Lecture on social studies in 10th grade

Topic: Youth as social group

Features of the youth subculture

The youthis a socio-demographic group identified on the basis of a set of age characteristics (approximately from 16 to 25 years1), characteristics of social status and certain socio-psychological qualities.

Youth is a period of choosing a profession and your place in life, developing a worldview and life values, choosing a life partner, starting a family, achieving economic independence and socially responsible behavior.

Youth is a specific phase, stage of the human life cycle and is biologically universal.

Features of the social status of young people

Transitivity of position.

High level of mobility.

Development of new social roles(employee, student, citizen, family man) associated with a change in status.

Actively searching for your place in life.

Favorable prospects in professional and career terms.

The youth - this is the most active, mobile and dynamic part of the population, free from stereotypes and prejudices previous years and having the followingsocio-psychological qualities: mental instability; internal inconsistency; low level tolerance (from Latin tolerantia - patience); the desire to stand out, to be different from the rest; the existence of a specific youthsubcultures.

Subculture- part of the culture of society, distinguished by its behavior from the overwhelming majority

It is typical for young people to unite ininformal groups , which are characterized by the followingsigns:

Emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in specific conditions of a social situation;

Self-organization and independence from official structures;

Models of behavior that are obligatory for participants and differ from the typical ones accepted in society, which are aimed at realizing life needs that are unsatisfied in ordinary forms (they are aimed at self-affirmation, giving social status, gaining security and prestigious self-esteem);

Relative stability, a certain hierarchy among group members;

Expression of different value orientations or even worldviews, behavioral stereotypes that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;

Attributes that emphasize belonging to a given community.

Depending on the characteristics of youth amateur activities, youth groups and movements can be classified.

Aggressive initiative

It is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values, based on the cult of persons. Primitivism, visibility of self-affirmation. Popular among teenagers and young people with a minimum level of intellectual and cultural development.

Shocking(French epater - time to reap, surprise)amateur performance

It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hairstyle, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenging” aggression on yourself from others in order to be “noticed” (punk style, etc.)

Alternative amateur performance

Based on the development of alternative, systemically contradictory models of behavior that become an end in themselves (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.)

Social activities

Aimed at solving specific social problems (environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.)

Political amateur activities

Aimed at changing the political system and political situation in accordance with the ideas of a specific group

The acceleration of the pace of development of society determines the increasing role of youth in public life. Joining in social relations, youth modify them and, under the influence of transformed conditions, improve themselves.

The concept of “youth” as a definition of a socio-demographic group dates back to the late 18th - early 19th centuries. Before this, young people were not recognized as a special social group. Up to late XIX centuries, the problems of youth were considered through the problems of personal development, education of a citizen of a historically specific society, which found scientific expression in pedagogy, philosophy, psychology of the Renaissance, modern times, Western philosophy of the 17th-18th centuries. The actualization of theoretical studies of youth and the creation of independent concepts of age occurred at the beginning of the 20th century and were developed in sociological theories of youth.

Youth as a special social group was recognized according to objective criteria that determine the existence, development and change of all aspects of a given social entity.

Starting position life cycle, coinciding with youth and associated with the process of preparation for adult functions, appeared in the process of transition from traditional to industrial society. The process of socialization in a traditional society is carried out through the transmission from generation to generation of values, activities, means and goals of which have existed for centuries as stable patterns and social norms. IN modern conditions The need for qualitatively different ways of preparing and integrating the individual into society has increased.

Therefore, today it is impossible to study youth either only from the point of view of sociology (socio-demographic group), or only from the point of view of a cultural approach (spiritual values ​​and ideals of youth). This makes the learning process one-sided. The solution lies in combining the two approaches into a single, inextricable sociocultural approach.

Concepts of youth in the sociocultural aspect began to be developed in the 50s of the 20th century. such researchers as G. Shelsky, K. Mannheim, A Tenbroek, S. Eisenstadt. In the domestic literature on youth issues, the sociocultural approach does not always receive proper objective coverage.

Today, in the circles of sociologists, a view has been established on youth as a reference, socio-demographic group, the most important features of which most authors consider age characteristics and associated features of social status, as well as socio-psychological qualities determined by both, which allows us to say on a multi-level analysis of youth as a social phenomenon.

