3 features of the social status of young people. Youth groups and movements can be classified depending on the characteristics of youth initiatives. Signs of informal youth groups

The concept of "youth" as a definition of a socio-demographic group originates from the end of the XVIII - early XIX centuries Prior to this, young people were not recognized as a special social group. Up to late XIX V. youth problems were considered indirectly, through the problems of personality 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 17th - 18th centuries Actualization of theoretical studies of youth, the creation of independent concepts of age occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. and was developed in the sociological theories of youth. Youth as a special social group was recognized on quite objective grounds, by which it is customary to understand those main aspects and relationships that determine the functioning, direction of change and development of all other aspects of this social education. The concepts of youth in the sociocultural aspect began to be developed in the 50s. 20th century such researchers as G. Shelsky, K. Mannheim, A. Tenbruk, S. Eisenstadt.

To date, in the circles of sociologists, a view has been established of youth as a reference socio-demographic group, the most important features of which most authors consider age characteristics and related features. social status, as well as the socio-psychological qualities due to both, which allows us to talk about a 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 describing 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 a part of society is studied by various humanities. The discussion about the definition of youth, the criteria for separating them into an independent group has a long history. Scientists share different approaches to the subject of study - from the standpoint of sociology, psychology, physiology, demography, etc., as well as classification traditions that have formed within certain scientific schools.

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

─ 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 features of the age class;

─ conflictology: youth is a difficult, stressful and extremely important period of life, a long 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 is a group with its own specific way of life, lifestyle, cultural norms;

─ stratified: youth is a special socio-demographic group, limited by age limits, with specific positions, statuses, roles;

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

─ interactionist: youth is one of the three states of the soul 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 life cycle person. It is at this stage that the system of value orientations of individuals is formed;

─ subjective: youth is a special attitude, aspiration for 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 "features" of youth as a social phenomenon. Based on the analysis of the works of Russian authors, the following features of youth can be distinguished:

─ age;

─ socio-historical;

─ sociological;

─ spiritual and cultural;

─ socio-psychological;

─ culturological;

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 concrete 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 old), social status and certain socio-psychological qualities. Youth is a certain 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, creating a family, achieving economic independence and socially responsible behavior.

Features of the social status of youth:

Transition of position.

High level mobility.

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

Active search your place in life.

Favorable professional and career prospects.

Typical for young people is the association in informal groups, which are characterized by the following signs:

The emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in the specific conditions of the social situation;

Self-organization and independence from official structures;

Mandatory for participants and different from the typical, accepted in society, models of behavior that are aimed at the realization of vital needs that are not satisfied 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 other value orientations or even worldview, stereotypes of behavior that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;

An attribute that emphasizes 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.

Outrageous activity

It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hair, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenge” aggression on yourself from other people so that you are “noticeable”.

Alternative activity

It is based on the development of alternative behavioral patterns that are systemically contrary to generally accepted ones, which become an end in itself.

social activities

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

Political activity

It is aimed at changing the political system and the political situation in accordance with the ideas of a particular group.

Youth social problems that are the subject of scientific analysis are divided into two categories. large groups. The first includes specifically youth social problems: defining 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; study of the features of consciousness (needs, interests, values) and ways of activity of the younger generation; study of the specifics of the process of socialization of young people, their social and professional orientation and adaptation in the team; analysis of the social aspects of the activities of informal youth associations and movements.

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

wealth and poverty

growth of opportunities for self-realization and unemployment,

global subculture and an 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 are:

decline in real living standards,

significant stratification according to the level of financial situation,

an increase in morbidity, including especially dangerous diseases,

deterioration of the state of the educational infrastructure and the quality of educational services,

high unemployment,

young family crisis

commercialization of culture,

the growth of lack of spirituality and crime among the youth.

In conditions when risk turns into the general basis of modernity, the riskological direction in the study of young people becomes promising. It resulted in a reasonable conclusion that the dominance of risk in behavior patterns is a common characteristic of today's young generations, and risk is one of the essential properties of young people 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 exacerbate these problems. Factors affecting the situation of young people:

Economic factors most of all influence the situation of young people. For the most part, young people are insufficiently provided for materially, do not have their own housing, are forced to rely on financial assistance parents. The desire to get an education postpones the start of labor activity for more mature age, and the lack of experience and knowledge hinders the receipt of highly paid positions. Youth wages are much lower than the average wages, extremely small and student scholarship.

