Subcultures of youth of modern society are characterized by their own special rules and have their own development trend. Teenagers are very different in their worldview, demeanor and habits. In the process of self-knowledge, they try to find their place in life, determine their goals and understand themselves. Quite often, such searches lead to quite serious problems such as teenage alcoholism and early drug addiction. Therefore, the influence of subcultures on adolescents is one of the most pressing problems that concern all parents without exception.
Positive and negative aspects of the influence of subcultures
Recent sociological studies have shown that many adolescents identify themselves as representatives of a particular subculture. At the same time, some young people are subject to the strong influence of subcultures, which can be both positive and negative. In the first case, adolescents receive the skills necessary for life in a social society, and in the second, they acquire qualities that society is trying to struggle with in every way possible.
Teenage subcultures help young people realize their desires and adapt to adult and independent life. But there are also negative aspects, such as cruelty to certain groups of people. For example, skinheads are racist and may, according to their ideology, commit criminal acts against persons of other nationalities. For them, there is nothing wrong with such behavior, and therefore they do not understand that they are responsible for their actions. In this case, subcultures of adolescents negatively affect their worldview, setting the young generation against other members of society.
Varieties of Subcultures
In all teenage communities, there are not only their own laws of behavior, but also rules that require a certain appearance. Some youth movements can shock adult society with numerous piercings, unusual hair colors, strange styles in clothing, and accessories. Quite often, disagreements between parents and adolescents arise precisely on this basis. Young people do not like when they interfere in their personal lives, and parents want their child not to stand out from the crowd.
Worker Youth Subculture - Teddy Boys
The Teddy Boys social youth group was formed in the early 1950s due to the relative improvement in the working class living standards. This youth subculture, which became widespread in the post-war period, consisted of natives of the working class with incomplete higher education and not having a highly paid profession. Their style was copied from the clothes and behavior of members of the upper strata of society. In the classic version, the “tedd” looked like this: pants-pipes, a loose jacket with a velvet collar, tie-lace and boots on a rubber platform. The image was typically masculine, despite its elegance.
Representatives of the Teddy Boys did their best to maintain the “high” status they created, which caused conflicts that arise with representatives of other sectors of society. For example, there were clashes with more affluent teenagers, attacks on elite youth clubs. There have also been attacks on immigrants.
Subculture of the skilled layers of the working class - fashion
The group of mods identified themselves as teenagers who, after graduation, mastered working specialties that require a high level of preparedness. In fact, the mod, in the ideal sense, had to live luxuriously, visit prestigious and expensive clubs, restaurants and shops, dress in extremely expensive things. But for many, such pleasures were not available, so it only remained to try to recreate the perfect image. There are four types of mods:
- Aggressive type in jeans and coarse shoes.
- Owners of scooters, also in jeans and hooded jackets.
- Fashion in suits and polished shoes made up the majority of representatives of this subculture. The list is supplemented by fashion girls, exemplary in appearance and with a short haircut.
- Pupils of art schools, students and so on.
Subculture - Rockers
Rockers appeared in the mid-60s. This group consisted mainly of adolescents without education or from single-parent families. The main attributes of the natives of this subculture were a leather jacket, worn jeans, large coarse shoes, long hair combed back and tattoos. Of course, what a rocker without such an important element as a motorcycle. A special place in the rockers subculture is rock music.
Skinheads or skinheads
The members of this group, like the rockers, mostly came out of the low-skilled workers. Among them, many were unemployed, poorly educated, and with a low cultural level. The skinheads wore jeans tucked underneath, large coarse shoes, and shaved their heads. Football hooligans are adjacent to the skinheads. These types of subcultures are largely similar in social composition. Their aggressiveness in behavior, for example, associated with football matches, also unites them.
Punk subculture
This group mainly included young people from the unskilled and low-paid sections of the population. The critical situation of youth has led to the emergence of this subculture. The list of associations, consisting of poorly educated members of society, joined the punks. The stereotypes of this group were closely intertwined with aggressive self-affirmation, but, in addition, the punk style was largely based on views that were opposed to traditional moral principles and values. Initially, the punk subculture used the appearance to provoke society: unusual hair coloring, strange hairstyles, outrageous demeanor and different clothing styles, but over time, more powerful methods of exposure through the themes of violence and death began to be applied.
