Sociology of Youth

Sociology of Youth

A - Some Definitions

Culture is the set of knowledge, skills, traditions, customs that fit a human group to form a civilization.

The concept of the social individual is undoubtedly of great complexity and richness. In technical terms, it symbolizes everything that cannot be divided but, it refers a human or man, as a man cannot be divided or fragmented (Hall et al. 1976).

The laws of society are the principles invented by different societies, cultures and civilizations. For instance, a country may have a rule to imprison a person for three years for a crime, whereas, the same illicit activity may imprison the criminal in another country for five years. Therefore, each country has different rules that are known to be laws of society because they are made by people of the society (Martin 2009).

World is the common name given to the civilization of human beings. The world is also defined as the earth and the surrounding heavens; the creation; the system of created things; existent creation; and the universe.

Dominant culture is the set of values, beliefs, traditions and customs that govern the majority of the members of the society.

Subculture is used to define a group of people with a distinctive set of behaviors and beliefs that are different from the culture's distinctive behaviors and beliefs.

B - Youth: A Metaphor for Social Change

The author says that youth is identified through several distinct characteristics. Another set of changes that have noted in the youth culture is the arrival of mass communication, mass entertainment, mass art, and mass culture and the youth culture was greatly linked with this set of changes in two different ways. In addition, the author pointed out the fact that the new juvenile delinquency of the mid 50's was because of the disruptive effects of war on children born during the period when there was the absence of fathers, evacuation and other breaks in the normal family life. Another important change in youth culture, as identified by the author, is the level of education that has changed for primary and secondary level of students.

C - The Reappearance of Class

Hall et al. identified that the post-war change was the inequality in redistribution of wealth and the discovery of poverty. It indicated that the poverty was a structural and not an accidental feature of capitalism as a small proportion of people was also holding ...