However, the question of the final definition of the concept of “youth” remains controversial. Scientists share different approaches to the subject of study - from the perspective of sociology, psychology, physiology, demography, etc.

Researchers Vishnevsky Yu.R., Kovaleva A.I., Lukov V.A. and others identify as the most typical approaches found in scientific literature, the following:

• - psychological: youth is the period of development of the human personality between “puberty” (puberty) and “maturity” (full maturity);
• - socio-psychological: youth is a certain age with its biological and psychological relationships, and as a result - all the characteristics of the age class;
• - conflictological: youth is a difficult, stressful and extremely important period of life, a long-term conflict between the individual and society, a problematic stage in human development;
• - role-based: youth is a special behavioral phase in a person’s life, when he no longer plays the role of a child, and at the same time is not yet a full-fledged bearer of the role of an “adult”;
• - subcultural: youth are a group with their own specific way of life, lifestyle, cultural norms;
• - stratification: youth are a special socio-demographic group, limited by age, with specific positions, statuses, roles;
• - socialization: youth is a period of social growth, primary socialization;
• - axiological: youth is a socially significant, important stage of a person’s life cycle, it is at this stage that the formation of a system of value orientations of individuals, a special attitude, aspiration for the future, and optimism occurs.

• - age;
• - socio-historical;
• - sociological;
• - spiritual and cultural;
• - socio-psychological;
• - cultural.

Thus, within the framework of the considered approaches, there are many definitions of youth that reflect, to a greater or lesser extent, certain aspects of life activity and the qualitative characteristics of this social group.

Young people have a higher degree of life satisfaction, which is associated with greater self-confidence, orientation towards the realization of personal goals and interests, achievement and success. Young people are characterized by a commitment to the values ​​of individualism, personal initiative and independence.

Success for a significant part of young people is characterized by achieving high material status. Higher education is less valued as a condition for achieving success. However, in the minds of young people, prestige higher education very high compared to the average.

The attitude towards work is very contradictory. On the one hand, young people generally do not consider work to be one of the most significant values. This is partly explained by the abolition of the ideology of the special social significance of labor and labor education. However, interesting work plays a big role for many. At the same time, the main motive of young people explaining their choice of work is the opportunity to earn more income. This is due to the weakening in the youth consciousness of the connection between money and work in its labor meaning.

Most representatives of today's youth assign a fairly important role to the family, considering it an indispensable condition for happiness. Cohabitation as a way of organization family relations in many ways inferior to marriage. Most people believe that children are a prerequisite for family happiness. Among the main factors ensuring the sustainability and stability of the family, young people name the following: respect and support between spouses, marital fidelity, satisfaction sexual relations, decent income, normal living conditions, living separately from parents and willingness to discuss problems that arise between spouses. The trend is gaining momentum according to which the role of women in the material support of the family is increasing. One can note the increased role of material factors in the functioning of youth families.

Value orientations determine the spiritual core of a person, express his attitude to the world and to himself, influence the direction and content of social activity, fill life with meaning, represent the main channel for a person to assimilate the spiritual culture of society, transform cultural values ​​into incentives and motives for practical behavior, are system-forming element worldview. youth family social educational

In a broad sense, youth is a set of group communities formed according to age and related activities. I.S. Cohn defined youth as “a socio-demographic group identified on the basis of the aggregate age characteristics, features of social status and socio-psychological properties determined by one or another." The definition of the concept of "youth" is interconnected with the characteristics of generational relations in society, with its social structure, including layers, masses and social groups. In this definition, a clear structure is built, the initial link which is the “generation”, then the “class” (or “stratum”) and, finally, the young part of the class - youth.

This conclusion has important methodological significance for defining the concept of “youth”. At the same time, researchers proceed from the fact that in the system of social relations young people do not occupy special place, distributed among various classes and social groups of society, possessing class characteristics to one degree or another. This does not deny the social characteristics of young people, determined by age, socio-psychological, physiological characteristics, specific interests, needs and value orientations. According to this, specific value For the sociological study of youth, there is the question of its age limits. Currently, there are three main approaches to defining these boundaries.

The first, so-called demographic approach, considers youth as a special part of the population, i.e. as people born in a certain year and in certain time included in working life. The chronological boundaries in this case are from 18 to 30 years.

