Youth culture 

is the way children, adolescents and young adults live, and the norms,

values, and practices they share.[1] Culture is the shared symbolic systems, and processes of
maintaining and transforming those systems. Youth culture differs from the culture of older
generations.[2]
An emphasis on clothes, popular music, sports, vocabulary, and dating set adolescents apart
from other age groups, giving them what many believe is a distinct culture of their own.
[3]
 Within youth culture, there are many distinct and constantly changing youth subcultures.
These subcultures' norms, values, behaviors, and styles vary widely, and may differ from the
general youth culture. Understanding what adolescents think and do is useful to
understanding the relationship between structure and agency, social patterns and individual
action

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Youth studies

One of the smaller sub-fields within sociology is "youth studies." This strikes me as an
intriguing area of research, and it seems as though the possible questions for inquiry here
have only begun to be tapped. Youth issues have come up in earlier posts, including
disaffected youth (link), engaged youth (link), and the problem of knowing how young
people think (link).

To begin, why is the category of "youth" an interesting one? Youths are important because
they eventually become adults and full participants in all aspects of social life. We would like
to understand better what the forces are that influence the psychological and cultural
development of young people. It also seems clear that young people of numerous countries
embody a shifting set of styles, tastes, vocabularies, and values that are distinct from those of
their elders. We would like to understand the pathways of influence through which these
styles and values are proliferated. But the youth population is important in its own right. The
social movements of Arab Spring were propelled by significant youth movements and
activists. The civil rights movement and the anti-war movement on the United States each
had major or even preponderant participation by mobilized youth. So the generation of
people in their teens and twenties can have major political significance.

Who are the "youth" whom we want to better understand? Is youth a historically constructed
category? "Youth" refers to people who are young adults, perhaps from the ages of 15 to 25.
These people occupy an interesting position in the life cycle; they are not children, and they
are not fully developed adults. Their personalities and characters are still malleable; they can
further develop in one direction or another. One teenager latches on to his street pals and
slides in the direction of petty crime; another gets very involved in her mosque and pursues
higher education. Why are there such large differences within a given cohort? Some
researchers use the concept of adolescence as a way of characterizing youth culture. "Youth"
is the period of development of young people that falls between adolescence and
adulthood. So the development experience is important to understand, and the characteristics
of behavior that young people display are crucial.

What is "youth culture"? Marlis Buchmann is one of the contributors to current studies in this
area, and his The Script of Life in Modern Society: Entry into Adulthood in a Changing
World represents his thinking in an orderly way. He attempts to summarize the main
theoretical ideas of the field in his survey article in the International Encyclopedia of the
Social & Behavioral Sciences (link). Here is how Buchmann defines youth culture:
Youth culture refers to the cultural practice of members of this age group by which they
express their identities and demonstrate their sense of belonging to a particular group of
young people. The formation of youth culture thus implies boundary drawing. (16660)
Here Buchmann focuses on the forces that create one or more forms of youth culture and
style, and he gives most weight to the approach taken by researchers at the Center for
Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham, where youth culture is
channelized by the class position of the young people who live it.
For the CCCS scholars, youth appeared to offer a special vantage point from which to
consider the more general dislocation and fragmentation of the British working class as the
structure of Britain’s system of production, labor force, income distribution, and lifestyles
was transformed over the course of the post-World War II period. (16658)
This approach doesn't pay a lot of attention to what one might expect to be the most basic
question: what are the pathways through which individual adolescents are formed and
developed into one form of youth culture or another? What are the microfoundations of youth
culture?
With regard to youth especially, cultural practices such as music, dancing, movies, visual arts
(e.g., comics), particular sports (e.g., skateboarding), and fashion (e.g., clothing and
hairstyles) are preferred means of expressing a distinct way of life that is recognized by
others as a sign and signal of a particular identity and group membership. (16663)
According to the particular needs of social representation, young people may assemble and
reassemble stylistic elements of various origins in ever new ways to form distinct styles of
juvenile cultural practice. (16663)
Buchmann isn't very explicit when it comes to characterizing what a youth culture consists
of. Is it a set of values -- anti-establishment, anarchist, anti-war, suspicious of adults? Is it an
ensemble of tastes and styles -- punk rockers, skateboards, sideways caps? Is it a complex of
motivations and behavioral traits?

One point that Buchmann emphasizes and that resonates with me is the idea that there is a
proliferation of youth cultures, not a single or small number of class-defined cultures. There
is a substantial element of path dependency in the evolution of a culture within a population,
and youth cultures in a place and time evolve dynamically.

Buchmann also highlights the importance of generation or cohort in the formation of youth
culture. The experiences of a particular generation of young people have a profound
influence on the directions and characteristics of the cultures they create.

It is interesting to learn that James Coleman was one of the contributors to one strand of
youth studies. His 1961 The Adolescent Society: The Social Life of the Teenager and its
Impact on Education is an interesting treatment of the topics of development and culture. He
takes age segregation created by compulsory schooling as a key determinant of the
emergence of a separate youth culture in the modern world. 

I find this topic intriguing for two reasons. First, it sheds some light on the dynamic processes
through which individuals and cohorts shape their identities. And second, it promises to shed
light on important social topics, from disaffection to mobilization.

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The emergence of this thing called "youth culture" is a distinctly 20th-

century phenomenon; the collision of increased standards of living, more
leisure time, the explosion of post-war consumer culture and wider
psychological research into adolescents all contributed to the formation of
this new social category defined by age. Previously, the rite of passage
between childhood and adult life had not been so clearly demarcated -this
is not to say that young adults didn't have their own activities before the
invention of Brylcreem and crepe soles (youth gangs were common in
Victorian Britain, for example) but it hadn't before been defined or
packaged as a culture.

