A. Features of the social status of young people

Group - association of people with common interests, which influence each other. In groups they satisfy communication needs; master the skills of living with other people; learn certain statistical and behavioral norms; are attracted to certain subcultures. Subculture is understood as a set of specific socio-psychological characteristics that influence the style of life and thinking. separate groups people and allow them to realize and assert themselves as different from other representatives of society. Subcultures refer to stylized mechanisms of personality socialization.

As a result of teenagers and young people’s rejection of youth and economic reforms, social and spiritual values of the state, and the exacerbation of their own problems, they began to unite in various groups

By legal status groups (associations) are divided into formal (officially recognized) and informal (exist spontaneously); mostly informal associations appear as a protest against existing orders and a search for more equitable forms of communication.

Having analyzed the reasons why teenagers and young people end up in informal groups, scientists have identified the main ones:

Need for friends;

A desire to experience the unusual, including modern trends in art;

Failure in school and alienation from the school community;

Lack of interest in anything, inactivity, indifference to study;

The need for emotional impressions;

Lack of individual approach at school;

Neglect, loneliness, abandonment, defenselessness;

Originality of impressions received in the group, freedom;

The opportunity to protest against something;

Inaccessibility of education;

Lack of employment and others;

According to social orientation, groups are divided into:

1 prosocial. Among members of social subcultures, norms of behavior do not contradict generally accepted

2. Antisocial, in which the group culture is opposed to social norms, and its carriers are distinguished by destructive behavior aimed at destroying established norms and values public life

3. Asocial groups in which there is a transformation of universal human norms. Carriers are characterized by deviant behavior that does not coincide with social norms and values accepted in society. A separate subgroup consists of criminogenic groups, which are united on the basis of activities that are antisocial in nature. There are three levels of development of criminal groups.

1. Antisocial (pre-zlochinni) groups of teenagers with a focus on antisocial activities. Such groups arise at the place of residence, they are characterized by an indefinite pastime, antisocial behavior: gambling, drunkenness, minor offenses. IN in full force members of the group do not commit offenses. To do this, they do not have a leader and the group is not united.

2. Criminal groups are characterized by criminal orientation of value orientations. Drunkenness, debauchery, and greed become the norm. The group moves on to crimes that are more significant to society. However, the group does not prepare for criminal activity in advance. Criminal activity is not organized.

3. Criminal groups. In groups there is a guiding center - the leader, there are unwritten laws and values, sanctions. The composition of the group is permanent, a crime plan is being developed. Members of the group have bladed weapons and are capable of scurrying around thefts, robberies, violence, robbery and attacks.

Peculiar signs of subculture in informal associations:

Specific value orientations and norms of behavior;

Peculiar hobbies, tastes;

Special ways to spend time;

Jargons;

Features of clothing and appearance

It’s not fashionable to be ordinary among children these days; you need to stand out from the crowd. Out-of-school education at this stage is not widespread, so schoolchildren after school (until their parents see) take up weapons in their hands, scour dangerous areas, imitating non-childish games. There is a diverse number of groups among which it is possible to define tactics.

. Shocking amateur groups . The purpose of joining such groups is to belong to an elite subculture. Typical representatives are punks, majors, washers, bikers, goths, emo

Punks are marked by rooster hairstyles (Mohawks), painted hair in different colour, a leather jacket on a naked body, coarse jargon, causing behavioral

Bikers ride motorcycles without mufflers, high speed, mostly at night, do not have a driving license

Majors wear clothes from foreign countries, drive expensive cars, like to drive fast, and lead an active lifestyle

Postiray emphasize disrespectful attitude towards others, block active activity

Grouping. Emo brings together children who are not afraid of death and disregard the rules; they can be recognized by their black and pink clothing and the obligatory bangs on the forehead. Emo - from the word "emotion" These are those who are not hidden in their feelings, they laugh and cry loudly. Main danger black and pink teenagers - a cult of suicide. Children don't even hide it. Adults. Emos prove suicide to the end, murder to the end.

. Amateur cultural groups aimed at creating new artistic values. Most widespread received by hippies, musicians who create music on the computer, rockers (Beatlemaniacs, obscurantists, hardrockers, metalheads, breakers), and etalists - supporters of metal rock are divided into: heavy metal rock (heavy metal rock), black metal rock (black metal rock), high-speed metal rock (speed metal rock), professing the cult of sat ani, calling for violence, cruelty, cyber-punks - people who are passionate about computers.

