Wednesday 30 June 2010

The Youth of Today

I've been mulling things over recently and it crossed my mind that today's youth generation may be the first generation without a defining subculture. If you look over previous decades there has always been a subculture for the youth to engage with and become a part of. The 1950s had the teddy boys; the 1960s had the mods; the 1970s had the punks; the 1980s had the football "casuals" while the 1990s had a clear youth culture with the Madchester and Britpop scenes enjoying their peak of popularity during that decade.

This generation doesn't have that defining subculture.

In some aspects this is sad but in other ways I'm quite glad it's turned out in this manner. The lack of a defining youth subculture or movement enables me to seek out and forge a more personal identity which is independent from the majority of my friends and this can only be a good thing. After all, who wants to look and like the exact same things as their mates?

I may get stick for wearing garments which are different or "out there" to what the majority like but I'm glad of this as it helps make me who I am.

Here are some photos of Britain's youth subcultures in years gone by.





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3 comments:

  1. The Editor30 June 2010 at 18:43

    i think because of the internet we`ve got a big amount of youth/subcultures. we`ve got so different types of music that has developed and yet not died (like ska/reggae skinhead music, punk etc.) new styles like indie rock or modern house/techno music are subcultures that will be defined in the future as a "culture". perhaps its a big retro trend.. like graffiti, or going back to that 80s casual thing, we mix up now with newer styles?!

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  2. thing and where6 July 2010 at 05:43

    I thought about doing a more or less identical post myself a few weeks ago but then when I thought about it although there might not be a defining culture, there are some very strong ones out there.

    Looking back at the last decade there was the whole "Indie" movement fuelled by bands such as The Libertines and then Arctic Monkeys. I had just started sixth form in 2005 so was just the right age for the Monkeys explosion and (round my way at least) you were one of three things; an Emo/skater, "indie" or into Bounce music (Wigan Pier, Fluidz, Maximes etc).

    I reckon when you look back at photos of the 00's youth movement the "indie" kids will be pretty identifiable as diluted versions of the scenes leaders like Pete Doherty, Alex Turner, (sadly arguably) Liam Gallagher, (still) Ian Brown and the look and sound of bands such as Vampire Weekend, gear on sale at the likes of Ran and OP labels such as Fred Perry, Lyle & Scott, Lacoste, generic deck shoes, tight(ish) jeans, striped tops.

    But to be fair I can only speak for the north west, maybe swap bounce music for dub step or grime?

    Maybe a diagram would help me get my point across ha

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  3. Unknown9 July 2010 at 16:49

    Would you not say a consistant chav/gangsta sub culture has evolved from the early 00's to the present? even brought to the big screen through the likes of kidulthood and adulthood. Basically where i live your either one of them or an Emo or as i read from your post;

    "(an) independent from the majority of my friends and this can only be a good thing. After all, who wants to look and like the exact same things as their mates?" for this echoes many of my present thoughts!

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