The Beckham generation

Anna and Jonathan are frighteningly sensible. They married last year and have their future mapped out: London for a few years, then New York, then Cape Town because, believes Jonathan, 'it's a gorgeous place to bring up kids - lots of space and a good education system'. They are 22 and 23. Just as sensible are Lex and Dave. They met at Reading University when they were 21, got engaged at 22 and now, at the grand old age of 24, have just bought their first place together. 'We wanted the commitment so we got engaged,' says Lex. Over coffee in their Cromwell Road flat, they talk about how they've achieved their perfectly planned life. Renting, they decided, was money down the drain. 'With buying, even if we choose to move, we're consistently making money,' explains Dave, a lawyer.

The pragmatism doesn't stop there. Lex, who is studying to be a counsellor, wants to go freelance because then, when they decide to have children, she can work when it suits her. 'I like to plan everything,' she explains. 'I'm planning my wedding and my sister's wedding. I like to know what I'll be doing in five years. But since Dave is so laid-back, he's making me calm down a bit.' But only a bit.

These couples are part of a growing group of super-proactive twenty-somethings intent on leaving nothing to chance, often with good reason: they could be the product of divorced parents, or a family affected by the late-Eighties recession. Or maybe the casualties of a dotcom collapse, where a graduate job in new media swiftly turned to dust. Lex's family was always on the move: 'I've never had real roots, I've never had a family home. My parents never stayed anywhere longer than two years. I get quite envious when I go to other people's houses and they've been there since they were born and know everyone in the area. I'm really looking forward to having that kind of thing.'

People like Lex want to make damn sure they are not the first generation in living memory to grow up worse off than their parents. So they plan, plan, plan: a steady income, a place to live, and babies in the not-too-distant future; in other words, the Fifties Doris Day dream. They even have their own pigeonhole, courtesy of American writer and social critic Barbara Ehrenreich. After visiting umpteen college campuses, she decided that many of today's youth have rejected idealism for pragmatism. Hence her snappy term: the Premature Pragmatists.

Dave's role model could be David Beckham, whom one sports psychologist describes as a 'cultural architect', since his maturity and morality have apparently steadied the England team. Or maybe Jamie Oliver, who has left behind his geezer image and reinvented himself as a solid family man. Lex might admire the savvy, sorted Reese Witherspoon: married at 23, baby at 24, $8 million a movie at 26. Or Sophie Ellis Bextor, who lives with her long-term partner and whose idea of a fun night out is at a book club with her mum. She's 23.

As the old, with their Botoxed foreheads and Twisted jeans, get younger, the young, it seems, get older. And more sensible. Perhaps as a reaction against those 'adulescents' in age denial who insist on flipping the demographics or maybe, more realistically, because they feel they have no choice. A recent survey by Birmingham Midshires building society reveals that getting on the property ladder is the biggest worry for people in their twenties; a third even admitting that fretting about the property market keeps them awake at night. Another report, this time by Mintel, found that not having enough money for a comfortable lifestyle was the biggest fear for 15- to 34-year-olds.

Premature Pragmatists (PPs) start ticking off those marriage/ house/children boxes earlier than their peers. 'I decided from the start that she was the person I wanted to be with when I'm old and wrinkly,' says Jonathan rather sweetly. 'I'm an artist, I work on my own. It can get lonely, but with Anna I'm not alone. Being married has given me confidence.'

Next tick: babies. 'With all the press at the moment, I'm very conscious of my body clock,' says Lyndal Howison, 24, another PP, who married 25-year-old Stephen last year. 'I think the nice thing about being married is that you can plan things. It's like, "Got that done. Now we can fit starting a family into our finances".' The press she's talking about is Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who in her book, Baby Hunger, declares: 'If you want children, you need to become seriously proactive. Give urgent priority to finding a partner. This project is extremely time-sensitive and deserves special attention during your twenties.' Cue women having sleepless nights counting their eggs, particularly in Manhattan, where gynaecologists are reporting record numbers of young women coming off the pill.

It should come as no surprise, then, that dating agencies are attracting younger clients. Karen Moody, owner of Sara Eden Introductions and vice-chairperson of the Association of British Introduction Agencies, reckons it is no longer taboo to husband-hunt shamelessly in your twenties. She has noticed a 37 per cent increase in male and female twenty-something clients in the past year. 'It's changed industry-wise, too. The stigma has gone and it's no longer seen as a last resort. If you want a house, you go to an estate agent. If you want a partner, you come to me. It's the sensible thing to do.'

Even students are not immune to this pragmatism; Ehrenreich found that 31 per cent of US students invest in stocks and shares. You can't really blame them - even here, with tuition fees and no grants, the average debt upon graduation is now a whopping £12,000. Students want their money's worth and take more of an interest in their courses than many of their predecessors - in the teaching, the library resources, the career prospects. And if they're not happy, they'll sue. 'The whole student stereotype is obsolete now. Most are savvy and don't want to live the clich?d student life,' says Fiona Sibley, editor of London Student. 'They are career-orientated. They have structured work experience during holidays and most start applying for jobs in the first week of their final year.' And they probably have business cards printed during Freshers' Week.

Another surprise was the number of graduates - more than 2,000 - who recently applied for a new trainee scheme for local government, an area once seen as rather dry. 'We weren't as surprised as other people were,' explains Tim Hooley, a consultant for the programme. 'We offer secure, regular employment with a diverse workload.' And an excellent pension scheme.

Hang on a minute. This has the classic traits of a genuine life crisis in the making ? but at 25, not 45. Economist John Wiglesworth offers wise words to the sorted - and encouragement to the not-so-sorted. He's talking about twenty-somethings obsessed with the housing market, but his wisdom can be applied to all Premature Pragmatists: 'What happened in the Eighties is happening again now. People are committing to property far too early, especially if they are in relationships. It's a huge risk - and a costly one. In your twenties, your future's not set out. Be patient and don't worry: everything changes and there's nothing you can do about it.'

So if you're in your twenties, stop worrying about coupling and pensions and infertility. After all, that's what your thirties are for...

Are you a Beckham or a Bradshaw?
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