in college was on Facebook instead of listening to the lecture.

Regular television is where you see the most normalcy among age and gender. TV viewership is pretty much split down the middle in regards to gender with 49 percent of TV viewers being male and 51 percent being female. The age split is pretty much the same too with each age group represented being around 20 percent.

Online video viewers is where things start to get interesting. Ladies far outpace the guys with 53 percent of females watching online videos compared to 47 percent of males. In terms of age, the 18 to 34 and 35 to 49 age groups far outpace everybody else when it comes to viewing online videos.

The ladies win yet again when it comes to social networking and blog visits. Females make up 54 percent of visits to sites like Facebook whereas men only make up 46 percent of all traffic. Once again, the 18 to 34 and 35 to 49 age ranges dominate this field.

The men win only one category, but it’s a good one – tablet ownership. Fifty-three percent of tablet owners are male while 47 percent are female. The age split is once again the same but the 18 to 34 range make up more of the ownership this time.

Finally, we have our first right down the middle split. Smartphone owners are 50/50 male and female. The 18 to 34 age range also has the monopoly on this with almost 40 percent of all smartphone owners being in that age range.

Like I said, none of this should really come as surprising. This has been the trend for a while now. I’m just more interested in the fact that we now have a name for it. While Generation C doesn’t have the quite the ring to it as Generation X, I’ll still take it. At least it sounds better than Generation Y.