Once "invented", the "youth culture" provoked a variety of often

contradictory responses: youth was dangerous, misunderstood, the future,
a new consumer group. British post-war youth culture emerged primarily
in response to the American popular culture centred on rock 'n' roll. The
1955 film Blackboard Jungle, with its soundtrack featuring Bill Haley And
The Comets' Rock Around The Clock, was a defining moment, inspiring
people to dance in the aisles (and some to slash seats). The fear was not
only of hoodlums but also of the creeping Americanisation of British
culture.
But the impact of imported US films and music did not lead to cultural
homogenisation; instead, it inspired a series of spectacular - and distinctly
British - youth subcultures from the mid-50s to the late-70s: teds (quiffs,
Elvis, flick-knives, crepe soles, working-class London origins circa 1953,
drug of choice: alcohol); mods (Jamaican-rudeboy/Italian-cool style, US
soul, purple hearts, The Small Faces, scooters, working-class London
origins circa 1963, drug of choice: amphetamines); skinheads (Jamaican
ska, exaggerated white, British, working-class masculinity, contrasting
starkly with middle-class hippiedom of the same period, boots, braces,
shaved heads and violence, sometimes racist, late 60s origins, drug of
choice: amphetamines); punk (Sex Pistols, spit, bondage, swastikas, circa
1976, drug of choice: glue and amphetamines).

Drug use became a feature of youth subcultures from the Mods onwards -
not just any old drugs, but ones that characterised and defined the
subculture in question. Mods chose speed because it made them feel smart
and invincible; it also gave them the energy to keep on the move, awake at
all-nighters (and through work the next day). Later, within rave culture,
drug use - this time, ecstasy - was central to the point of being almost
obligatory.

Dick Hebdige, acommentator on youth culture, argues that the

multicultural nature of post-war Britain was crucial to the formation of
many subcultures; each one, he says, should be seen as a response to the
presence of black culture in Britain, the ska/rudeboy-inspired two tone
movement being a particularly vivid example. The tribes were created
through the amalgamation of particular types of cultural goods; music,
fashion, hairstyles, politics, drugs, dances - with their boundaries defined
through crucial choices: Vespas or Harley-Davidsons, speed or acid, Dr
Martens or desert boots. But then, youth culture is full of contradiction: the
desire to express individuality by wearing the same clothes as your mates,
and rebelling against capitalism at the same time as being a perfect
capitalist slave.

Britain also led the way in the study of youth, and its celebration of
creativity and resistance, though these studies, naturally, have their
favourite subcultures, often overlooking others. (Still, the kiss of death for
any subculture is to be "understood" by a sociologist.) By the late 70s and
early 80s, youth subculture began to change, and became less gang-
oriented. The regular emergence of new subcultures slowed down, and the
first major period of revivals began. It became difficult to identify distinct
subcultures, rather than just musical styles. In fact, something weird
happened: everyone started behaving like a teenager. By the 90s, "proper"
grown-ups had started to complain that contemporary youth were dull and
 conformist, and the music of small children became the preferred choice of
most teenagers - Pinky & Perky dressed up as Steps.

Today, there are still plenty of new genres of music, but they don't have
such visible subcultures affiliated to them. Even something as recent as 80s
dance music and rave culture - after its initial, Smiley-faced, ecstasy-
fuelled unity - fragmented into a multitude of sub-genres with no definable
set of cultural attributes. Despite society's consistent attempts to regulate
youth culture, perhaps the main cause of its demise in recent years is the
extension of adolescent behaviour until death by the Edinas and Patsys of
this world. Youth culture is now just another lifestyle choice, in which age
has become increasingly irrelevant.

Timeline
1929 Borstals open as special prisons for adolescents.
1947 School-leaving age raised to 15.
1953 The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando. ('What're you rebelling
against?' Brando replies: 'What've you got?') First reportings of teds in the
UK media.
1957 Elvis scores his first UK number 1 with 'All Shook Up'. First UK youth
TV broadcast, Six-Five Special, on national TV.
1959 Mark Abrams's The Teenage Consumer outlines the potential of
youth as a new consumer group.
1967 Radio 1 launched.
1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.
1977 The Sex Pistols' God Save The Queen charts at number two in Silver
Jubilee week.
1981 Inner-city youth/race riots in Brixton and Toxteth.
1989 First recorded UK ecstasy-related death: Clare Leighton in
Manchester's Hacienda club.
1994 Criminal Justice Act targets travellers, festivals and raves.

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 In the 1960's the wearing of clothes that indicated freedom

 Following of music groups that perform music that speaks to the issues teenagers
perceive themselves enduring at the time such as Nirvana in the 1990's and The Beatles
in the 1960's
 Hairstyles that exhibit a lack of conformity such as brightly colored hair, spiked
hair, shaved heads
 Behavior that is contrary to what is perceived to be accepted and expected by
parents such as drinking, smoking, using drugs
 Language usage that is bold in order to set themselves apart such as either
excessive cursing or a usage of esoteric "cool" buzz words
 Behaviors such as cutting school or low grade criminal activity in order to assert
independence and non-conformity
 Refusal to go to certain establishments to appear more acceptable to peers
 A change in academic performance in order to conform to the expectations of
their peer groups
 A change in types of media that the adolescent prefers, i.e. comic books over
novels or magazines over non-fiction, to relate to the likes of his peers
 A desire for same brand name clothes, shoes and other material goods such as
portable music players, backpacks and phones
 A change in the quality of products he prefers, i.e. more expensive goods that are
similar to his friends' goods, or less expensive goods that are more in line with his peer's
belongings
 Attitude changes about school, religion or family
 A change in the way that they treat others, either with greater kindness or perhaps
more aloofness
Each different generation will have their own youth culture that is reflective of their lives
and times.

Understanding Youth Culture

Psychologists such as Erik Erikson theorize that the primary goal in the
developmental stage of adolescence is to answer the question: "Who
am I?" This being the case, it is natural to assume that in determining
one's identity, one would seek others within the same age group to grow
and learn together and understand the social norms and values of
society.
Theorists such as Fasick agree that adolescents are in a confused state
and that identity development happens during this time as they exert
independence from parents and have a greater reliance on their peer
groups.

Development of Youth Culture

Youth culture truly developed in the 20th century when it became more
common for adolescents to gather together. Historically, prior to this
time many adolescents spent a majority of time with adults or child
siblings. Compulsory schooling and other societal changes made the
joint socialization of adolescents more prevalent.

