Youth and Urban Culture - Essay Example

Youth and Urban Culture Culture is defined as refinement of the mind and manners with proper education and training. It represents excellence in theaesthetic standard that means “the best that has been thought and said in the world” (Hebdige 6). It indicates certain manner in the ordinary behaviour while leading a particular way of life. While examining the youth culture and subcultures it has been seen that it is important that the youth are taught to adapt conventional political and moral outlooks and are habituated to discipline in working life. Subcultures emerge as solution to problems that are collectively faced because of challenges in the social structure (Brake ix). The objective of this paper is to talk about the influence of the youth on the urban culture, bringing out the behavioral patterns and lifestyles of the former especially in modern urban setting. Youth as Subculture The study of subculture is done in relation with the broader system of society. It includes symbolisms of clothing, music and other interests of the subculture and also how such symbolisms are looked upon by the members of the broader culture that dominates the subculture. In any subculture there is the struggle for establishment of subgroups of different values and lifestyles (Brake 3). Youth subculture represents themselves with their own style, interests and behaviour through their activities. They often adhere to their own rules outside their social institutions like home or school. They consciously form a signature style of their own which they relish and exploit (Gelder & Thornton, 1). Style is significant in subculture. It transforms the normal process and goes “against nature”. They can be physical signs and movements adapted during a speech which disturbs the “silent majority” by going against the conventional principles of the broader society (Hebdige, 18). Youth Culture Emergence in the post war era During the period after the Second World War, the traditional social life in Britain was replaced by a system which was less prejudiced about class system. As the working class group was fragmented, it was seen that traditional values collapsed to bring about deeper and significant changes. This new age enjoyed “unlimited affluence and equal opportunity”. There was a dramatic change in the cultural expression of the class. With the introduction of mass media, shift from joint families to nuclear families, changes in the school and work organisations, all these resulted in disintegrating and polarizing the community of the working class. This method of polarization gave rise to youth culture (Hebdige 74). In the post war era the youth began to exhibit many “non-solidaristic elements” with the culture of their parents. The dominant culture of the parents refused to comply with the status established by the youth. This led to the youth being a “vehicle for anti-establishment currents” (Jenks 122). Cultural Significance There are many specific factors behind the youth culture and some of them are rise in the spending power among the youth of the working class, emergence of market as an outlet for spending the surplus income and reformations in the field of education. All these factors led to a consciousness among the younger generation to create an identity of their own and often they were rebellious against the traditional norms. Youth was being regarded as a separate culture as they began to adopt their own style and behavioral patterns. In the 1920s, it was understood that youth culture is not devoid of classes when evidence was garnered on juvenile criminals on streets and bootleggers (Hebdige, 74-75). The youth subculture enforces their own social practices, lifestyle, choice of clothes, types of television programs, music and friendship groups. The attempt of the youth to maintain a separate cultural world from the adults is not insignificant. Such forms of “symbolic creativity” are essential for daily life for the young people and should be considered as an essential part of human condition. (Ardizzone 50) Drugs and Violence among the Youth Gangs Youth gangs are mainly formed by “adolescents and young adults” ranging from 12 to 24. Youth gangs are formed by members having common interests (Howell, and Decker 1). They usually have specific leadership and an organisation to control and plan their activities. They perform specific activities which are more often illegal and they exercise control over particular territory or enterprise. It has been seen that drug trafficking is one of the main activities among youth gangs and it is also a key cause of violence among them. In the 1980s there has been a speedy increase of drug use among the youth. Studies have shown that the youth and adult gangs were involved in the trading of drugs and the use of drugs was more common among the members outside of these gangs. Members of the youth gangs do not expansively consume drugs. There are differences in the level of drug use among different gangs. Youth gangs became involved in drug trafficking mainly for two reasons and they are: 1) the market for cocaine faced a huge growth in the 1980s and it was followed by sharp reductions in the price and 2) in the American society there were socioeconomic changes that challenged the traditional systems. In the 1970s, manufacturing jobs were in a state of decline. Economy was restructured with the development of industries based on technology and services. New opportunities for jobs were created mainly in the suburbs and unemployment was on rise in the inner cities. The workers who lost jobs got working opportunities in the drug market. As opportunities for lifetime employment decreased, the youth began to form gangs among themselves to become involved in the growing cocaine market. Violence became common among gangs to maintain regulations in the drug market. Three kinds of relationships has been established between drug use and violence among the youth and they are: 1) the drug can have “pharmalogical effect” on the user that may stimulate violence, 2) drugs are expensive and to maintain constant use, the youth very often gets involved in violent crimes like robbery and 3) “systemic violence” is common to maintain share in the market distribution of the drugs (Howell, and Decker 1-5). Media consumption in Youth Culture Media and Technology The leisure practice among the youth depends upon their lifestyle and their areas of consumption. The aesthetic taste of the youth culture creates “classifications and hierarchies” and is completely unattached with power. The habits developed by the youth provide a “delicacy of taste” in the fields of media, fashion and presentation of oneself. Media is a primary factor for