The second approach is statistical, where the basis for determining age boundaries is taken as time indicators of average life expectancy and the length of time from the birth of parents to the birth of their children. In accordance with this, the age of youth is determined by the period from 14 to 30 years.

The third approach is sociological, when the age range is determined by the essence of the object of study, i.e. a specific group of young people, characterized by certain professional, educational, socio-psychological characteristics. Most researchers limit this range to ages from 16 to 30 years, although in some cases a limit of up to 33 and even 40 years is allowed.

Adhering to a generally sociological approach to defining the concept of “youth,” one cannot help but note that this social group reflects complex differentiation social life modern society. Apparently, therefore, various studies characterize the internal structure of youth from different points of view.

In sociology, youth are usually divided into the following age groups:

• a) students of incomplete and complete secondary schools;
• b) youth aged 16 to 19 years;
• c) aged from 20 to 24 years;
• d) from 25 to 30 years.

Based on this, it can be argued that the concept of “youth” includes the following groups of the young population, divided by place in social work.

• - Production workers. Machine operators, farm workers, transport workers, builders. Basically they have special education based on courses and still represent a fairly large group of young people. Although it is 2 times less than among people over 30 years of age, it cannot be ignored, including from the point of view of consumption of public goods.
• - Persons engaged in unskilled and manual labor still represent a fairly large group of young people. Although it is 2 times less than among people over 30 years of age, it cannot be ignored, including from the point of view of consumption of public goods.
• - Technicians, technical support personnel. An actively growing layer of young people in the conditions of computerization of work and the emergence of new professions in servicing modern equipment.
• - A special group of young people consists of managers, realtors, agronomists, livestock specialists, as well as production organizers and specialists in various fields of the economy. This group has the highest level of secondary and higher education.
• - Recently, another group of young people has been actively forming - the scientific and creative intelligentsia. This includes medical workers, teachers and public education and cultural workers. This group has the highest percentage of brain drain.
• - Students are not homogeneous in their age composition and in structure. Firstly, these are schoolchildren studying in secondary schools. Secondly, students of colleges, lyceums, vocational schools. Thirdly, students of secondary vocational and higher educational institutions studying various forms(in-person, part-time, part-time, part-time). The age range of this group of young people is from 14 to 30 years old, their needs are very diverse.

So, youth is that part of the population (aged 14 to 30 years) that is associated with in a modern way life, participates in at least one type of life activity and work and is a bearer and consumer of all modern forms of culture

Of particular value for today's youth is the opportunity to do what they love. As a specific socio-demographic group, youth are characterized, in addition to age, by the presence of a certain place in the structure of society, as well as by the characteristics of social formation and development. Within the framework of the characteristics of the younger generation, one can distinguish main and secondary ones. The main characteristics include physiological, psychological, age and social class. These characteristics are common to all young people. Secondary signs follow from the main ones and appear depending on the type of activity, place of residence and social status of the young person.

N.F. Golovaty identifies the following objective circumstances that determine the special role of youth in the life of society:

• · youth play an important role in national economic production, because is the only source of replenishment of labor resources;
• · youth are the bearers of the intellectual potential of society; they have great abilities for work and creativity in all spheres of life;
• · youth are able to acquire new knowledge, skills, and professions much faster than other social groups, thanks to which they have a greater social and professional perspective.

The role of youth as an object and subject in the historical process of development of society also has its own specifics. Upon joining social life a young person is the object of social influence from the surrounding external environment: family, friends, educational institutions, etc. As he grows up, he learns and begins to engage in creative activities, becoming the subject of socio-economic, political and social transformations.

Youth is a special socio-demographic group that plays an irreplaceable role in society. Youth is the only source of replenishment of labor resources, the bearer of the intellectual potential of society. She is more capable of adapting to new conditions, learning and assimilating new knowledge and skills. The value orientations of young people cannot but influence the life of society as a whole.

Social science. Full course preparation for the Unified State Exam Shemakhanova Irina Albertovna

3.3. Youth as a social group

The youth – 1) a socio-demographic group, identified on the basis of a combination of age characteristics (approximately from 14 to 30 years), characteristics of social status and certain socio-psychological qualities; 2) the most active, mobile and dynamic part of the population, free from stereotypes and prejudices of previous years and possessing the following socio-psychological qualities: mental instability; internal inconsistency; low level of tolerance; the desire to stand out, to be different from the rest; the existence of a specific youth subculture.