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Youth Culture And Its Effect On

Society
1291 Words6 Pages
The definition of youth culture has never been a stagnant concept; it is always evolving
with the needs and demands of the current generation of youth. Many have tried to quantify
‘youth culture’ youths themselves act in certain ways thus putting themselves in to
categories and adults looking back at today’s youth culture but always comparing it to their
own ‘youth culture’. The boxes the youth have created may differ in every look,
appearance, and behavior but they all have the modes of expression to mold and create
their ‘sub-culture’. Many of the time these ‘sub-cultures’ grow to the size they become
profitable and thus corporations force the ‘sub-culture’ in to the light of ‘mainstream
culture’. Furthermore, ‘youth culture’ depending on the ‘sub-culture’ can and cannot be
defined by a specific place or places. With so many constantly changing layers in ‘youth
culture’ it is impossible to get a static definition. If one were to look at the concept of
‘youth culture’ with only two parties; the youth’s, and the ‘non-youths’, you would find
that the only difference between the two is that they differ on “a set of ideas, customs and
beliefs that shape people’s activities and their production of material artifacts including the
landscape and the built environment.”(McDowell, 1994). Youths are the creator of their
own worlds and they are the ones who create their own identity and they are the ones who
define what youth culture is. This idea of what constitutes youth culture

Popular culture has long been associated with youth. TV and movie producers,
as well as celebrities and their agents, frequently market their wares specifically
to young people. Teens find extreme sports appealing and love to try trends. But
pop culture has gone beyond reality TV and bungee jumping. It’s become more
about making a personal connection with teens and having them interact with
popular culture and each other. In the same way, we as youth leaders can use
those influences from pop culture to connect with young people in a way they
respond positively to. By reaching out to them through means that they are used
to with their peers, we can communicate important lessons about faith, service
and community.

Many of the same categories that influence young people today, such as TV,
movies and celebrities, were popular with previous generations. However, the
way that teens access and interact with popular culture has been revolutionized
by technology and specialization. They don’t just experience popular culture and
react to it; they interact with it and affect it in real time. They’re using technology
to do it, and youth leaders can utilize these same technologies to establish
relationships between our teens, their views of culture and their faith.

Smartphones
Kids as young as 8 and 9 often have smart phones, but young people rarely
make calls on them. Texting, along with using social media, has become the way
to communicate for young people. While leaders and parents are used to
emailing each other, teens use texting to find out about homework assignments,
make plans for the weekend and spread information among their peer groups.
Laptops and tablets still have their places, but the smartphone is the access point
for teens to get and send information. Texting meeting times, activity ideas or
even discussion topics is a great way to be sure your messages reach your
youth. Most phones will even let you know if your message has been read. You
can text multiple people at a time, and will get much quicker responses than you
would through email or phone calls.
Social Media
When young people aren’t texting on their phones, they are often checking in on
social media sites. Social media is a key part of teen culture, from Facebook
(though that’s now often seen as being for older people) to SnapChat, teens are
sharing what they’re doing, what they’re interested in and what they think about
culture, current events and the world in general. According to a Pew Research
poll, 67% of young people get their news about current events from Facebook,
rather than traditional news sources. Young people are looking for quick videos
that explain things as they happen. They’re not waiting for the six o’clock news.
In the social media Information Age, instant gratification is king.

A good start to reaching out to young people through social media is to start a
Youth Group Facebook page. Let the teens know at meetings that information
will be posted there. Then go beyond just posting calendar information. Make it
interactive by linking to interesting videos. Create discussion threads. Let them
know that if they have questions about faith, they can private message you
through Facebook messenger. Then, with permission, post that topic
anonymously and have the group discuss that particular cultural issue and how
faith applies to it.

Twitter has created a microcosm of culture where people from around the world
can comment on something as benign as Taylor Swift’s latest outfit, or start a
revolution, as happened in Egypt, and youth of America are a part of that.
They’re watching, reading, commenting and considering their place in these
worldwide events. Having a Twitter Feed to make regular comments on current
popular culture is a great way to start a discussion with your group.

With Instagram, teens can create their own scrapbook of images that document
their many activities. With snapshots and selfies, they share their lives and
comment on each other’s worlds. They follow each other’s feeds and favorite the
ones they like. They can follow their favorite celebrities, TV shows and movies.
They can also browse random content that is funny or sometimes provocative.
Give them a safe space on Instagram to find pictures from youth and church
events. Tag them in pictures (with their permission), and share access
information to the feed in the church bulletin or youth news. Doing so can help
create a bond between generations in the church.
These platforms of expression come with some risks, such as cyber-bullying or
inappropriate content posting, but teens flock to them to communicate about their
lives and create identities for themselves. One important aspect of social media
culture is posting selfies. Many teens find there is pressure to post attractive,
even sexy-looking pictures to gain more friends, a bigger following or even to
seem cooler. However, when asked, teens, especially girls, react to such pictures
often in a negative way. Studies even show that teens themselves, while feeling
pressure to be “sexy” online, often rate such profiles negatively. According to an
article on the Huffington Post, Drs. Eileen Zurbriggen and Elizabeth Daniels, both
psychology professors at the University of California at Santa Cruz, conducted a
study and asked 118 young women (13-25) to rate two fictionalized Facebook
profiles of a young woman on her competence, friendliness and attractiveness.
One profile contained “sexy” looking selfies, while the other did not. The person
in the non-sexy profile rated higher in all three categories. Having discussions
about peer pressure on social media sites, and showing them research like the
study noted here, can open teens’ minds to how they are perceived online.

There is a lot of potential in utilizing social media in your work with young people.
You can use social media feeds not just to connect with your youth, but also to
model what a healthy social media presence looks like. Show them how people
can discuss a controversial social issue and its faith implications in a positive
way. Make your feeds a safe place for kids to come and share, and to express
themselves.

YouTube and Netflix

YouTube is a major player in teen self-expression and conversation. Many teens
make YouTube videos to express a particular talent or point of view, then others
can subscribe and follow the videos. Videos often go “viral” and texts and
conversation center around popular feeds. The interactive nature of YouTube
gives both the poster of the video and those who view it a voice. YouTube feeds
about popular shows, video games and celebrities are also gathering places for
teen fans, where they can share their thoughts about plotlines or game features,
and get feedback about what others think as well. They can then use that
information to assess where they “fit” into a certain aspect of culture. Linking to
YouTube videos, such as “Falling Plates,” on your social media sites, or within a
text, can guide young people to interesting and uplifting content.

