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The Concept of “Youth”

The Concept of “Youth”. Youth Cultures: Summer Session 2 Instructor – Eryn Snyder. Who A re Y outh?. How do we define youth? Who is included in this definition and who is not? Is it a certain age range, a culture, a style, a way of life?

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The Concept of “Youth”

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  1. The Concept of “Youth” Youth Cultures: Summer Session 2 Instructor – Eryn Snyder

  2. Who Are Youth? • How do we define youth? Who is included in this definition and who is not? Is it a certain age range, a culture, a style, a way of life? • Upon closer consideration, we find that definitions vary widely and the borders that distinguish “youth” from “children” and “adults” are constantly shifting. Why is this?... • “Youth” is not a stable, objective category. • Rather, “Youth” is a social construction.

  3. Youth as a Social Construction “Youth is just a word.” - Pierre Bourdieu • Youth is discursively, that is socially, constructed. This means that term “youth” gets its meaning through the ways that we talk about youth, the ways we represent youth, and the ways that we institutionalize the category of youth. • As a social construction, definitions of youth change over time and across cultures.

  4. The Historical Emergence of “Youth” and “Teenagers” • Youth: a 20th Century Phenomenon… • Legal Reforms • Breakthroughs in mass production technologies • Growth of High School Attendance • Post-WWII baby-boom • Increasing affluence in the Western world • The development of consumer industries

  5. Emerging Youth Markets • The new “Teen” Market proves to be enormously successful. • Example: Seventeen Magazine (1944) • Also see: Merchants of Cool

  6. Generational Divides and Moral Panics Over Youth Moral Panic - An instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening the moral standards of society. Notable moral panics of youth: • Comic books in the early 1950s • Rock and Roll in 1950s and 1960s • Dungeons and Dragons in 1970s and 1980s • Video games and male teen violence in 1990s • Modern moral panics?

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