noun
young people; youths
A somewhat dated or literary collective term for young people, often with a nuance of a group or generation. Not as common in modern everyday speech as 若者 or 若い人たち.
当時の青年輩は、新しい文化を求めて都会へ出た。
The young people of that time went to the city in search of new culture.
青年 refers to a young man or youth individually, whereas 青年輩 refers to young people collectively.
Compound of 青年 (young man, youth) and 輩 (group, fellow, companion). The suffix 輩 is used to form collective nouns, often with a slightly derogatory or familiar nuance.