Features of the social status of young people: transitivity of position; high level of mobility; mastering new social roles (employee, student, citizen, family man) associated with changes in status; active search your place in life; favorable professional and career prospects.

* From the point of view of leading activities, the period of youth coincides with the completion of education ( educational activities) and entry into working life (work activity).

* From the point of view of psychology, youth is a period of finding one’s self, establishing a person as an individual, unique personality; the process of finding your own special way to achieve success and happiness. Awareness of mistakes shapes his own experience.

* From a legal perspective, youth is the time of civil adulthood (in Russia – 18 years). An adult person receives full legal capacity, i.e. the opportunity to enjoy all the rights of a citizen (voting rights, the right to enter into legal marriage, etc.) At the same time, the young person assumes certain responsibilities (compliance with laws, paying taxes, caring for disabled family members , defense of the Fatherland, etc.).

* From a general philosophical point of view, youth can be considered as a time of opportunity, a time of aspiration to the future. From this position, youth is a period of instability, change, criticality, and a constant search for novelty. The interests of young people lie on a different plane than the interests of older generations: young people, as a rule, do not want to obey traditions and customs - they want to transform the world and establish their innovative values.

Main problems of youth

- V social structure the situation of young people is characterized by transition and instability;

– economic forces most of all influence the situation of young people (young people are not sufficiently provided for financially, do not have their own housing, are forced to rely on financial assistance parents, lack of experience and knowledge prevents them from obtaining highly paid positions, youth wages are much lower than average wages, small and student scholarship). In a situation of economic recession, the number of unemployed in youth environment and it becomes increasingly difficult for young people to achieve a state of economic independence.

– spiritual factors: The process of loss of moral guidelines and erosion of traditional norms and values ​​is intensifying. Young people, as a transitional and unstable social group, are most vulnerable to the negative trends of our time. Thus, the values ​​of labor, freedom, democracy, and interethnic tolerance are gradually leveled out, and these “outdated” values ​​are replaced by a consumerist attitude towards the world, intolerance towards others, and herdism. The protest charge characteristic of young people in times of crisis is distorted, acquiring cruel and aggressive forms. At the same time, an avalanche-like criminalization of youth is occurring, and the number of young people with social deviations, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and prostitution, is growing.

– the problem of fathers and children" is associated with a conflict between the values ​​of young people and the older generation. Generation is an objectively emerging socio-demographic and cultural-historical community of people united by age and common historical living conditions.

Informal groups are characterized the following signs: emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in specific conditions of a social situation; self-organization and independence from official structures; models of behavior that are mandatory for participants and differ from those accepted in society, which are aimed at self-affirmation, giving social status, gaining security and prestigious self-esteem; relative stability, a certain hierarchy among group members; expression of other value orientations or worldviews, behavioral stereotypes that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole; attributes that emphasize belonging to a given community.

Classification of youth groups and movements (depending on the characteristics of youth activities)

1) Aggressive initiative: is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values ​​based on the cult of persons.

2) Shocking amateur performance: is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hairstyle, and in spiritual ones - art, science (punk style, etc.).

3) Alternative amateur activities: is based on the development of alternative, systemically contradictory models of behavior that become an end in themselves (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.).

4) Social activities: aimed at solving specific social problems(environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.).

5) Political activities: aims to change the political system and political situation in accordance with the ideas of a specific group.

Youth policy is a system of government priorities and measures aimed at creating conditions and opportunities for successful socialization and effective self-realization of young people. The purpose of state youth policy – comprehensive development of the potential of youth, which should contribute to the achievement of long-term goals - the social, economic, cultural development of the country, ensuring its international competitiveness and strengthening national security.

Main directions of youth policy

– involving young people in public life, informing them about potential development opportunities;

– development of creative activity of youth, support of talented youth;

– integration of young people who find themselves in difficult life situations into a full life.

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Lecture:

Youth as a social group

Youth is the most active and dynamic social group of people growing up. Throughout history, society's attitude towards youth has changed. There were times when children worked equally with adults for 10-12 hours a day. Before the transition of society to the industrial stage of development, youth were not identified as a separate social group. And in modern society it is a special demographic group, characterized by an age range from 14 to 30-35 years.