While teens are watching lots of YouTube videos, they are also using Netflix to
binge-watch their favorite television shows. No longer do they tune in to network
channels each week to see a new episode, then discuss what will happen next
week. Now, they simply sit down with the remote and some snacks and watch
hours of episodes in a row. They don’t have to wait months to see what happens
after a season finale. They simply flip to the next season on the playlist and find
out right away. Binge-watching feeds into the instant gratification teens crave. Try
tuning in to some of the programs your youth are discussing. Not only does it
give you a connection to popular culture that teens are interested in, it can also
help start important discussions about faith and culture.

Sports
Before you start thinking that teens are only connecting through screens, it’s
good to know that they are getting out in the fresh air and exercising, too. Most
teens are involved in at least one school sport, if not more. Many are starting to
specialize in one sport at an early age, and play in recreational leagues and
travel club teams.

Teens spend a great deal of their time outside of school on the field or the court,
and when they’re not playing them, they’re often watching them. Sports are
cross-cultural activities, and there’s something for everyone. Teens today tend to
be drawn more toward watching college sports than professional sports, unless
they’re in a city where they can go to a professional game. Teens are also used
to more interactive elements when watching a game.  NCAA basketball brackets
get posted all over the Internet each March, and teens are watching their sports
heroes on YouTube replays and advertising videos.
So how can you integrate sports into your youth ministry? Consider including not
just an open gym, but discussions about sports and faith in your youth nights.
There are many sports-focused Bible studies and devotions available. Players’
actions on and off the court often generate a lot of discussion, so it’s a good idea
to bring that discussion and how our faith applies to those topics to our youth
nights and social media feeds.

Popular culture changes for each generation, but its implications on faith and
society particularly affect the young. They are processing all the information they
receive from the thousands of sources that are out there, and they need
guidance from the inside to help them navigate it all. Youth leaders can be those
guides and can use technology, sports, and other popular culture influences to
help young people consider where their place, and their faith, fits in this world.

What is Youth Culture? Youth Culture is the term used to describe the ways
teenagers lead and conduct their lives. It can refer to their interests, styles,
behaviours, music choices, beliefs, vocabulary, clothes, sports preferences and
dating relationships.

The concept behind youth culture is that adolescents are a subculture with
norms, behaviours and values that differ from the main culture of older
generations within society.

Youth culture, especially in the western world, is more about what they wear, the
lifestyle they support, the electronic gadgets they own, as a majority or group.
There are even competitions for higher ranks, wherein the high ranking ones are
the most beautiful, richest, own a wider array of gadgets, and have the most
amount of cool friends.

It isn’t that much about who you are but more about what you have. Reality
television shows, magazines and the newest gadgets are what rules the youth
and the world at large today. It is getting quite out of hand, and because of the
new life-stage as ‘teens’, young people don’t realise the big importance they
have on the future.
Development of Youth Culture
Youth culture was first developed in the 20th century when it became more
common for adolescents to gather together in groups or fandom. Historically,
prior to this time, many adolescents spent a large portion of their time with adults
or with their siblings. But the introduction of compulsory schooling and other
societal changes made the joint socialisation of adolescents more prevalent.

Psychologists such as Erik Erikson have theorised that the primary goal in the
developmental stage of adolescence is to answer the question, “Who am I?” If
this is the case, it is natural to assume that in finding out one’s own identity, one
would seek others within the same age group and generation to grow and learn
together and understand the social norms and values of society.

Theorists such as Adele M. Fasick agree that adolescents are in a confused

state of mind and that identity development happens during this time as they
exert independence from parents and have a greater reliance on their peer
groups.

Characteristics of the Youth Today

The youth of today are not like any other preceding generations. They are
stronger, more united, and far more understanding. One of the main
characteristics of the youth of today is their firm determination. Some might
misunderstand this trait for stubbornness, which is also true.

However, our youngsters set their sights very firmly on a certain goal, and do
everything in their power to achieve it, sometimes going even beyond what is in
their hands to do extra.

This gives them stamina and immense courage to accomplish their target on time
with utmost perfection. If we closely observe their behaviour, we notice that their
dedication and sincerity towards the work increases day-by-day.

Our young generation also has a very good capacity to withstand stressful
situations. They can manage any and every circumstance in a patient manner.
Gender is no bar to the withstanding ability. Everyone is equally tested and
treated in the world of employment and performance, and the parameters are
very competitively met by our charming youth.

The ability to manage stress is also one of the primary investigators in the field of
psychoneuroimmunology, which is the study of the relationship between
psychological factors and working of the immune system. Seeing as our youth
ward off stress not just by ignoring it, but working around it, the youth are also
constantly in good health.

One of the down factors is that the blood of the youth gets heated up much too
frequently. The youth lacks patience in some areas, and they all need their tasks
to be completed as and when required and that too immediately. The loss of
patience and the hot temper is often the cause of violence and rage. This is
evident from the new-fangled tradition of cursing horrendously at the littlest of
things.

Our youthful generation is also extremely tech-savvy. They can complete every
task in a single click. The cyber world has given them a life of ease and comfort,
in comparison to the long hours that used to be spent at offices. However, this
has a downside too. The tech savvy youth have lost the values of physical
exercise.

Running games are now played virtually on a gaming screen. These factors are
landing the youth into poor health conditions at a tender age, especially due to
factors such as obesity. We have reached an era where our youth are unable to
perceive anything without the Internet. They have become completely dependent
on technology.

Probably the most defining characteristic of the youth of today is their strong
rebellion. Now, this might be taken as a bad quality by a lot of people, but in my
opinion, this is an excellent thing. The youth do not simply rebel against anything
and everything.

They pick and choose their battles carefully and the only rebel against the wrong
things in our society. For example, the youth are standing up for the rights of
women. They have taken up the fight against racism, sexism, homophobia,
transphobia, and many other problems.

The older generations often criticise the youth for being lazy and not being
outdoors all the time. But I believe that that is a wrong notion. They may not be
as active as the earlier generations in terms of playing games, but the important
thing is, they are keeping themselves busy doing something.

The youth don’t just sit back, relaxing. When they see a problem, they devise
methods to overcome it, instead of sitting and gossiping about it. They hold
protests, strikes and marches in support of their demands.