Members of the hippie group have an interest in denim clothing. They wear long hair parted in the middle, with a thin bandage at the head. Their philosophy is based inner freedom, independence from society smells of pacifism, they oppose military service, they believe in meditation, their clothing and behavior are explained by the desire not to break away from nature.

. Social groups . The activities of such groups are aimed at solving social problems - ecologists, ecoculturists, ethnoculturists, mutual support groups, internationalists, etc.

. Political amateur groups - political clubs, social initiative funds. The activity is aimed at changing the political situation and political conditions in the country

Aggressive amateur groups

Sports fans are a group of people who are united by reverence for football players

Right-wing extremists are neo-fascists and copy the image. Hitler, have reactionary views

Livo extremists - supporters of Soviet politicians

. Graffiti . Representatives of this group depict certain symbols and statements on the walls of houses, fences, in elevators anywhere. In this way they express protest against certain social norms, individuals, and also assert themselves through symbolic identification with their favorite sports teams, musical groups or currents.

When working with such teenagers and young people, a social educator needs to know the characteristics of each group, each member. It is necessary to collect data about existing groups in the microenvironment, identify their members, find out interests, their level, ideals, beliefs, desires, find out the structure of the group, rules for admission to it, the nature of leadership, relationships between members.

The spiritual crisis obliges philosophers and sociologists to look for the foundations for the competent development and education of the new generation. Young people need support and attention, because without this there will be no development of the country. This, in turn, requires an understanding of how the socialization of young people occurs and their assimilation of the values of society.

general characteristics

Youth like social group, characterized by a dependent social status, insufficient personal independence when making decisions regarding one’s life; the severity of the problem of choice professional path, life partner, moral and spiritual self-determination; active formation of subjectivity as self-identification, awareness of one’s interests, growth of one’s organization, and great intellectual potential.

The entry of an individual into a social group of youth is characterized by active development self-awareness, reflection on oneself and the world. There is an expansion of human living space. An awareness of the future sets in, a life perspective appears, and professional intentions emerge.

The meaning of ideals

Awareness of the need to determine personal goals in life, intensified search life guidelines through ideals and values is a feature of this age. Based on this, psychologist Viktor Frankl considered it dangerous to “protect” young people from value and ideological influence under the pretext of preserving the independence of their worldview and inner peace(homeostasis with the social environment), since the existential vacuum at this age turns into destructive forms social activity. It is among young people that the perception of new ideals and values, their internalization, causes not internal conflict, but satisfaction. Psychological stress, associated with such internalization, contributes to the development of personality, the formation of self-confidence and the ability to overcome difficulties. V. Frankl’s conclusions are confirmed by a study conducted under the direction of V.I. Chuprov and Yu.A. Zubok, the results of which turned out that 64.2% of young people in Russia consider it important for themselves to have ideals, and only 28.6% believe that ideals interfere with a person’s life.

In a study conducted by Professor V.I. Kuznetsov in 2006, 52% of respondents considered themselves to be among those who have ideals, and only 13.2% indicated that they did not have them. However, 34.8% of respondents found it difficult to answer this question. Only 28.5% have ideals that coincide with the ideals of their parents, 31% do not coincide, and 40.5% (!) could not decide on this either.

In search of stability

On the one hand, there is an increasing focus on social continuity, including the centuries-old experience of Russian culture, on the other hand, on innovation and evolutionism. However, in modern conditions these two orientations often do not complement each other, but appear in parallel and may come into conflict. As a result, a discreteness of the value field of the individual arises, which leads to the undermining of “ontological security”, that is, according to E. Giddens, the state of people’s confidence in the constancy of the surrounding social and material world in which they live and act. New opportunities are opening up for young people to manage living space, time, money, education, and choosing a form labor activity, career, but there is always a risk of losing these benefits. This situation strengthens the relativism of values in the minds of young people and distrust of ideals, which hinders the formation of the meaning of life, the implementation of a sustainable life strategy, i.e. normal functioning of personal values.

In the modern living conditions of the younger generation, characterized by uncertainty, social innovation necessarily manifests itself in the form of risk. Therefore, self-confidence is replaced by apprehension, fear of change and the desire for stability, which society cannot provide to him.