Youth is a very important period for a person, when the formation of personality occurs, the acquisition of one’s “I”, the assimilation of knowledge and values, and the mastery of social roles. This is the period of the most important events in life. Firstly, the young man completes his schooling and enters a vocational training educational institution. Secondly, he reaches adulthood, which characterizes his civil formation - the achievement of full legal capacity. Thirdly, he acquires a profession and gets a job. And finally, fourthly, he creates a family.

Let's consider the features of the social status of the youth group:

Transition of position – search for oneself, frequent change of activities and hobbies, formation of social status.

High level of mobility - young people are not tied to a specific place by any obligations, for example, family ones, and actively move along social elevators.

Favorable prospects for choosing a profession and starting a family.

An active search for one’s place in life, tireless experimentation, creative growth.

Mastering new roles, for example, student, employee, family man.

A special psychological make-up, the desire to assert one’s individuality.

The value-orientation orientation of the personality, which different people different. For example, Andrey is interested in music, reading books, visiting museums, and art is his value. Marat is a master of sports in freestyle wrestling, he never spends a day without training, for him the value is sport. Sasha is interested in banking, he knows how and at what price you can buy Sberbank shares, for him the value is money).

Its own subculture, distinguished by a special image, slang, behavior patterns and often subject to criminalization.

Youth problems and youth policy of the Russian Federation

The position of young people in modern society is quite contradictory. On the one hand, youth is the most favorable period for professional development and family formation. But on the other hand, a number of problems arise during this period. Firstly, unemployment and material insecurity among young people who are forced to live at the expense of their parents. Secondly, low wages for employed young people and the inability to purchase their own housing. Thirdly, lack of confidence in the future and postponing the creation of a family “until better times.” These problems reduce the living standards of young people and contribute to the growth of crime, alcoholism, and drug addiction. In addition, modern sociologists note the degradation of the spiritual values ​​of young people. The reason for which is the impact popular culture and Westernization, as well as cultivating the consumer attitude of the younger generation towards everything.

Only the state can solve these problems. Our country has developed a Resolution “On the main directions of youth policy in the Russian Federation.” Its goals are spiritual and physical development youth, banning discrimination based on age, creating conditions for the full inclusion of young people in all spheres of society, supporting talented youth, etc.

Based on these goals, the directions of youth policy are:

ensuring the rights of young people (for example, parents are responsible for ensuring access and creating conditions for their children to receive school education);

guaranteeing employment and employment (the employment service temporarily attracts unemployed youth to public paid work, so that the young person can try himself in something new and, perhaps, find something of his own);

stimulation of entrepreneurial activity (a young person who wants to do business has the right to do this after reaching 16 years of age, for this he needs the written consent of his parents);

support for a young family (in the Russian Federation there are social programs improving the living conditions of young families);

support for talented youth (organization and holding of competitions of various contents aimed at identifying and encouraging talented youth), etc.

Additional materials for the lesson :

Social studies mind map No. 37

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The concept of “youth” as a definition of a socio-demographic group dates back to the end of the 18th - early XIX centuries Before this, young people were not recognized as a special social group. Until the end of the 19th century. the problems of youth were considered indirectly, through the problems of personal development, education of a citizen of a historically specific society, which found a scientific form of expression in philosophy, pedagogy, psychology of the Renaissance, modern times, Western philosophy of the 17th - 18th centuries. The actualization of theoretical studies of youth and the creation of independent concepts of age occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. and was developed in sociological theories of youth. Youth as a special social group was recognized on completely objective grounds, by which it is customary to understand those basic aspects and relationships that determine the functioning, direction of change and development of all other aspects of a given social entity. Concepts of youth in the sociocultural aspect began to be developed in the 50s. XX century such researchers as G. Shelsky, K. Mannheim, A. Tenbruck, S. Eisenstadt.

Today, in the circles of sociologists, the view of youth as a reference socio-demographic group has become established, the most important features of which most authors consider age characteristics and associated features of social status, as well as socio-psychological qualities determined by both, which allows us to talk about multi-level analysis of youth as a social phenomenon. One of the researchers of the problems of the younger generation, S. N. Ikonnikova, identified three levels of description of youth as a social phenomenon:

─ individual psychological – correlation with a specific person;

─ socio-psychological – description of the most significant properties, qualities, interests of individual groups;

─ sociological - a description of the place of youth in the system of material and spiritual production and consumption in the social structure of society.

