From Facebook to Twitter to blogging, Generation Y live their lives online—and nowhere more so than in fashion. In this public celebration, camera-loving Gen Yers post outfits, clothing and inspiration on the Internet, using this platform as a way for the fashion-minded to share ideas. With the unlimited possibility of the web, Generation Y has made fashion more influential, more accessible, and certainly more global.

“Fashion is no longer a one-way street to consumers, but now a two-way street,” says Susan Cernek, senior fashion editor for Glamour.com, the online counterpart to the magazine.

The Internet has drastically shortened connection time, and communication is now instantaneous around the globe. If traditional print magazines rejected online components, they would be far behind the times. Still, with the never-ending flow of online outlets, many readers look elsewhere to find their daily dose of fashion.

Blogging fits the prescription. Like thousands of others, 19-year-old fashion addict Francheska Liberman rarely buys print magazines anymore. The Marbella, Spain native finds all editorials and upcoming trends on the Internet, but prefers to read personal blogs for inspiration. Her own blog, “Fashion Canvas,” in which she posts her favorite photographs, ranks in the top 100 of about 25,000, according to Bloglovin’, a service that provides RSS feeds for blogs.

Liberman embodies the power of the Internet, and the fashion blogging community it’s formed. Hailing from a small town where no one shared her interests, she started a blog to connect with others. “We bloggers created our own little world where we can relate to one another without using speech as a form of communication, and [using] fashion instead,” she says.

While traditional fashion figures have always carried an air of exclusivity, the fashion world led by Generation Y bloggers promotes exposure, social intercourse and accessibility. “The rise of the anonymous blogger—the more accessible, relatable style icon, is a mark of the change in fashion now,” says Cernek.

Accessible fashion also links directly to street style, with the recognition that having style doesn’t mean following trends or spending money. Scott Schuman, the face behind pioneering blog The Sartorialist, brought street style to the masses. “It’s encouraging personal styles, encouraging people to want to feel more individualized than other people,” says Justin Stefano, co-founder of Refinery29.com, a fashion forum with a street-style section.

Generation Y’s awareness of fashion extends far beyond their immediate surroundings, thanks in part to these photographers that travel the world, but also to the limitless Internet.

Lookbook.nu demonstrates this iconic Generation Y awareness. An online community that began two years ago, the network is literally a global lookbook with 50,000 members from 48 countries—all Generation Yers. Users post “looks,”—creative photographs of their style and outfits, which other members can “hype” or “love,” like giving a virtual thumbs up or bookmarking it as a favorite.

“I think fashion comes from young minds, because kids are willing to try new things,” says Yuri Lee, the 25-year-old founder.

And young minds, who have long been practicing self-expression online, are eager to embrace originality in fashion. “Global street-style connects high and low, and it’s relatable,” says Ella Magun, a Columbia University sophomore inspired by style she saw in Paris. On her browser she bookmarks StyleLikeU.com, her favorite style website.

Founded by Elisa Goodkind, a 52-year-old ex-stylist and her 20-year-old daughter Lily, StyleLikeU serves as an online forum for inspiring people as seen through Goodkind’s lens. Subjects are filmed in their own closets, showcasing their favorite pieces and talking of their style philosophies.

Goodkind, who left the fashion industry to make this website, believes the Internet opens many doors for the future. Now, fashion comes from the people.

“I’m trying to bring back creativity, something inspiring, something that isn’t controlled by advertisers,” says Goodkind, who finds herself attracted to people with eclectic style and fascinating stories. “This site is more of a movement, and it allows me to show that style is different than fashion.”

Has your smartphone done this to you?

Good morning, mobile-me

It’s 9 a.m. and NYU journalism student Devin Chanda rolls over to grab his Blackberry after three hours of sleep. He’s writing a concert review for Clutch, a rap magazine, so he opens up the phone’s built-in memo pad and quickly taps out a review of last night’s—good music, flowing lyrics, free booze. Still on his phone, he attaches the pictures his photographer sent him at 6 a.m., sends an email to his editor, and goes back to sleep.

“Without my Blackberry, I would be completely lost,” he said. “Communication is the most important thing. I have to stay connected all the time.”