The youth are currently the only people working towards saving of our planet
from climate change, seeing as no one else is taking it seriously. Contrary to
popular belief, there are many other sides to this new youth culture than just sex
and teenage pregnancy.

The youngsters are well aware of the balancing equations of life. The general IQ
and social awareness cause them to help in the upliftment of the rural segments
of the world. They are the ones who plan and promote the development of the
under-developed nations. They are passionate about their nations, and
sometimes, even more, passionate about the world as a nation together.

Reasons for the Youth Culture of Today

The youth of today are unlike any before in all of history. This is because of
several factors. The world is ever changing, developing in certain fields and
regressing in others.

The previous generations, when they were youth, never had to experience the
kinds of difficulties and pressures today’s youth go through almost every day. Of
course, no one means to undermine the difficulties of past generations.

Some of the factors that are responsible for the youth culture of today include the
school shootings, the rising paedophilia, easy access to narcotics, the dark web,
graphic sexual images on billboards and magazine covers, ever rising racism,
and several others. Imagine going to school every day, innocently, and yet never
knowing whether you will be coming back home or not.

Young people are being challenged in their everyday lives by the media, their
peers and by the school. They are challenged to go beyond their own personal
and familial boundaries. Modern technology and advancement have given
everyone invaluable tools for communication: cell phones, e-mail,
pagers, computers, instant messaging and text messaging, all for the purpose of
improving our communication skills.

But very often, although parents are very quick to supply their children with all
these communication tools of our modern age, they don’t spend more than fifteen
minutes a day speaking to their children on a one-on-one basis.

Conclusion
It is crucial to understand that the youth culture is a type of stereotype wherein
we are trying to fit in all the youth of the world. This is not realistically possible.
The youth are from all over the world, they glorify in their diversity.
Trying to fit them all into one culture is the same as saying that the lion, dolphin
and ostrich are all the same simply because they are all in the animal kingdom.

In conclusion, the youth is like the clay in the hands of the sculpture. The more
careful the sculpture is, the better is the resulting statue. Our youth require to be
moulded carefully and tactfully. All that we need is the encouraging society who
can uplift the young generation to create a better tomorrow.

Reporting from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — 

 
In front of Ho Chi Minh’s statue and the baroque yellow walls of Communist
Party headquarters, they danced.

Strobe lights and bass washed over sweaty young bodies twisting in the tropical
night air. The DJ took a selfie with the crowd, and the din on this downtown
promenade blended with the roar of motorcycles cruising along the Saigon
River.

For the record:

11:44 PM, Aug. 23, 2019 This article incorrectly refers to the Fashion
Institute of Design & Merchandising as the Fashion Institute of Design &
Manufacturing.

This is the next generation’s Vietnam, where coffee roasters and tech start-ups
wedge in between noodle soup vendors and bike repairmen as the city sidesteps
its socialist legacy in a dash toward the future. Two-thirds of the country’s
population was born after Saigon fell in 1975. Now they’re helping transform
the Communist nation into one of the world’s fastest growing economies, with
a hip gravity strong enough to lure back children of emigres who fled to
Houston and Orange County.

These young people are creating a new national identity — one filled with
capitalistic idealism, responsibility, and a belief that the country offers
opportunity that many of their parents won’t acknowledge.
“We’re studying abroad, we’re traveling, we see Western culture and our own
culture,” said Thao Dao, the 27-year-old co-founder of Ladan, a company that
designs modern Vietnamese clothing and accessories for young adults. “For our
generation, it’s time.”

She attended the Fashion Institute of Design & Manufacturing in Los Angeles,
but saw her future at home in Vietnam.

Dao and a friend opened their small shop last year up a creaky flight of stairs
near one of the city’s oldest markets. They filled it with bamboo purses and
elegant pastel riffs on the ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress-pant combo. 

“You can come back and make a difference,” Dao said.

YOUNG PEOPLE IN VIETNAM

 More than half of Vietnam's population is younger than 25 and 70 percent were born after
the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Today,’s younger generation has no direct memories of the
war that shaped the lives of their parents and grandparents, and they are coming of age in
more affluent times. In the 1990s the expression song voi ("fast living") was used to describe
the new Vietnam. At night boys on motorscooters and motorcycles took to the streets to
celebrate what young people call song tu do ("living freely"). They broke taboos by hug and
hold hands with their girlfriends and sometimes kissing in public. Tim Larimer wrote in the
New York Times that Hanoi is filled "20-something men who dash around the city racing their
motorcycles, drinking whiskey, showing off to girlfriends, and acting like James Dean."
 In the early 2000s, a typical young, educated, urban Vietnamese said she enjoyed listening
to Mariah Carey, considered Titanic as their favorite movie, attended evening English
classes, and dreamt about going to graduate school in the United States. Legions of young
people across the nation spent afternoons playing computer games in dingy online gaming
parlors.
 In a piece on the new generation of young people in Vietnam, in Kate McGeown of the BBC,
wrote in 2006: "Thirty-year-old Alan Duong owns a chain of shops in central Hanoi, selling
up-market clothes and furnishings. A professional fashion designer, she speaks fluent
English, travels to trade fairs around the world and is part of Vietnam's new generation of
modern, successful entrepreneurs. Alan was born after the Vietnam War. And she shows
little sign of being adversely affected by her nation's turbulent past. "Vietnam has a really
bright future," she said. "It's a great place to do business, and it's an exciting place to live
and work right now." [Source:Kate McGeown, BBC, November 27, 2006 <<<<]
 Vietnam is not just changing economically, though. It is also changing socially, with
traditionally conservative attitudes gradually breaking down. Alan Duong's fashion business
would have been impossible 20 or 30 years ago. "Being a model used to be seen by a lot of
older Vietnamese as almost as bad as selling your body," she said. Ambitions are changing
too. "Until recently, parents wanted their children to work for government companies, but
now young people want to work for dynamic international businesses," said Nguyen Vinh
Tien. "The dream of young people in the past was to satisfy their boss, or become a member
of the Community Party - it was the dream of the servant," said Nguyen Vinh Tren. "Now
people want to speak English and French, earn lots of money and live an international
lifestyle." <<<<
 The United Nations has recommended that Vietnam raise the age of minors to 18 as defined
by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) because the country's laws currently
consider children only those aged under 16. The youth unemployemt rate in Vietnam is
relatively low. Unemployment, youth ages 15-24: total: 4.6 percent, country comparison to
the world: 135; male: 4.4 percent; female: 4.9 percent (2004)

