The difference between generations is becoming increasingly apparent in the modern world. These days, one can observe over and over again how the intergenerational transmission of values is violated, and the differences between generations are becoming more and more noticeable. A number of studies are focused on the features that distinguish modern generations from each other, the values of generations as well as the perception of these values both by a particular generation and members of cohorts interacting with it. Some researchers note that the modern young generation (the so-called ‘Generation Y’, ‘Gen Y’ or ‘millennials’), in comparison with their parents (the so-called ‘Generation X’, ‘Gen X’), is characterised by a rejection of previously accepted criteria for social maturity (which can be understood as compliance with a number of social-psychological standards). However, there are practically no studies addressing this topic. The article describes a quantitative and qualitative study conducted in three stages, which involved 349, 25 and 100 subjects respectively. At the first stage, the data of the Russian longitudinal monitoring survey (RLMS) of households conducted by HSE University were used and analysed; at the second stage, a series of semi-structured interviews was conducted on the topic of perception of social maturity; at the third stage, the values of generational cohorts were investigated using the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) and the author’s questionnaire, which makes it possible to assess the influence of the cultural context on the formation of values. Within the first (auxiliary) stage, the basic hypothesis was confirmed about the differences in the compliance with the social maturity criteria (age of marriage, presence of children in the family, financial independence) among the young (Y) and older (X) generations of modern Russians. As part of the second stage, the features of the perception of these differences were identified. And at the third stage, it was proposed to interpret the differences using the values identified in millennials and the features of the perception of these values by themselves and Gen Xers.

The article examines the methodological difficulties associated with studying of the generation category in social psychology. The history of studying the problems of generations and intergenerational conflicts in psychology and humanitarian disciplines is briefly analyzed, the conclusion is drawn about the vastness of both the theoretical concept and the blurriness of the methods of the empirical operationalization of the generation. Theoretically close constructs are given, allowing one to consider generational problems within the framework of other conceptual frameworks. Existing models and theories of generations, including popular science, are considered, their critical analysis is carried out. Some theoretical decisions are proposed that allow one to reduce the problems associated with the operationalization and study of the generation in social psychology.

The fact of the lengthening of childhood is currently not disputed by psychologists and researchers and is the reason for the revision of the generally recognized age limits of childhood. The article considers both classical (including biological, sociological, demographic and socio-psychological) criteria of growing up and modern ideas about these criteria. An analysis of the chronology of changes in views in this area is made, including the reasons for these changes in today’s digital context. Based on the thesis about the variability of growing-up scenarios in the modern world, the difference in the views corresponding to this variability among representatives of different generations, and, as a result, the possible “conflict between fathers and children”, the authors propose a model for studying the generational relativity of the assessment of maturity. The model is described at each level of possible research (behavioral representations of adulthood, interpretation of these representations, system of attitudes, value orientations). The purpose of creating the model is substantiated, namely, the analysis of the conflict of generations both at the level of everyday ideas and at deeper levels of differences (including value orientations). Through the prism of social constructionism, a conclusion is made about the decreasing usefulness of highlighting specific parameters and components of maturity in the conditions of modern digital society.