Drawing on the work of Karl Mannheim this article analyses the internet as a generational phenomenon. It makes use of two different, but in generational terms interrelated empirical materials. In the first case study, data from focus group interviews and individual interviews with a total 55 young Swedes (15-25 years). These data reveal how young Swedes tend to understand illegal file sharing as a generational issue. Among other things, they consider themselves rather than middle-aged politicians to be the actual legal authorities within the area.

The second case study is based on a youth council, Lunds ungdomsting. The research project started with an ambition to understand the internet's role in engaging young people. The initial analyses, however, revealed that although the internet plays a role, it cannot usefully be separated from other activities. We consider and analyse this observation through Mannheim's terminology: the youth council members' generational experience of the internet has naturalized it as a form of communication in a manner that makes distinctions between online and offline action obsolete.