Hippie movement
This subculture appeared in the USA in the 60s and spread very quickly throughout the world. At one time, hippies evolved from hipsters, members of the middle class, who for a long time influenced the people of their group. These American subcultures have one common distinguishing feature - ideology pronounced in words. The main elements of a hippie style or worldview were as follows:
- Peacefulness and non-violence. Pacifism was the main ideology of hippies. That is why the representatives of this group were distinguished by their disregard for power, their apolitical character, since it was the rulers who foment war and force people to fight.
- Self-development and individualism. These elements were a reaction to the grayness of mass society.
- Conscious simplification, that is, the transition from a prosperous life to poverty, the rejection of material wealth.
- Drugs, sexual experiments, travels, festivals, communes - all these are the most striking features of the subculture of hippie society.
- Cohabitation is a distinctive feature of hippies, as other subcultures did not adhere to this form of behavior.
Dudes
This youth subculture arose in the USSR at the end of the 40s of the 20th century. Thus, Soviet youth protested the stereotypes of society. The main direction of the dudes was blind copying the style of the West and the USA. At that time, dudes looked more like a caricature: wide pants of bright colors, baggy double-breasted jackets, boots with thick soles and hats with wide brim and necessarily socks of bright colors, peeping from under the trousers. The image was very original and bright, no one worried about the combination of colors.
But over time, closer to the 50s, dudes slightly changed their image. They began to wear tight trousers and elegant-cut jackets with wide shoulders, a thin tie around the neck and, of course, a narrowed “cook”. It is worth noting that only guys had a certain image, dude girls wore magnificent colorful dresses or narrowed skirts, pointed shoes and did bright makeup. Society did not allow the development of this subculture in the USSR and strongly condemned and persecuted the representatives of this vibrant group.
Social subcultures
The process of socialization of adolescents in the subcultures of society is much faster. Examples of subcultures such as “green” or “animal advocates” teach the younger generation to help nature and take care of the environment. But theoretical information alone is not always enough to teach adolescents responsibility. It is necessary to show in practice the work of “positive subcultures”. The younger generation needs not only theorems and axioms, but their consolidation by actions and results, otherwise it does not realize the need for good deeds.
Subcultures popular in modern society
The criminal subculture (rockers, punks, emo, skinheads, etc.) in Russia is already losing its position. Negativity and aggression gradually go out of fashion. In search of new directions, the younger generation comes up with their own modern image. For example, the subculture of futering does not carry a negative manifestation, therefore it is very well accepted by society. Members of this youth group do not wear shoes in any weather.
Due to the widespread use of the Internet, a subculture of gamers is gaining momentum. Modern youth is increasingly hiding from reality in the virtual world. Many young children are already confidently managing tablets, readers, and mobile phones. But this is basically a false substitute for real hobbies that parents impose on them to save their own time and energy. After all, when a child is busy with computer games, he does not require so much attention and care. In fact, the problem of this subculture is very deep, and parents need to take certain measures if the child has a game or computer addiction.
Distinctive features of modern youth trends
Subcultures of youth in the modern world are characterized by an increase in the number of active associations. In addition, modern youth is increasingly immersed in the Internet. They are looking for like-minded people on the network, organizing meetings, and holding promotions. There are three socio-value orientations of modern subcultures:
- Prosocial directions: subculture of the benchmark and the movement of role-playing games.
- Asocial trends: punks, metallers, emo and hippies.
- Antisocial groups similar to adult criminal subculture: skinheads in their radical form.
Subcultures of young people can be qualified even as the group's activities are included in the lifestyle of a young person. There are behavioral and active groups. In the first case, adolescents adhere to the style characteristic of the selected group in clothing, behavior and communication. Such areas are not characterized by engaging in any activity. These include emo, hipster and ready. In other words, the younger generation will only change the external image and style of behavior.
Active types of subcultures are those communities that are based on a passion for specific activities that require one or another activity. This group can include parkers, graffists, role-players.