circulation of subcultural capital. The youth culture and its specifications cannot be comprehended without proper analysis of media consumption among the youth in relation to television, radio and the internet. Media not only symbolizes the distinctive characteristics of youth culture, it also plays a major role in distributing cultural knowledge among the youth (Jenks 127). There is expansion in the channels for communication with the rapid development of technologies in the field of information. Mobile phones and internet provide an increasing affordability as modes of communication. This had led to surfacing of new social practices among the youth. Many feel that “new thinking about language and literacy has been catalyzed” (Kral 4). Usage of Mobile Phones by Teenagers (Asia Tech News of the World) Impact of Television and Music on Youth Culture In today’s age, the young generation remains engrossed in the media. Almost every household contains the television which is the dominant medium. Youth culture is mainly reflected in the television, films, music, internet and magazines. Music allows the youth to express their feelings and voice through the lyrics. It is also a form of “informal education socially and politically”. Folk music is that genre of music that expresses the voice of the youth. Films, painting and poetry are also outlets for the youth to express themselves and provide the concept that knowledge does not need to be predefined. Through these forms of media, the young people can create a “global youth movement” (Ardizzone 50-52). Impact of the Internet Youth culture is represented by closely knit groups whose common interests and sensibilities are based on shared ideas like a community. The emergence of the internet has made such definitions of youth culture obsolete. Today, the youth do not always gather in groups in clubs or do face to face interactions. They interact in virtual spaces made available by the Internet. The young people no longer feel the geographical constraints and limitations of physical place. They can now create their own virtual spaces to form communities. Internet can be considered as a “cultural context” which means it can be common place for formation of groups with common beliefs and practices. Some theorists consider the Internet as a “subcultural” space where the young people are liberated from their “socio-economic and cultural constraints”. The concept that the Internet is a subcultural space is equivalent to the concept of virtual community which is a “web of personal relationships in cyberspace” (Bennett & Harris 163). Internet has given rise to a new definition of community that is not based on physical interaction, but knowledge and interests shared through online discussions by social networks, fansites or emails. Fan Club on Facebook Facebook Young people of different socio-cultural groups enter a “global domain” through the internet to communicate with people of different geographical sites. Online discussion of popular cultural forms like music can carry an “aura of exclusivity” by designing personal websites with images, music and text. However, there are arguments regarding the potential of the internet due to high cost of its access. Limitations of technical knowledge about the internet may restrain the access of the youth (Bennett & Harris 163-169). Curse of the Media on Youth Culture Interactions through different forms of media can promote positive social and cultural changes. Media can also have negative impact on the youth. It has the potential to dissocialize the youth as they tend to make virtual groups rather than do face to face conversations. Violent films, video games, images and art forms in the television and the internet can promote aggressiveness among the youth and as such can be negative role models for children. Watching Violent Cartoon – ‘themed on “good guy beats the tar out of the bad guy” (Lessons of a Dad) (Lessons of a Dad) The impact of the visual medium on the activities of the youth is extremely complex. It depends on a number of contexts like the age and sex of the viewer, the capability of the viewer to distinguish between the reality and the fantasy. Since media is more often regarded as reflection of contemporary social structure, therefore extreme violence on television can give an image of a more dangerous society than the actual case. Conclusion The subculture of the youth is regarded as a problem for the societal values and policy makers. They have strongly influenced the urban culture. The tendency of the younger generation to rebel against any conventional policies at workplaces might lead to grave consequences. Increase in criminal activities among the youth is another matter of serious social concern. Youth consumption of the media, if done under proper parental guidance can reduce the negative impacts and can create awareness among children to recognise appropriate behavioral patterns of a healthy society. References 1. Hebdige, Dick, Subculture: The Meaning of Style, London: Routledge, 1979 2. Brake, Michael. Comparitive Youth Culture: The Sociology of Youth Culture and Youth Subcultures in America, Britain and Canada, USA: Routledge, 1990 3. Gelder, Ken and Saraj Thornton. The Subcultures Reader, London: Routledge, 1997 4. Jenks, Chris. Subculture: Fragmentation of the Social, London: Sage, 2005 5. Howell, James C. and Scott H. Decker. “The Youth Gangs, Drugs, and Violence Connection”, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, January, 1999, pp.1-5, 11th December, 2011 from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/93920.pdf 6. Kral, Inge. “Youth media as cultural practice: Remote Indigenous youth speaking out loud”, Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2011.1, July, 2011, p.4, 11th December, 2011 from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a6ed38b4-c4a2-42df-a84f-023676077a38%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=113 7. Ardizzone, Leonisa. “Yelling and Listening: Youth Culture, Punk Rock, and Power”, Taboo, 9.2, Fall-Winter, 2005, p.50, 11th December, 2011 from: http://books.google.co.in/books/about/Taboo.html?id=1J5TIvGEzswC&redir_esc=y 8. Bennett, Andy and Keith Kahn-Harris. After subculture: Critical studies in contemporary youth culture, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 9. Asia Tech News of the World, “How Are Teens Using Their Cell Phones?”, 2011, December 12, 2011 from: http://www.penn-olson.com/?p=17042 10. Lessons of a Dad, 2010, December 12, 2011 from: http://www.lessonsofadad.com/2010/12/parenting-word-about-gift-giving.html 11. Facebook, Teenagers Fan Page, 2011, December 12, 2011 from: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Teenagers-Fan-Page/130899836980910 Read More