Academic View of Vietnamese Youth

 In his paper "Youth and the State in Contemporary Socialist Vietnam," Phuong An Nguyen
wrote: "In Vietnam, the word ‘youth’ (thanh nien) ,borrowed from the Chinese language
(qingnian), can be used to mean youth, young people and young adults interchangeably.
Unlike the West where youth is often portrayed as the ‘bad’, the‘male’, and as a potential
threat to the stability of society (Frith,1984), in Vietnam thanh nien (literally: young or green
years ) is associated with positive values such as dynamism, courage, bravery and hope.
Young people are considered to be in the vanguard of the process of nation-building, nicely
expressed in Ho Chi Minh’s words: "For the home country to be strong or weak, it largely
depends on young people." [Source: "Youth and the State in Contemporary Socialist
Vietnam," by Phuong An Nguyen, Lund University, Media-Tryck, 2006 >><<]
 "This view is again reflected in the words of the Vietnam Communist Party: "Whether the
cause of doi moi will be successful or not, whether the country...will gain a deserving position
in the world community or not, whether the Vietnamese revolution will firmly follow the path
of socialism or not, it depends largely on the force of youth, and on the educating and
training of young generations. The matter of youth is a matter of life and death for the nation,
and one of the decisive factors for the success or failure of the revolution." (VCP,1993:82).
There is a tradition for communist parties in Marxist-Leninist countries to place strategic
importance on youth, because young people are considered ‘a white sheet of paper’ (to giay
trang) on which everything can be printed (cf. Kwong, 1994; Gold, 1996). Thus, they do not
possess any political and ideological stance and therefore are able to be moulded and
persuaded to work for the communist party’s objectives, as suggested by Nguyen (1997:6):
Youth in general...is a section in society that does not have their own ideology. Therefore,
the workers’ class and their vanguard party must seize the youth, mobilise, educate and
awaken them in order to help them find the revolutionary truth and strive for this truth." >><<
 Research on youth in Vietnam: David Marr's article on Vietnamese youth in the 1990s is
regarded as the best introduction to the topic of youth in Vietnam. He uses surveys and
brings the depth of his own historical perspective to bear on the question. In 2003, Nguyen
Phuong An defended her doctoral dissertation on youth culture in Hanoi at the University of
Hull. Peter Xenos at the East West Center has worked with the General Statistical Office on
a survey of young people in Vietnam. Also worth a look are Christopher Roberts' Ph.D.
dissertation research in Anthropology at Cornell University; "Consuming urban culture in
contemporary Vietnam," edited by Lisa Drummond and Mandy Thomas (2003); and Philip
Taylor's "Fragments of the Present" (2001) may prove useful in order to contextualize further
the question of youth in contemporary Vietnam.

Young Generation Versus Old Generation in Vietnam

 In 2000, Seth Mydans wrote in the New York Times, "Clearly, it is still easier to be a parent
in Vietnam than in many a country. But perhaps it takes a bit more work these days than it
used to. "My friends quarrel with their parents because they're different from their parents in
every way," said Miss Hong, the student. "But parents understand so much about life. Their
advice is useful for me to be a good person. If I think my parents are not right, or they don't
understand me, I talk out my ideas and we discuss it." Even that represents a leap forward.
In the past, when it came to morals and manners, parents ruled. Now there is MTV (though a
tame version, vetted by the government), the Internet (though still expensive and limited),
pirated foreign movies and, for the privileged, satellite television, travel and a foreign
education. [Source: Seth Mydans, New York Times, November 12, 2000 ||||]
 "And yet Vietnam's history of war and the creation of an independent nation after its long
colonization by the French are part of the fabric of life here. Even the bold talk of teenagers
is cast in terms of the war. "In the past they thought independence was the most important
thing to focus on," Miss Hong said. "Now people in my generation don't care so much about
it. We focus on music, fashion, making friends and going on picnics. My parents and their
friends grew up in war, so they couldn't pay more attention to music or other habits, although
they liked them. Now we're at peace, and if we want to we can learn about all fields in life."
||||
 "Perhaps more than their counterparts abroad given the sacrifices they are constantly being
told their parents made a number of those interviewed were sensitive about accusations that
they are a Vietnamese version of a Me Generation. "That's not true," said Nguyen Thanh Ha,
22, a graduate of National Economics University in Hanoi. "It's just the surface. You must
look deeper inside." "We are hard-working," she continued. "We want to improve our own
lives first before asking others to do that for us." And she added: "You don't need a strike or
a demonstration. Why should we spend our time demonstrating for democracy when we
have so much more to worry about?" ||||