What attracts youth in subcultures
Youth subcultures on a personal level are a way to achieve self-esteem and compensate for the negative attitude of others towards themselves. Dissatisfaction with one's own style of behavior, body, lack of conformity with the standards of femininity or masculinity. Subcultures, the list of which is huge and varied, allow adolescents to give themselves an aura of features, a bright personality.
Socio-psychological reasons consider the attractiveness of an informal lifestyle that does not require responsibility, purposefulness and determination, in contrast to the generally accepted requirements in society. There are three possible options for the consequences of the influence of the subculture on the socialization of youth:
- A positive orientation, which manifests itself in social and cultural self-determination, creative self-realization and experimenting with images, behavioral style and so on.
- Socio-negative orientation, which is found in joining criminal, extremist subcultures, drugs and alcohol.
- An individually negative tendency is manifested in an escape from reality, in justifying one's infantile behavior, and in avoiding cultural and social self-determination.
What directions prevail in a particular subculture is not easy to determine. It is even more difficult to notice how it affects a person’s lifestyle. Modern trends attract young people with their diversity and defiant look and behavior. But it is worth noting that belonging to a certain social group is usually a short-term phenomenon. Basically, a fascination with subcultures begins at age 13 and passes by age 19. By this age, a person changes his hobbies or rethinks life values. But there are exceptions in the age framework, for example, the rocker subculture has no time limits. Among the representatives of this community, you can meet mature people, and sometimes even the elderly. They remained faithful to their teenage hobbies and still listen to rock or play in music groups. As a rule, those who are not ready for a responsible and independent life in a mature life are among the rockers subculture.
The peculiarities of subcultures of adolescents include their inconsistency in behavior. Many adolescents are characterized by an unstable psyche, which largely depends on how their relationship with their parents develops. If there is remoteness in relationships with loved ones, then the chances that the child will be influenced from outside increase. After all, a teenager needs communication, advice and understanding. If in a family he does not receive all this, then he will seek support among people who are close in spirit and moral condition. Very often, the child’s divine behavior in adolescence is associated with a bad example from the outside. It can be television, bad actions of comrades in the company, and more. In order to prevent negative influence on the child, parents need to establish contact with him or to attract older youth for this purpose.
Sources of the emergence of subcultures in Russia
In the Russian youth environment, the emergence of subcultures is due to several reasons. In the last 15-20 years, the daily life of adult society and children has undergone strong changes. The openness of Western and Eastern cultures greatly influenced the worldview of people, dissolved many traditions, stable relations, and the values of Russian citizens. The new scientific and technological revolution, which, first of all, is associated with the appearance of phenomena such as computers, mobile phones, the Internet, was no less strongly affected people's lives.
Mostly youth subcultures spread spontaneously. Although quite often this spread is facilitated by the media, parties, trendsetters, and so on. There is another way - commercial and youth organizations take as a basis the forms of youth leisure, existing spontaneously, and create organized areas. An example is street dance. But this process also requires a special approach. Experts believe that interaction with potentially positive informals should be carried out according to three rules: it is necessary to coordinate their actions with leaders, provide them with everything necessary for events and coordinate restrictions on behavior and activities in the course of ongoing actions.
Strategies for Youth Activities
If we consider youth activities from the perspective of social education, then we can distinguish three main pedagogical strategies. , .
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As a rule, the lifestyle, behavior and external signs of subcultures of adolescents and youth are highlighted in a negative way, which contributed to the active imitation of the representatives of these communities by a certain unreached part of the youth. This, in turn, served as an impetus for the spread of these subcultures beyond the borders of one country. Nevertheless, ethnic and social conditions had a great influence on the variability and other characteristics of subcultures. For example, Soviet hippies were little more than representatives of this subculture of Western countries. And the skinheads of modern Russia are very different from the first UK skinheads.
The violent protests of young people in Western countries in the 60-70s and in the Soviet and post-Soviet space in the second half of the 90s caused not only a decrease in social activity among young people, but also led to the development of certain tendencies towards escapism. A distinctive feature of the modern world is an increase in the number of protest youth subcultures, as well as a variety of forms. Thus, we can say that there are more and more new subcultures, the list of which is growing.