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

Spiritual factors are equally important. In modern times, the process of the loss of moral guidelines, the erosion of traditional norms and values, is intensifying. Youth as transitional and unstable social group most vulnerable to the negative trends of today. Thus, the values ​​of labor, freedom, democracy, interethnic tolerance are gradually being leveled, and these “obsolete” values ​​are being replaced by a consumer attitude towards the world, intolerance towards strangers, and herding. The protest charge characteristic of young people in times of crisis is distorted, acquiring cruel and aggressive forms. At the same time, there is an avalanche-like criminalization of young people, the number of young people with social deviations, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and prostitution, is growing.

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

But there are deeper, more difficult-to-detect, and perhaps more significant causes of 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, the emptiness of life ... Suicides due to deuces and the exam have become so frequent in Russia that it is high time to sound the alarm. In the meantime, society is reacting to this disaster very sluggishly, and parents, with their zeal for the violent education of their children, only create a favorable situation for the voluntary parting of children with life. A study of the problem of suicide among young people shows that in a number of cases, adolescents 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. Decided to take such a step, as a rule, teenagers who are closed, vulnerable by nature from a feeling of loneliness, their own uselessness of stress and the loss of the meaning of life. Timely psychological support, kind participation rendered to a person in difficult life situation would have helped to avoid tragedy.

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

The youth - this is a socio-demographic group, distinguished on the basis of a combination of age characteristics (approximately from 16 to 25 years 7), characteristics of social status and certain socio-psychological qualities.

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

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

Features of the social status of youth

- Transition of the position.

– High level of mobility.

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

- Active search for your place in life.

- Favorable professional and career prospects.

Young people are 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 tolerance (from lat. tolerantia - patience); the desire to stand out, to be different from the rest; the existence of a specific youth subculture.

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

- emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in the specific conditions of the social situation;

– self-organization and independence from official structures;

- obligatory for the participants and different from the typical, accepted in society, models of behavior that are aimed at the realization of vital needs that are not satisfied 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 other value orientations or even worldview, stereotypes of behavior that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;

- an attribute that emphasizes belonging to a given community.

Youth groups and movements can be classified depending on the characteristics of youth initiatives.

The acceleration of the pace of development of society causes an increase in the role of young people in public life. Including in social relations young people modify them and, under the influence of the transformed conditions, improve themselves.

Job Sample

A1. Choose the correct answer. Are the following statements about psychological features youth?

A. For a teenager, first of all, external events, actions, friends are important.

B. In adolescence greater value acquires inner world man, the discovery of his own "I".

1) only A is true

2) only B is true

3) both statements are correct

4) both judgments are wrong

Answer: 3.

Topic 13. Ethnic communities

Modern humanity is a complex ethnic structure, including several thousand ethnic communities (nations, nationalities, tribes, ethnic groups, etc.), differing both in number and level of development. All ethnic communities of the world are part of more than two hundred countries. Therefore, most modern states are polyethnic. For example, several hundred ethnic communities live in India, and there are 200 peoples in Nigeria. As part of Russian Federation currently more than a hundred ethnic groups, including about 30 nations.

ethnic community - it is a stable set of people (tribe, nationality, nation, people) that has historically developed in a certain territory, possessing common features And stable features culture, language, mental make-up, self-consciousness and historical memory, as well as awareness of their interests and goals, their unity, difference from other similar entities.

There are different approaches to understanding the essence of ethnic groups.

Types of ethnic communities

Genus - a group of blood relatives leading their origin along the same line (maternal or paternal) 9 .

Tribe - a set of genera, interconnected by common features of culture, awareness of a common origin, as well as a common dialect, the unity of religious ideas, rituals.

Nationality - a historically established community of people, united by a common territory, language, mental warehouse, culture.

Nation - a historically established community of people, characterized by developed economic ties, a common territory and a common language, culture, ethnic identity.

In sociology, the concept is widely used ethnic minorities , which includes more than just quantitative data.

The features of an ethnic minority are as follows:

- its representatives are in a disadvantageous position compared to other ethnic groups due to discrimination(belittling, belittling, infringement) on the part of other ethnic groups;

- its members experience a certain sense of group solidarity, "belonging to a single whole";

– it is usually to some extent physically and socially isolated from the rest of society.

The natural prerequisite for the formation of one or another ethnic group was community of territory because it created the necessary conditions for the joint activities of people. However, in the future, when the ethnos has formed, this feature loses its main significance and may be completely absent. So, some ethnic groups and in the conditions diaspora(from Gr. diaspora - dispersion) retained their identity, not having a single territory.