Since young people are simultaneously the object and subject of socialization, instability in the ways a young person achieves social status is spreading, which is also reflected in the process of internalization of values, because Young people are becoming alienated from historical experience, traditional values, and culturally established forms and methods of social participation. This undermines the sense of “ontological security.” Then a contradiction arises between the objectively inherent desire of young people to occupy appropriate positions in the social structure, to acquire a certain social status and obstacles to its effective integration into society that arise in conditions of social instability and crisis. This contradiction can be resolved by changing the content of socialization, during which not only ready-made models of social participation are laid down, but also the ability to discursively assess changes, separate the situational from the permanent, and identify objectively destructive and constructive social processes.

Lacking sufficient resources and cognitive potential, the ability to influence the transformation of social structure and institutional norms develops latently and manifests itself, in most cases, upon transition to older age groups, in which the synergy of resources, symbolic capital and sociocultural potential of the individual significantly enhances the individual’s participation in social process as a subject.

Features of further socialization

Thus, the features of the formation of youth as agents of social relations are determined by a number of factors. Firstly, there is an increase in uncertainty, both in the individual himself and in the construction of relationships with the outside world; contradictions in the structuring of values associated with the search for the meaning of life, disappointment in certain values, intrapersonal conflicts, and contradictions of past stages of socialization are intensifying.

Secondly, the need to plan a life strategy based on stable social connections, join new social groups, develop a long-term life position, and accumulate social capital is becoming more urgent.

Thirdly, the incompleteness of the internalization of values and, as a consequence, the inconsistency of the value structure of the individual prevent him from adequately constructing and developing social life.

Fourthly, the state of the individual young man characterized by high dynamics of the value system and active internalization of values. Therefore, young people do not have the opportunity (often the desire) to set long-term goals consistent with the social environment and plan adequate ways to achieve them. As a result, the personality of a modern young man is more inclined to conformism than to inculcate and achieve radical goals, including those related to the destruction of social order.

Fifthly, a young person, finding himself in many new social situations, may experience dissatisfaction, disagreement with circumstances, or protest against established norms. However, the incomplete crystallization of values prevents the realization of these aspirations and limits reflection, the ability of self-esteem and sustainable self-organization. Therefore, a young person strives to overcome the boundaries of the information field in which an individual and a group operate in order to build or expand the real and symbolic space of the life world.

Transgressiveness of youth consciousness

An important characteristic of consciousness that influences the internalization of values among young people is transgressiveness, which is expressed, as the above-mentioned Chuprov and Zubok write, in “ system of attitudes of young people to transfer these models into their lives, due to the lack of stable imperatives in society, the devaluation of the proclaimed value-normative models and social experience» .

Thus, transgressive ideas about what is proper and significant in the future, including those based on intuition, form the basis for the formation of terminal values and social identities of young people.

Consequently, the formation of the weight and significance of values among young people is based not only on correlating the value with the possibilities of its actualization in the present, but also on predicting the possibilities of including values in long-term life strategies, predicting the dynamics of the significance of their living conditions, social connections, and personal properties. " Behavioral strategies of young people are focused not so much on the demands of today’s already elusive world, but rather on the demands of tomorrow – not yet clear and expressed, but predictable» .

A study by the Center for Sociology of Youth at the Institute of Socio-Political Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences was conducted in 2006 in 12 regions of the Russian Federation, 2000 people were surveyed. (director Yu.A. Zubok).

Kuznetsov V.I. Youth at the turn of the century // Sociological Research. - Rostov-n/D: RSU, 2008. P.46.

Zubok Yu.A., Chuprov V.I. Social regulation under conditions of uncertainty. Theoretical and applied problems in youth research. - M.: Academia, 2008.P. 62.

Right there. P. 65.

Alexander Ogorodnikov

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 look at the features social status 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 wage busy 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 of mass culture and Westernization, as well as the cultivation of the younger generation's consumer attitude 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 the spiritual and physical development of youth, the prohibition of discrimination based on age, the creation of conditions for the full inclusion of young people in all spheres of society, support for 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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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 - to amaze, 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. By getting involved in social relations, young people modify them and, under the influence of transformed conditions, improve themselves.

Problems Russian youth, in their essence, represent problems not only of the modern young generation, but also of the entire society as a whole, on the solution of which not only today, but also the future of our society depends. These problems, on the one hand, are interrelated and come from objective processes occurring in modern world- processes of globalization, informatization, urbanization, etc.. On the other hand, they have their own specifics, mediated by modern Russian reality and the youth policy pursued towards youth.