Chanda, whose phone never leaves his side, reflects the rising Smartphone culture among generation Y. With the Blackberry and the iPhone, this “anytime, anywhere” access has become a mantra by which gen Y lives. Not only does it ensure that every text and email goes through, but it also offers applications that lets users read the news on the go, log on to AIM in class, and calculate a tip at the end of dinner. This obsession with Smartphones has prompted criticism that begs the question: Is Gen Y too dependent on technology?

Too obsessed? Too dependant? Too consumed?

Technology can be a good thing, according to C.J. Pascoe, a sociology professor at Colorado College, and co-author of “Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media.” “Most [Gen Yers] use online and mobile networks to extend the friendships that they navigate in the familiar contexts of school, sports, and other activities,” she said. “The ‘always on’ digital world is creating new opportunities for youth to grapple with social norms, explore interests, and experiment with new forms of self-expression.”

David Suen, an NYU junior, depends on his iPhone to keep him busy.  “I’ve started to use my iPhone as a computer, especially if I’m on the move,” he said. “When I’m in an elevator, I can flip through my New York Times reader and scan an article. What else would I be doing in that time? It would just be empty time.” Suen’s favorite iPhone apps include the Facebook app, the tip calculator, and Mint.com, a money-manager that tells him his budget and monitors his spending. 

However, Suen does have moments where he dislikes this instant technology, which makes it too easy to communicate with multiple people at a time. He is particularly bothered by friends who spend their coffee dates texting. “It’s kind of a social degeneration, because people you’re with are not always there,” he said.

Information overload

As Gen Y grows accustomed to steady access to so much information, its members become more restless and easily distracted, as everything moves at such a fast pace. “In some ways it gives us a less soulful existence,” said Liz Funk, a Gen Yer, public speaker and author of “Supergirls Speak Out.” “I think that the extent to which young people use technology stresses them out and brings them further away from themselves.”

Aware of this potential problem, Stephanie Covell, a 19-year-old art history student at NYU, believes in the old-fashioned way of doing things. She doesn’t have Internet in her apartment, and uses neither Facebook nor Instant Messenger. But when she lost her regular flip phone this summer, she “caved” and bought an iPhone.

Although Covell admits she feels like a hypocrite, she takes pride in limiting the number of applications on her iPhone. There are more than 85,000 iPhone applications, but the only two in which Covell indulges are Hopstop, a subway Mapquest, and Pandora, an internet radio service.

Funk, a college student as well as a professional writer and speaker, looks at her Blackberry as an accessory rather than an amenity. “I try to keep it in my office, and not bring it in my bedroom. It’s really easy to feel like I’m ‘on call’ when I have my Blackberry, but I’m a writer–not a surgeon–and I keep having to remind myself that things can wait while I’m at the movies or out to dinner.”

Although Funk is strong-willed enough to disconnect herself, many Gen Yers become obsessed with the Blackberry and iPhone magic, which gives them the power to do everything by simply tapping their fingers. This inability to detach is one reason that those who oppose Smartphones feel that so much technology can be negative.

“I know some people that don’t know how to check back into reality and have a conversation without their Blackberry in their hand,” said Jonathan Katz, a 21-year-old communications major at the University of Wisconsin. “That’s when I have issue with the phones and how it consumes our interactions.”

Here to stay

Despite these concern, the use of Smartphones is likely to grow. According to a March 2009 In-stat press release, Smartphones will double their market share to a 20 percent annual increase over the next five years. One-third of survey respondents planned on upgrading to a Smartphone next time they purchase a phone. 

 “I’m going to wait for a specific reason that I need a Smartphone, but I know that eventually I will get one,” said Katz. “If not for when I go abroad next semester, then probably when I start working. But when I do, I’m going to make sure I don’t get consumed by it.”

Generation Y Twitter users connect to their favorite celebrities by following their tweets.

Lashing Out Against Kanye

Jaws dropped and boos ensued when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards last month. From A-listers sitting in the audience to the millions of viewers watching at home, the venting began immediately, many channeling their anger via Twitter.

Katy Perry, who was nominated for the same award that Taylor won, instantly tweeted from her cell phone: “F- U KANYE. IT’S LIKE U STEPPED 0N A KITTEN.” Pop star Pink, another nominee, also condemned Kanye with a cell phone tweet. Within seconds, their words were received by millions of followers, many of whom were also online typing similar updates.