Another important condition for the formation of an ethnos is common language. But even this sign cannot be considered universal, since in a number of cases (for example, the USA), an ethnos is formed in the course of the development of economic, political and other ties, and common languages ​​are the result of this process.

More stable feature ethnic community- the unity of such components of spiritual culture as values , norms and patterns of behavior, as well as related socio-psychological characteristics of consciousness and behavior of people.

An integrative indicator of the existing socio-ethnic community is ethnic identity - a sense of belonging to a particular ethnic group, awareness of one's unity and difference from other ethnic groups.

An important role in the development of ethnic self-consciousness is played by ideas about a common origin, history, historical destinies, as well as traditions, customs, rituals, folklore, i.e. such elements of culture that are passed down from generation to generation and form a specific ethnic culture.

Thanks to ethnic self-awareness, a person keenly feels the interests of his people, compares them with the interests of other peoples, the world community. Awareness of ethnic interests induces a person to activities in the process of which they are realized.

Note two sides national interests:

– it is necessary to preserve its peculiarity, originality in the flow of human history, the uniqueness of its culture, language, strive for population growth, providing a sufficient level economic development;

- it is necessary not to psychologically isolate oneself from other nations and peoples, not to turn state borders into an "iron curtain", one should enrich one's culture with contacts, borrowings from other cultures.

Ethno-national communities develop from a clan, tribe, nation, reaching the level of a nation-state.

A derivative of the concept of "nation" is the term nationality, which is used in Russian as the name of a person's belonging to any ethnic group.

Many modern researchers consider an interethnic nation to be a classic, in which general civic qualities come to the fore and, at the same time, the features of its constituent ethnic groups are preserved - language, their own culture, traditions, and customs.

Interethnic, civil nation is a set (community) of citizens of a state. Some scientists believe that the formation of such a nation means the "end of the nation" in the ethnic dimension. Others, recognizing the nation-state, believe that it is necessary to talk not about the "end of the nation", but about its new qualitative state.

Job Sample

B6. Read the text below with a number of words missing. Choose from the proposed list of words that you want to insert in place of the gaps. “The concepts of “__________” (1) and “ethnos” are similar, therefore their definitions are similar. Lately the term “ethnos” (which is more precise) is increasingly used in ethnography, sociology and political science. There are three types of ethnicity. For __________(2), the main reason for uniting people into one __________(3) is blood and family ties and a common ___________(4). With the emergence of states, __________ (5) appear, consisting of people, bound friend with a friend not by blood relationship, but by economic and cultural relations of a territorial-neighborly type. During the period of bourgeois socio-economic relations, __________ (6) is formed - an ethno-social organism, united by ties of a cultural, linguistic, historical, territorial-political nature and having, according to the English historian D. Hosking, "a common sense of fate"".

The words in the list are given in the nominative case, singular. Choose sequentially one word after another, mentally filling in each gap with words. Note that there are more words in the list than you need to fill in the gaps.

A) origin

B) community

E) nationality

G) nationality

I) diaspora

The table below shows the pass numbers. Write under each number the letter corresponding to the word you have chosen.

Transfer the resulting sequence of letters to the answer sheet.

Answer: DBVAEG.

Reaches physical maturity at an average of 14 years. Around this age, in ancient societies, children underwent the rite initiation- initiations into the number of adult members of the tribe. However, as society became more advanced and complex, it took more than just physical maturity to be considered an adult. It is assumed that an accomplished person should receive necessary knowledge about the world and society, to acquire professional skills, to learn how to independently provide for oneself and one's own, etc. Since the amount of knowledge and skills in the course of history has continuously increased, the moment of acquiring the status of an adult was gradually pushed back to a later age. Currently, this moment corresponds to about 30 years.

youth It is customary to call the period in a person's life from 14 to 30 years - between childhood and adulthood.

Accordingly, representatives of the demographic group whose age fits into these time frames are called youth. However, age is not the decisive criterion for defining youth: the temporal boundaries of youth age are mobile and determined by the social and cultural conditions of growing up. For a correct understanding of the characteristics of young people, attention should be focused not on the demographic criterion, but on the socio-psychological one.

The youth is a generation of people going through the stage of growing up, i.e. the formation of the individual, the assimilation of knowledge, social values ​​and norms necessary in order to take place as a full-fledged and full member of society.

