"Youth Culture"

I think I must thrive on learning curves. I love learning about new things and being exposed to new experiences. Last weekend my husband and I ventured into a local night club where a friend of ours was debuting with his band. Though I have been to many "rock concerts" in my life time, I was never in this kind of setting. The "over 21" group stood around rather quietly upstairs and the "under 21" jumped, pushed and wrestled around downstairs. The thunder of the drums, bass and electric guitars reverberated from each corner; it was funny to see the staff wore earplugs. The air was thick with cigarette smoke mingled with whiffs of alcohol. But the focus was on the stage. The young people knew how to dress for such an occasion as the rooms were also stuffy from the heat of the crowd clambering to get a view of the bands, or a touch of one of the band members or even a chance to be dragged onto the stage to sing along with the group. What energy!

I know it has been pointed out that the concept of a "youth culture" is a social construct. There is something so different about that point in our human development, that adults don't know what to do with it. So in order to "manage" it, it meaning both the behavior of that age group and adult reactions to it, we construct a term to put what makes us feel uncomfortable into a box. We then proceed to create the walls for that box, usually lists defining what that term means. For "youth culture," we construct lists of expected behavior, typical emotions and struggles, physical changes and development, parental reactions, appropriate boundaries, etc. Why? perhaps it is a coping mechanism for schools, parents and society in general.

But in the end it distorts the fact that being a "youth" is part of all of us and is a valuable part of our development, not some anomaly to be managed. It is a time when we have lots of energy, are willing to take risks, are beginning to own our self-esteem and identify the role-models who will lead us into adulthood. Youth are not trapped between childhood and adulthood, but rather, I like to say that the seeds which have been planted in them throughout childhood are starting to bloom. Blooms just take a while to open to their fullness.

Social constructs can be dangerous. They tend to separate certain groups of people from others inevitably affecting the way people treat one another as human beings. That treatment can be both bad and good, but in the end reinforces a subconscious notion that "I am different." While it can be healthy to celebrate our uniqueness, we should never allow a social construct to validate inappropriate behavior or excuse irresponsible actions by any member of society, no matter what age or status.

Thus, I use the term "youth culture" loosely, since I am very interested in cultures. I have enjoyed learning more about the things which American young people value and invest their time and energies in these days. The truth is, all those things are really part of my culture too. I just choose to value them more or less. Despite what the media purports, the youth do not have the monopoly on certain areas and parents must take a laissez-faire approach! Adults need to take the time to tune in and pay attention in order to see what is attractive to young people. If we look at society as "we are all in this life together and need to develop values together" it might go along way in breaking down the social construct which pushes youth to the side to "sow their wild oats" until they become manageable adults. Values are what we integrate into our being and we allow to form our lives. The values which attract youth today should not be secrets or separate from those the rest of the family or community embraces. Healthy families and communities need to be built upon shared values and respect of all age groups.