Media discourse, policy towards youth and its social representations The article attempts to trace the discourse of the press about youth from the perspective of twenty years of transition appearing in media communications by „Gazeta Wyborcza”, „Dziennik. Polska‑Europa- Świat”, „Tygodnik Powszechny” and „Przegląd Polityczny”. Discursive construction of reality is treated as a social activity. Symbolic activity understood as ways of defining reality for young people, is, in my opinion, a key to try to answer questions about youth identity, position and role in the social world. Analysis were based on eight debates with the participation of young people. The analysis allowed to reconstruct a complete pictures of each debate, which were then presented in the form of graphic diagrams. It helped to restore the views of young people, the world around them, their place in it, subject of their concerns, fears, anxieties, dreams, life goals, values, etc. What is more, that knowledge reveal four collective representation of youth: “Generation ‘68”, “Generation ‘89”, “Generation 2000”, “Generation 2010”: and conditions under which they were created. Analysis are testimony to the progressive deconstruction of cultural tools, by which young people could define themselves in terms of a community. As a result, in discourse there appear a pragmatic and individualistic attitudes to reality and materialization of the awareness of young people.