A modern urbanized society, mainly multicultural, includes a large number of subcultures defined in sociology (also in anthropology and cultural studies) as groups of people whose interests and beliefs differ from the interests of a common culture.
Modern youth subcultures are a combination of cultures of groups of minor people, different in styles, interests, behavior, showing rejection of the dominant culture. The identity of each group largely depends on the social class, gender, intelligence, generally accepted traditions of morality, the nationality of its members, characterized by the preference for a particular musical genre , style of clothes and hairstyles, gatherings in some places, the use of jargon, which forms symbolism and values. But it should be noted that today each group is not characterized by a strict identity, it can change, in other words, individuals freely move from one group to another, different elements from different subcultures mix, in contrast to the classical individual categories.
Youth subculture can be defined as a way of life and a way of expressing it, developed in groups. The main theme in her sociology is the connection between the social class and everyday experience. So, the work of the French sociologist
Pierre Bourdieu says that the main factor influencing the nature of the group is the social environment - the occupation of the parents and the level of education that they can give their children.
There are many studies and theories regarding the development of these cultures, including the concept of the decline of morals. Some historians argue that until about 1955, the youth subculture as such did not exist. Before World War II, young people who were called exclusively children until they reached adulthood, in any case, speaking of Western society, had very little freedom and no influence.
The concept of “teenager” has its origins in America. One of the reasons for the emergence of youth groups is called increasing the culture of consumption. Throughout the 1950s, a growing number of young people began to influence fashion, music, television, and cinema. The youth subculture was finally formed in the mid-1950s in Great Britain, when teddy fights appeared, distinguished by a special attention to their appearance (they were replaced by fashion in the 1960s) and rockers (or tone-up boys) who preferred motorcycles and rock and roll. Many companies adapted to their tastes, developing marketing strategies, creating magazines, such as the English music magazine New Musical Express (NME for short), and eventually a television channel appeared - MTV. Fashion stores, discos and other establishments targeted at wealthy teens were opening. Advertising promised a new, exciting world for young people through the consumption of goods and services offered.
Nevertheless, some historians argue that the youth subculture could have appeared earlier, between the world wars, citing the flapper style as an example. It was a “new breed” of girls in the 1920s. They wore short skirts, cut their hair short, listened to fashionable jazz, painted their face excessively, smoked and drank alcohol, drove cars, generally showed disregard for what was considered acceptable behavior.
Today there is no one dominant group. Youth subcultures in modern Russia are more forms of Western youth cultures (for example, emo, Goths, hip-hockers), but are characterized by Russian specifics.