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EDGES MAGAZINE Issue 17 |
April/May 1999 |
YOUTH CULTURE
- A MOTHER'S
PERSPECTIVE
Riotous,
wild, self-indulgent, rowdy and ill-disciplined, do they sound
familiar? These are adjectives used to describe young people of the
twenties and thirties, but they could not be used to describe what
adults see as a 1990's Youth Culture.
The
Oxford Dictionary, tells us that 'culture' is the customs,
civilisations and achievements of a particular time and people! So
are today's youth fundamentally different from those of any other
period? Is there not a common thread running through their culture?
One thing that has changed is the media attention given to our young
people. I think it is true to say that at no time have they been
observed with such close scrutiny, not been so pressurised by the
media as now. Television, fashion, music and the publishing industry
have targeted youth with programmes, ideas and magazines specially
designed for them. They are constantly bombarded with ideas on how
to be cool, with it, popular and successful.
The
relaxation of censorship laws means that young people are exposed to
modes of behaviour through television, cinema and literature, that
were once thought to be unacceptable. The contraceptive pill has led
to a sexual revolution amongst girls of increasingly younger age
levels. Alongside this there has been a change in the way young
people spend their free time. The youth club has largely been
superseded by the pub, the alcohol-free dance halls have given way
to the bars and nightclubs, and the use of hard drugs is more
widespread. Youth Culture, which has been an integral part of
succeeding generations, has become more pronounced since the second
world war because of changes in society as a whole. Perhaps more
significantly, since the so called 'permissive society' of the
sixties. What of the parents of these youngsters? How did they feel,
how do they feel?
Mothers and fathers were aghast at the
antics and outpourings of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, until
with the passing of time, they and their music became respectable,
or at least acceptable. The Hippies with their exhortations to make
love not war and their 'flower power', long hair, sandals, and
'reefers' were anathema to the older generation. 'Respectable'
adults threw up their hands in horror at the Cannabis smoking
throngs descending on Glastonbury for the annual pop festivals. The
Rock and Rollers, the Mods, and Rockers of the 50's all shocked
parents and grandparents. The Raves and House music parties where
'Ecstasy' popping was the 'in thing' (supposedly) where raided by
the police in the early 90's, because they were held in illegal,
unsafe venues. All the 'fads' which are part of Youth Culture had
one thing in common. They shocked parents and the old members of
society, as they were meant to. Seen in another light they are part
of the need for young people to express their own individuality and
independence, to cut the umbilical chord, to rebel against the
constraints of parental authority.
Today's young people
appear to be more self assured, opinionated and vociferous in
expressing themselves. They probably frustrate their parents, just
as their parents did theirs. But one day they will be parents
themselves and the cycle will continue. Patience, lots of it, love
and understanding will ease the path of parents and children towards
a new, more adult relationship. Most will survive the ordeal
relatively unscathed. In retrospect the permissive society was not
so permissive. People were still attacked for their sexuality and
society did not alter the law against the use of soft drugs.
Undoubtedly, the saddest aspect of today's Youth Culture is
the increasing use of hard drugs which destroy the lives and
relationships of the young people who use them, often leading to
homelessness, prostitution and crime. This is a more important issue
than the other passing phases of adolescence. Not all young people
will be caught up in the drug scene, but for parents this is the
biggest fear and the most constant worry they have; and for some
there will not be a happy ending.
Anne Slater
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