Youth as part of society is studied in various humanities. The discussion about the definition of youth and the criteria for identifying them as an independent group has a long history. Scientists share different approaches to the subject of study - from the perspective of sociology, psychology, physiology, demography, etc., as well as classification traditions formed within the framework of certain scientific schools.

Researchers Vishnevsky Yu. R., Kovaleva A. I., Lukov V. A. et al. The most typical approaches found in the scientific literature are the following:

─ psychological: youth is the period of development of the human personality between “puberty” (puberty) and “maturity” (full maturity);

─ socio-psychological: youth is a certain age with its own biological and psychological relationships, and as a result - all the characteristics of the age class;

─ conflictological: youth is a difficult, stressful and extremely important period of life, a long-term conflict between the individual and society, a problematic stage in human development;

─ role-playing: youth is a special behavioral phase in a person’s life, when he no longer plays the role of a child, and at the same time is not yet a full-fledged bearer of the role of an “adult”;

─ subcultural: youth are a group with their own specific way of life, lifestyle, cultural norms;

─ stratification: youth are a special socio-demographic group, limited by age, with specific positions, statuses, roles;

─ socialization: youth is a period of social growth, primary socialization;

─ interactionist: youth is one of three states of mind inherent in every person. “Parent” – orientation towards normative behavior, “adult” – orientation towards making adult decisions, “youth” – spontaneity, spontaneity;

─ axiological: youth is a socially significant, important stage in a person’s life cycle. It is at this stage that a system of value orientations of individuals is formed;

─ subjective: youth is a special attitude, focus on the future, optimism;

─ procedural: young people are those who are not completed, not integrated, are in a state of formation, formation.

In accordance with these approaches, scientists are making attempts to isolate and unify the “signs” of youth as a social phenomenon. Based on an analysis of the works of Russian authors, the following characteristics of youth can be identified:

─ age;

─ socio-historical;

─ sociological;

─ spiritual and cultural;

─ socio-psychological;

─ cultural;

Thus, the distinctive social quality of each new generation of youth (or its individual groups) is determined by the characteristics of the personal, objective and procedural aspects of its specific historical existence, which determine the ability to inherit, reproduce and improve the social structure of society. Youth is a socio-demographic group, identified on the basis of a combination of age characteristics (approximately from 16 to 30 years), characteristics of social status and certain socio-psychological qualities. Youth is a specific phase, stage of the human life cycle and is biologically universal. Youth is a period of choosing a profession and one’s place in life, developing a worldview and life values, choosing a life partner, starting a family, achieving economic independence and socially responsible behavior.

Features of the social status of young people:

Transitivity of position.

High level of mobility.

Mastering new social roles (employee, student, citizen, family man) associated with changes in status.

Actively searching for your place in life.

Favorable prospects in professional and career terms.

It is typical for young people to form informal groups, which are characterized by the following features:

Emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in specific conditions of a social situation;

Self-organization and independence from official structures;

Models of behavior that are obligatory for participants and differ from the typical ones accepted in society, which are aimed at realizing life needs that are unsatisfied in ordinary forms (they are aimed at self-affirmation, giving social status, gaining security and prestigious self-esteem);

Relative stability, a certain hierarchy among group members;

Expression of different value orientations or even worldviews, behavioral stereotypes that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;

Attributes that emphasize belonging to a given community.

Depending on the characteristics of youth activities, youth groups and movements can be classified:

Aggressive activity

It is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values, based on the cult of persons. Primitivism, visibility of self-affirmation. Popular among teenagers and young people with a minimum level of intellectual and cultural development.

Shocking activity

It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hairstyle, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenging” aggression on yourself from others in order to be “noticed.”

Alternative activities

It is based on the development of alternative, systemically contradictory models of behavior that become an end in itself.

Social activities

Aimed at solving specific social problems (environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.).

Political activity

Aimed at changing the political system and political situation in accordance with the ideas of a specific group.

Youth social problems, which are the subject of scientific analysis, are divided into two large groups. The first includes specifically youth social problems: determining the essence of youth as a social group, the characteristics of its social position (status), role and place in the social reproduction of society; establishing criteria for its age limits; studying the characteristics of consciousness (needs, interests, values) and methods of activity of the younger generation; research into the specifics of the process of socialization of young people, their socio-professional orientation and adaptation in the team; analysis of social aspects of the activities of informal youth associations and movements.