“Everyone tweeted about it,” says Austin Vanaria, a 20-year-old Tufts student who had received Perry’s update when writing his own, directing his flared temper into 140 characters. Twitter forges connections between celebrities and regular people, creating an intimacy and immediacy that makes these untouchables become touchable. This unprecedented connection is the reason that Gen Y is flocking to Twitter—to follow their favorite celebrities whether it’s Jimmy Fallon or Lindsay Lohan. “It makes you feel connected to celebrities and other people in real time, even if you’re not with them,” says Vanaria.

Tear Down this Cyber Wall

According to a Quantcast Corporation study, almost half of Twitter users today are Gen Yers between the ages of 18 and 34. “It’s the newest medium that introduces the feeling of getting closer, and creates this sense that direct communication [with celebrities] is possible,” says Lisa Gitelman, a media historian and communications professor at NYU Steinhardt. “By paring it down to 140 characters, you feel like you stripped away all the pretenses.”

In effect, the only boundary left between one Twitterer and another is a cyber-wall, which almost feels meaningless because Gen Y has an almost instinctual knowledge of the Internet.

When Twitter was launched three years ago, it took a full year for its popularity to rise. From last February to this March, it grew at a staggering < 1,382 percent. And six months ago, celebrities like Ashton Kutcher put Twitter on the map for the Gen Y demographic. On April 15, Kutcher challenged CNN Breaking News to see whose Twitter could first garner one million followers. Two days later, Kutcher reached one million just 29 minutes before CNN did, and their contest received international coverage. Today, there are over 8 million US Twitter users, according to Nielsen Online.

Claudia Yuen, a 19-year-old junior at NYU, first heard about Twitter through the Kutcher vs. CNN contest, and says she joined Twitter “for celebrities, because I still talk to all of my friends on Facebook.” And of the 79 people she follows, 46 are celebrities and reality TV stars, 16 are fashion figures, and another 5 are news organizations. “It’s like a guilty pleasure,” she says. “As much as I rely on paparazzi for my entertainment, I love reading updates straight from the celebrity.”

Conversely, Joey Bunge, a 20-year-old NYU student, joined Twitter so he could stay connected to his friends and family with “a quick snippet.” Yet he acknowledges that he couldn’t resist following many celebrities on Twitter. “Nicole Richie just had a baby, and I saw her baby’s pictures when I checked my Twitter from my phone to pass time… It makes you feel like you’re her pseudo-friend.”

Nick Douglas, technology blogger and author of Twitter Wit, Brilliance in 140 Characters or Less, believes this “pseudo friendship” is why Gen Y likes Twitter. “It makes our heroes more touchable,” he says. “But it doesn’t work like that for most older fans, who aren’t as used to reaching their heroes online.”

Enough is Enough

“Hero” may not be the right word to use to describe some celebrities. Recording artist Solange Knowles, Beyonce’s younger sister, documented her experience of overdosing on Nyquil at the airport with a series of tweets. They ended with this one: “Woaah… How’d I end up in the hospital?” All 300,000 of Knowles’ followers saw those updates, and tabloids snapped up the story, and it got national coverage. Such scandals make celebrities more human in the eye of gossip-hungry Gen Yers.

“I saw [Knowles’] tweets and asked my friends if they had read them, and we talked about it and related it to our own bad experiences with sleeping pills,” says Bunge.

Most stars, however, will keep their Twitter accounts PR-friendly, usually as a way to keep in touch with their fan base. Technology expert Douglas, who is a mini Twitter celebrity himself with 11,000 followers, explains, “The assumptions on Twitter make it very useful for one-to-many communication. Facebook works, but it requires more investment. Twitter is very simple, it only demands one thing at a time of its users, it’s very clear who’s reading what you write.”

The micro-blogging site is closing the gap between star and Gen Y fan, which raises the next question: How close is too close? In a move that disappointed more than 1 million fans, Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter last week at the request of her boyfriend, in an attempt to keep her personal life private.

Some would-be stars can’t afford to be elusive. Douglas says, “George Clooney [doesn’t] suffer by not being on Twitter. But anyone who wants to be the next Jonas Brothers, or even the next Jason Schwartzman, would benefit from keeping fans posted regularly.”