Youth has a number of features that distinguish it from other ages. By its very nature, youth is transitional"suspended" state between childhood and adulthood. In some matters, young people are quite mature, serious and responsible, while in others they are naive, limited and infantile. This duality determines a number of contradictions and problems inherent in this age.

growing up- this is primarily the assimilation of knowledge and skills and the first attempts to apply them in practice.

If we consider youth from the point of view of leading activities, then this period coincides with the end of education (learning activities) and entry into working life ().

System youth policy is made up of three components:

• legal conditions for the implementation of youth policy (ie the relevant legal framework);
• forms of youth policy regulation;
• information and material and financial support of youth policy.

The main directions of youth policy are:

• involvement of 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 a difficult life situation into a full life.

These areas are implemented in a number of specific programs: legal advice, popularization of universal human values, propaganda, organization of international interaction between young people, support for volunteer initiatives, assistance in finding employment, strengthening young families, increasing civic engagement, helping young people in difficult situations, etc. If desired, every young person is able to find in the means mass media all necessary information about current projects and choose those that can help in solving his specific problems.

The youth- this is a socio-demographic group, distinguished on the basis of a combination of age characteristics (approximately from 16 to 25 years), characteristics of social status and certain socio-psychological qualities.

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

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

Features of the social status of youth

Transition of position.

High level of mobility.

Mastering new social roles (worker, student, citizen, family man) associated with a change in status.

Active search for your place in life.

Favorable professional and career prospects.

Young people are 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 (from lat. tolerantia - patience); the desire to stand out, to be different from the rest; the existence of a specific youth subculture.

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

The emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in the specific conditions of the social situation;

Self-organization and independence from official structures;

Mandatory for participants and different from the typical, accepted in society, models of behavior that are aimed at the realization of vital needs that are not satisfied 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 other value orientations or even worldview, stereotypes of behavior that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;

An attribute that emphasizes belonging to a given community.

Depending on the characteristics of amateur performances of youth, it is possible to classify youth groups and movements.

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.

outrageous(fr. epater - to amaze, surprise) amateur performance. It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hair, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenge” aggression on yourself from other people so that you are “noticeable” (punk style, etc.)

Alternative activity. It is based on the development of alternative behavioral patterns that are systemically contradictory to generally accepted models of behavior, which become an end in itself (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.)

Social self-activity. 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 the political situation in accordance with the ideas of a particular group

The acceleration of the pace of development of society leads to an increase in the role of youth in public life. Involving in social relations, young people modify them and, under the influence of the transformed conditions, improve themselves.

2. Typology of political regimes.

Political regime- a set of methods for exercising power and achieving political goals.

Characteristics political regime:

scope of rights and human freedoms,

implementation methods state power,

the nature of the relationship between the state and society,

the presence or absence of society's ability to influence political decision-making,

ways of formation political institutions,

· Methods of making political decisions.

2. Classification of political regimes

Features of the social status of youth

Theme 12. Youth as a social group

Youth is a socio-demographic group distinguished on the basis of a combination of age characteristics (approximately from 16 to 25 years old, some researchers include people under 30 years old in youth), social status and certain socio-psychological qualities.

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

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

Transition of position.

High level of mobility.

Mastering new social roles (worker, student, citizen, family man) associated with a change in status.

Active search for your place in life.

Favorable professional and career prospects.

Young people are 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 (from lat. tolerantia - patience); the desire to stand out, to be different from the rest; the existence of a specific youth subculture.

Typical for young people is the association in informal groups, which are characterized by the following features:

The emergence on the basis of spontaneous communication in the specific conditions of the social situation;

Self-organization and independence from official structures;

Mandatory for participants and different from the typical, accepted in society, models of behavior that are aimed at the realization of vital needs that are not satisfied 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 other value orientations or even worldview, stereotypes of behavior that are uncharacteristic of society as a whole;

An attribute that emphasizes belonging to a given community.

Youth groups and movements can be classified depending on the characteristics of youth initiatives.

The acceleration of the pace of development of society causes an increase in the role of young people in public life. Involving in social relations, young people modify them and, under the influence of the transformed conditions, improve themselves.

Job Sample

I A1. Choose the correct answer. Are the following judgments about the psychological characteristics of young people correct? A. For a teenager, first of all, external events, actions, friends are important.

B. In adolescence, the inner world of a person, the discovery of one's own "I", becomes more important.

1) only A is true

2) only B is true

3) both statements are correct

4) both judgments are wrong