Another important area of ​​scientific analysis consists of problems that are general sociological and at the same time either primarily concern young people (problems of education, family, marriage), or find specific manifestations in the youth environment (features of education, the development of social and political activity of youth, their role and place in power structures, specifics of social contradictions and conflicts, etc.). Numerous studies allow us to conclude that young people face quite common fundamental contradictions inherent in modern risk societies:

wealth and poverty,

growth of opportunities for self-realization and unemployment,

global subculture and abundance of countercultures,

education and complete illiteracy,

the value of health, the cult of sports and drug addiction, smoking, alcoholism - they are a consequence.

Among the youth problems of the Russian risk society, the following stand out:

decline in real living standards,

significant stratification in terms of financial status,

increase in morbidity, including especially dangerous diseases,

deterioration of the educational infrastructure and quality of educational services,

high unemployment rate,

crisis of a young family,

commercialization of culture,

growth of lack of spirituality and crime among young people.

In conditions when risk turns into the general basis of modernity, the riskological direction in the study of youth becomes promising. Its result was a reasonable conclusion that the dominance of risk in behavior patterns is a general characteristic of modern young generations, and risk is one of the essential properties of youth as a social group. At each stage of its development, society makes certain demands on the younger generation, expressed in the form of social norms, values, morality, etc., and also provides various opportunities for its successful integration into social structures.

The problems faced by young people are related to the position of young people in the social structure, characterized primarily by transition and instability. The social processes that are taking place in modern times only aggravate these problems. Factors influencing the situation of young people:

Economic factors most influence the situation of young people. For the most part, young people are not sufficiently well-off financially, do not have their own housing, and are forced to rely on financial assistance from their parents. The desire to get an education delays the start of working life to a more mature age, and the lack of knowledge and experience prevents people from obtaining highly paid positions. The wages of young people are much lower than the average wage, and student scholarships are extremely small.

If during periods of social stability these problems can generally be solved or mitigated, then during a crisis they become significantly more complicated. In a situation of economic recession, the number of unemployed among young people sharply increases and it becomes increasingly difficult for young people to achieve a state of economic independence.

Spiritual factors are no less important. In modern times, the process of loss of moral guidelines and erosion of traditional norms and values ​​is intensifying. Young people, as a transitional and unstable social group, are most vulnerable to the negative trends of our time. Thus, the values ​​of labor, freedom, democracy, and interethnic tolerance are gradually leveled out, and these “outdated” values ​​are replaced by a consumerist attitude towards the world, intolerance towards others, and herdism. The protest charge characteristic of young people in times of crisis is distorted, acquiring cruel and aggressive forms. At the same time, an avalanche-like criminalization of youth is occurring, and the number of young people with social deviations, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and prostitution, is growing.

The most important spiritual problem remains the problem of “fathers and sons”, associated with the conflict between the values ​​of young people and the older generation.

But there are also deeper, more difficult to determine, and perhaps more significant reasons for suicide in children. To the question: “What can cause a teenager to commit suicide?” schoolchildren usually start talking about problems at school, misunderstanding of parents, conflicts with friends, loneliness, emptiness of life... Suicides due to bad grades and the Unified State Examination have become so frequent in Russia that it is high time to sound the alarm. In the meantime, society is reacting very sluggishly to this misfortune, and parents, with their zeal for forcibly educating their children, only create a favorable situation for their children to voluntarily give up their lives. A study of the problem of suicide among young people shows that in a number of cases, teenagers decided to commit suicide in order to draw the attention of parents and teachers to their problems and protested in such a terrible way against the callousness, indifference, cynicism and cruelty of adults. As a rule, teenagers who are closed and vulnerable in character decide to take such a step because of a feeling of loneliness, their own unnecessary stress and loss of the meaning of life. Timely psychological support and kind participation shown to a person in a difficult life situation would help avoid tragedy.

Young people, on the one hand, are an unprotected group, which is rather a destabilizing force in society, and on the other hand, they are the generation on which the future of the country depends. This special status of youth gives rise to the need for an adequate youth policy that can solve or mitigate existing problems, as well as channel the creative potential of youth into a creative direction.