Tackling the Bad Manners of Vietnamese Youth

 Lan Hoang wrote in the Viet Nam News, "Vietnamese traditions teach people to be kind to
others, respect their elders and be concerned for the poor. But many young people are
ignoring these traditions, though they benefit all of society. Nguyen Thi Hai, 55, says that her
family has to suffer loud music from her neighbours all day and night. "We’ve asked them
time and again to turn down the volume, but they seem to ignore us despite the fact that my
72-year-old family-member had to go to the emergency room because of the noise," she
says. Instead, the neighbour’s children yell bad words at Hai. [Source: Lan Hoang, Viet Nam
News, June 28, 2009 ^^^]
 "Hoang Que, 75, from the central province of Nghe An, says he has been pushed out the
queue at the supermarket by impatient youngsters. "When I ask them to stay in the queue,
they speak many bad words to me," Que says, adding that, in the past, Vietnamese had to
queue up to buy everything from rice and meat to sugar— a skill the younger generation has
forgotten. Everything was always in order; people lined up and took turns buying thing
without any complaints or quarrels. ^^^
 "Que says it upsets him to see people speak harshly to each other while they go about their
daily life, or to see young people being noisy on the roads and laughing during funeral
ceremonies. It’s not strange to see young people using coarse speech and swearing on the
road or in public, says Que. It’s like they think it’s ‘cool’, he adds. "Many have money, or
knowledge, and are even highly-educated. But they all lack self-discipline," says a teacher at
National Economics University. ^^^
 "According to research on housing and urban life conducted in 1983 by our institute, a
person in Hanoi would spend an average of one hour per day queuing," says Professor Mai
Quynh Nam, director of the Viet Nam Academy of Social Studies. "Service was limited to
state-controlled shops. Queuing, thus, became a part of the lifestyle back then."In his
opinion, things changed when the market opened up and private shops began to bloom. "Life
has become so much easier. People don’t have to queue up any more. Food is sold at their
doors. And there went the queuing habit," he says. The disappearance of long lines in front
of shops was once considered a positive development, he says. ^^^
 "To deal with such behaviour, the Ministry of Education and Training has added a section on
"Education of Citizens" to school text books to help inculcate good behaviour among
youngsters. Ninth-grader Khanh Toan says lessons learned from the text book are very
helpful. He says he was very selfish before, but now has become a kind-hearted person. He
often collects books to donate to orphans, says Toan’s mother. ^^^
 "Meanwhile, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training will begin adding a
programme on "education of traditions and ethical behaviour" to primary and high schools to
celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in October of 2010. Education
experts say the programme will help kids treat the people around them with respect. "It will
help them learn to obey and respect their parents and elders as well as teachers at school
and people in society," says one expert. Professor Le Thi, former director of the Research
Center for Family and Women under the National Center for Social Science and Humanities,
says parents should teach their children about traditions and social responsibility so they will
become productive members of society. ^^^

Politics and Vietnam's Younger Generation

 Darlene Damm, a student with an MA degree in Southeast Asia studies at Johns Hopkins,
wrote: The last time I was in Hanoi, I felt that there was an increasing divide forming in the
younger generation about where Vietnam should head. When I asked one friend to help me
better understand Vietnam, he took me to a nightclub/disco and told me that his life-long
dream is to open up his own disco. When I asked another friend the same thing, she took me
to Ho Chi Minh's Masoleum, and as we waited in line to enter, she told me about Ho Chi
Minh's life and began crying she was so touched by him. I also began asking the younger
generation the question, "What do you think Vietnam's contribution to the world can be?"
Some young people felt very strongly that Vietnam was going to be able to demonstrate to
the world that socialism still works and provide a working model for the world, and others
said that Vietnam was struggling so much internally that it was not in a position to contribute
anything to the world. [Source: Darlene Damm July 4, 2004, MA degree in Southeast Asia
studies at Johns Hopkins]
 "You cannot say whatever you want to say and do whatever you want to do in Vietnam
because there are laws and regulations that govern this kind of thing. But once the young
generation takes power ... I think they will have a good way to govern the country," Hoai
Thanh, 24, who runs an underground rock magazine in Hanoi, told Associated Press. Thanh,
who wears her hair in a trendy shag, returned to Vietnam from Sweden with a master's
degree in journalism and is eager to see faster change. "I'm not talking about whether
Vietnam would follow the path of capitalism or communism ... but I think in the next 20 years,
Vietnam will be an open and modern country," she said. [Source: Margie Mason, Associated
Press, April 25, 2005]
 Kate McGeown of the BBC wrote: "Talk of political change, though, does not seem to be on
most young people's agendas. While a few brave dissidents do protest about human rights
and political freedoms, their actions are clamped down on by the authorities and the majority
of Vietnamese appear unmoved by their concerns. "Nobody really cares much about
politics," said Alan. "Of course we hope the government will support us in what we do, but
day-to-day politics is not something we think about really." [Source: Kate McGeown, BBC,
November 27, 2006]
 Christophe Robert of Cornell University, author a paper on generational differences and
similarities in attitudes in Vietnam toward democracy and market economy, wrote: "I'm not
opposed to asking questions about "Vietnam" but I'd keep in mind that this frame of
reference is also one under which a lot of (young) Vietnamese are chafing. Their daily
concerns may not be about the national question per se, or only occasionally so, and often
as a result of the demands of the educational curriculum. What's interesting is the ways in
which the issue of the nation pops up in unlikely moments in quite unrelated conversations.
From my experience in Saigon, in discussions in which my interlocutors rejected Hanoi's (or
"northern") notions of ... pretty much everything they still asserted their "love of country" (yeu
nuoc). [Source: Christophe J.p. Robert ~~]
 "This merits attention: What does "love of country" mean here, and which country is in play
then? Very schematically, it seemed often that what they were doing was asserting
"Vietnam" (and/or a southern or Saigonese regional identity--by which they meant a
cosmopolitan one as opposed to a "nha que" Hanoi) as a way to undermine or critique
politics in, or coming from, Hanoi. These ideological constructs - often disguised as
stereotypes - are flowing freely in both North-South directions. To me they themselves are
important objects of study, for the sociological and historical realities they both obscure and
reveal. ~~
 "I think Darlene's two examples are striking, but one would have probably gotten very
different answers in Saigon. I think the belief that socialism could still provide a model needs
to be taken with a grain of salt when it pops up in conversation with us foreigners, especially
in Hanoi. I also assume that "younger generation" means post-war generations. But even
within that time period one would encounter quite different "thanh nien," some born in the
late 70s and some born in 1985, for instance. Sociologically, those ten short years would
create a huge difference in life experiences and horizons of expectation, not to mention
ideas of what "Vietnam" is about. ~~
 "Again, this may be especially true in the South as a result of direct experiences (or not)
within a youth's family of "cai tao" (reeducation), "vuot bien" (fleeing by sea), deprivation, and
subsequent "mo cua" (open door period). A youth born in, say, 1986 would have very
different experiences of these difficult years (namely, through family memories that may or
may not be repressed) than someone born in 75-77 who would have experienced them
directly as a child. ~~
Once "invented", the "youth culture" provoked a variety of often
contradictory responses: youth was dangerous, misunderstood, the future,
a new consumer group. British post-war youth culture emerged primarily
in response to the American popular culture centred on rock 'n' roll. The
1955 film Blackboard Jungle, with its soundtrack featuring Bill Haley And
The Comets' Rock Around The Clock, was a defining moment, inspiring
people to dance in the aisles (and some to slash seats). The fear was not
only of hoodlums but also of the creeping Americanisation of British
culture.
But the impact of imported US films and music did not lead to cultural
homogenisation; instead, it inspired a series of spectacular - and distinctly
British - youth subcultures from the mid-50s to the late-70s: teds (quiffs,
Elvis, flick-knives, crepe soles, working-class London origins circa 1953,
drug of choice: alcohol); mods (Jamaican-rudeboy/Italian-cool style, US
soul, purple hearts, The Small Faces, scooters, working-class London
origins circa 1963, drug of choice: amphetamines); skinheads (Jamaican
ska, exaggerated white, British, working-class masculinity, contrasting
starkly with middle-class hippiedom of the same period, boots, braces,
shaved heads and violence, sometimes racist, late 60s origins, drug of
choice: amphetamines); punk (Sex Pistols, spit, bondage, swastikas, circa
1976, drug of choice: glue and amphetamines).

