Youth Culture

Paper Summary:

The social and physical environments are not the only components one has to consider when studying youth and their spaces. On the contrary, research has alluded to something far more important: The perceived environment. This paper looks at literature on the subject, including Gill Valentine's article, "Children should be Seen and not Heard". The paper shows that many youth rely on public places to escape from the adult world and to roam freely with their peers with whom they can relate. It questions therefore whether public places are indeed "public" or whether they are simply places where adults continue to dictate the rules. It argues that youth should feel that they have as much of an important role in society in the development and shaping of culture and the identity of a place as adults. The paper concludes that, unfortunately, regardless of youth's efforts to claim certain spaces, adults still maintain control over the majority of public space.

From the Paper:

"The spaces and places that youth inhabit are essential aspects of their physical, cultural and historical identity. Youth culture is argued to be a system of social relations where articulation of contacts and influences are drawn from power relations, fashions and habits (Massey, 124). Thus, the relations that take place between youth and society have an impact on shaping not only their perceived space but youth's identity and culture as well. The cognitions that youth collect relative to important settings in their lives help shape what has been referred to as their place identity. Place identity evolves, not merely in response to the physical properties of children's surroundings, but also as a product of social roles "their own and others- that help them understand who they are and how they are to behave" (Boocock, 36). This engagement with spaces, places, and people contributes to their competence in, and control over, their world and their culture. Doreen Massey argued that all relations that construct space are in one way or another always instilled with power. It is believed that sometimes adults possess a certain power over controlling youth and their perceptions of their respective environments. Although adults feel this control over place is playing an active role in the safety of youth in today's society, their control is in fact inhibiting the growth of youth today."

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