Parents know that every child goes through more than one period of growing up and becoming himself as a person. In this article you will learn about what teenage culture is and by what rules it exists.
What it is?
First of all, it should be said that as such, teenage culture does not exist. There are simply teenage children who unite according to certain interests or hobbies. It is more correct to talk about the existence of various subcultures, the members of which are the same minor children. These formations have their own specific rules: the style of clothing, the form of communication, certain music, etc. However, the term “teenage culture” can be used if it is not necessary to consider the hobbies of almost adult children in such detail, but you need to talk about device of their life.
Why is this needed?
So why is there a teenage culture? After all, it simply could not have arisen, for this there must be certain prerequisites. And here everything is simple: being a full member of such a huge society, it is much easier for a child to communicate with peers and, as they say, “be in the subject”. What important points can be highlighted?
- First of all, adolescent culture enables almost all members of this community to communicate on equal terms.
- The second important point is the measure of self-determination of a person. This period is important because at this time the child is actively trying to find himself. Who am I? Why am I in this world? These and similar questions worry young people, and they are doing their best to find the answer to them.
- And, of course, it is important that teenage culture is a huge world where there is no place for adults. There, no one commands, does not give instructions and does not teach life. Only in such a community can a teenager feel like an adult.
Rules of conduct with a teenager
It should be said that parents should not be afraid if the child is too keen on teenage or youth culture. Often this passes over time, and something else replaces it. But if you start to fight with your child, prohibit something important for this community - you can just stumble on a protest and further aggravate the situation. In any case, adults need to remember that adolescent culture is the environment where a child can escape from the adult world, take a break from everything by talking exclusively with his peers.
The dangers
It should be said a few words about the fact that teenage culture itself is not so positive in every sense, as it might seem at first glance. There are several disturbing points that adults should not forget:
- The adolescent's belonging to a certain subculture significantly reduces their horizons and practically closes the possibility of communicating with representatives of other subcultures (often different trends are at odds with each other).
- Socially harmful manifestations, which are often present in various youth groups, can be dangerous: obscene language, special jargon, smoking, alcoholism, and even drug addiction.
However, parents, even knowing all these nuances, should not nevertheless prohibit the child from being a member of a certain teenage group. However, adults should always be on the alert and remember that it is best to establish trusting relationships with your child.
Features
The next question to focus on is the characteristics of adolescent culture. What can be distinguished here?
- Appearance - this is the basis of the basis of each individual teenage or youth group. Only thanks to this nuance can a person consider himself a representative of a special community. Note that often the fashion trends of such groups are incomprehensible to adults (for example, punks), can be frightening (a vivid example is the Goths). However, all these are elements of the child’s self-expression as an individual, do not forget about this.
- The second important point is music in adolescent culture. Thus, representatives of various subcultures prefer not only different artists, but also a different musical style. It would seem that this is bad? And the fact that music is different is music. Parents should not forget that some musical directions can be harmful to the psyche or even dangerous to health (scientists have proved that hard rock has a negative effect on the unformed psyche of the child and on the work of its main organs).
- Another distinctive feature of each youth group is a special communication style. And not only within your community, but also with people around you. Adults should understand and accept this, but only if such behavior does not border on bad manners and rudeness.
- Views and worldview. It is worth mentioning that often a certain subculture forms certain outlooks on the life of a young man. However, there is nothing to worry about, because everything can change over time. But again, parents should always be on the alert and remember that some movements accept, for example, suicide.
These are the key moments in the life of every child that cannot be avoided while he is, as it were, a bearer of teenage culture.
A few words about subcultures
What are the goals of adolescent culture? A message to the whole world that adolescents are full-fledged people who want to be perceived on an equal basis with adults. That is why children are so often united in certain communities of "interest". It is worth saying that there are three "old" subcultures, from which more and more new formations sprout. So, these are hippies, punks and gopniks. These trends arose in the second half of the past century in Europe and the United States. In the territory of the former USSR, the mentioned formations spread much later: it was only in the 80s that young people began to get involved in them seriously. Today, in our country, such subcultures as emo (emo kiddies), hip-hopers, freaks, metallers, graphitters, football fans, etc. are actively developing. And this is not a complete list. Indeed, today outdated directions are becoming a thing of the past, and more and more new ones come in their place (animeshniki, “vanilla” flow).
Scientific field
For many, it will be unexpected that pundits are very interested in teenage culture. There are a huge number of different studies and scientific works on all kinds of subcultures as areas of adolescent life. So, we list the main sciences for which teenage culture is of interest: social studies (children are told about this at school), sociology (the science of arranging a society whose important members are adolescents and young people), social work (teenage culture is most likely seen as the reason deviation of behavior of minor children).