Drug use became a feature of youth subcultures from the Mods onwards -
not just any old drugs, but ones that characterised and defined the
subculture in question. Mods chose speed because it made them feel smart
and invincible; it also gave them the energy to keep on the move, awake at
all-nighters (and through work the next day). Later, within rave culture,
drug use - this time, ecstasy - was central to the point of being almost
obligatory.

Dick Hebdige, acommentator on youth culture, argues that the

multicultural nature of post-war Britain was crucial to the formation of
many subcultures; each one, he says, should be seen as a response to the
presence of black culture in Britain, the ska/rudeboy-inspired two tone
movement being a particularly vivid example. The tribes were created
through the amalgamation of particular types of cultural goods; music,
fashion, hairstyles, politics, drugs, dances - with their boundaries defined
through crucial choices: Vespas or Harley-Davidsons, speed or acid, Dr
Martens or desert boots. But then, youth culture is full of contradiction: the
desire to express individuality by wearing the same clothes as your mates,
and rebelling against capitalism at the same time as being a perfect
capitalist slave.

Britain also led the way in the study of youth, and its celebration of
creativity and resistance, though these studies, naturally, have their
favourite subcultures, often overlooking others. (Still, the kiss of death for
any subculture is to be "understood" by a sociologist.) By the late 70s and
early 80s, youth subculture began to change, and became less gang-
oriented. The regular emergence of new subcultures slowed down, and the
first major period of revivals began. It became difficult to identify distinct
subcultures, rather than just musical styles. In fact, something weird
happened: everyone started behaving like a teenager. By the 90s, "proper"
grown-ups had started to complain that contemporary youth were dull and
 conformist, and the music of small children became the preferred choice of
most teenagers - Pinky & Perky dressed up as Steps.

Today, there are still plenty of new genres of music, but they don't have
such visible subcultures affiliated to them. Even something as recent as 80s
dance music and rave culture - after its initial, Smiley-faced, ecstasy-
fuelled unity - fragmented into a multitude of sub-genres with no definable
set of cultural attributes. Despite society's consistent attempts to regulate
youth culture, perhaps the main cause of its demise in recent years is the
extension of adolescent behaviour until death by the Edinas and Patsys of
this world. Youth culture is now just another lifestyle choice, in which age
has become increasingly irrelevant.

 In the 1960's the wearing of clothes that indicated freedom

 Following of music groups that perform music that speaks to the issues teenagers
perceive themselves enduring at the time such as Nirvana in the 1990's and The Beatles
in the 1960's
 Hairstyles that exhibit a lack of conformity such as brightly colored hair, spiked
hair, shaved heads
 Behavior that is contrary to what is perceived to be accepted and expected by
parents such as drinking, smoking, using drugs
 Language usage that is bold in order to set themselves apart such as either
excessive cursing or a usage of esoteric "cool" buzz words
 Behaviors such as cutting school or low grade criminal activity in order to assert
independence and non-conformity
 Refusal to go to certain establishments to appear more acceptable to peers
 A change in academic performance in order to conform to the expectations of
their peer groups
 A change in types of media that the adolescent prefers, i.e. comic books over
novels or magazines over non-fiction, to relate to the likes of his peers
 A desire for same brand name clothes, shoes and other material goods such as
portable music players, backpacks and phones
 A change in the quality of products he prefers, i.e. more expensive goods that are
similar to his friends' goods, or less expensive goods that are more in line with his peer's
belongings
 Attitude changes about school, religion or family
 A change in the way that they treat others, either with greater kindness or perhaps
more aloofness
Each different generation will have their own youth culture that is reflective of their lives
and times.

Timeline
1929 Borstals open as special prisons for adolescents.
1947 School-leaving age raised to 15.
1953 The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando. ('What're you rebelling
against?' Brando replies: 'What've you got?') First reportings of teds in the
UK media.
1957 Elvis scores his first UK number 1 with 'All Shook Up'. First UK youth
TV broadcast, Six-Five Special, on national TV.
1959 Mark Abrams's The Teenage Consumer outlines the potential of
youth as a new consumer group.
1967 Radio 1 launched.
1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.
1977 The Sex Pistols' God Save The Queen charts at number two in Silver
Jubilee week.
1981 Inner-city youth/race riots in Brixton and Toxteth.
1989 First recorded UK ecstasy-related death: Clare Leighton in
Manchester's Hacienda club.
1994 Criminal Justice Act targets travellers, festivals and raves.

as they enter the 1980s. More than just unemployment—in the broadest sense of the
term—is involved here. Far more important is the possibility of working in 'creative'
occupations, i.e. in occupations that allow the individual to earn a living while at the
same time expressing his need for spontaneity and creativity. The key words in
the experience of young people in the coming decade are going to be: 'scarcity',
'unemployment', 'underemployment', 'ill-employment', 'anxiety', 'defensiveness',
'pragmatism' and even 'subsistence' and 'survival' itself. If the 1960s challenged
certain categories of youth in certain parts of the world with a crisis of culture, ideas
and institutions, the 1980s will confront a new generation with a concrete, structural
crisis of chronic economic uncertainty and even deprivation.
People are both producers and consumers of goods, and I argue that young people
through their consumer habits choose goods, which reflect and express their identity
and individualism. To consume certain marketing items such as a mobile phone, the
latest fashion accessories or the most updated computer, is fast becoming the key to
acceptance into certain cultural groups.

For example, the youth are standing up for the rights of women. They have taken
up the fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and many other
problems.