The most pressing problems for modern Russian youth, in our opinion, are problems related to the spiritual and moral sphere of life. The process of formation of modern Russian youth took place and is taking place in the context of the breakdown of “old” values Soviet period and formation new system values and new social relations. In the conditions of a systemic crisis of modern Russian society and its main institutions, which has affected all spheres of life, institutions of socialization (family and family education, education and training systems, institutions of labor and work, the army), the state itself. Actively planting and replacing the foundations of the existence of civil society with the standards of a consumer society, educating a young person, not as a citizen, but as a simple consumer of certain goods and services. There is a tendency towards dehumanization and demoralization of the content of art (lowering, deformation, destruction of the image of a person), replacing the norms of value of high culture with average samples of mass consumer culture, reorienting young people from collectivist spiritual values to selfish individual values. This, as well as the lack of a clearly formulated national idea and unifying ideology, a development strategy that consolidates society, insufficient attention to the cultural development of the population, and the inconsistency of state youth policy naturally leads us to extremely negative consequences.

Against the background of the ideological uncertainty of young people (their lack of ideological foundations of meaning orientation and socio-cultural identification), commercialization and the negative influence of the media (forming the “image” of the subculture), the ongoing spiritual aggression of the West and the expansion of mass commercial culture, the imposition of standards and the psychology of the consumer society, what is happening is primitivization of the meaning of human existence, moral degradation of the individual and a decrease in the value of human life. There is an erosion of the value foundations and traditional forms of public morality, a weakening and destruction of the mechanisms of cultural continuity, a threat to the preservation of the originality of national culture, and a decrease in the interest of young people in national culture, its history, traditions, and bearers of national identity.

Speaking about the youth sociocultural environment, of course, one cannot fail to note its certain positive features. Modern youth in general are very patriotic and believe in the future of Russia. Speaks out for the continuation of changes towards increasing the socio-economic well-being of the country, the creation of civil society and rule of law. She wants to live in a great country that provides a decent life for its citizens and respects their rights and freedoms. “Young people adapt more easily to new economic conditions; they have become more rational, pragmatic and realistic, focused on sustainable development and creative work.” . She has much greater freedom to choose a profession, patterns of behavior, life partners, and style of thinking, compared to her peers 20-30 years ago. But this, as they say, is one side of the coin.

The other side of it shows that the ongoing " Time of Troubles", most acutely affected the younger generation. Our society is rapidly aging, the number of young people, the number of young families, and the number of children born are declining. Each new generation of young people turns out to be less healthy than the previous one; diseases have “moved” from old age to youth, threatening the gene pool of the nation. The socio-economic pressure on jobs has increased in order to ensure the life of all generations; The intellectual potential of young people and the innovative capabilities of society are rapidly declining. Young people turned out to be the most socially disadvantaged part of society. There is a clear conflict between the interests of young people and the real opportunities for social mobility. There has been a sharp differentiation and social polarization of young people based on property stratification, social origin and own social status of young people. Possessing social, age and subcultural characteristics of different communities, they differ in material capabilities, value orientations, lifestyle and lifestyle. The question arose about the life prospects of young people: their creative self-realization (education, profession, career), well-being, and the ability to financially provide for their future family. There are problems of youth employment, deterioration of their financial and living situation, and access to education. The youth environment has become a dangerous crime zone. There has been a sharp rejuvenation of crime, an increase in its group nature, and an increase in the number of “female” crimes and crimes committed by minors. Each new generation of youth, in comparison with previous generations, in terms of the main indicators of social status and development: is much less spiritually and culturally developed, more immoral and criminal, distant from knowledge and education, less professionally trained and work-oriented.

In a society where material well-being and enrichment become the priority goals of its existence, the culture and value orientations of young people are formed accordingly. Consumer orientations prevail in the sociocultural values of modern youth. The cult of fashion and consumption is gradually and gradually taking over the consciousness of young people, acquiring a universal character. A tendency to strengthen the processes of standardization of cultural consumption and leisure behavior, approved by a passive consumer attitude towards culture, is beginning to prevail. It is impossible not to note the emphasized apoliticality of young people, who soberly and without false hopes assess the attitude towards themselves on the part of the state and society as indifferent and openly consumerist. “77% of respondents believe that: - “When necessary, they remember us.” Maybe that’s why today’s young generation has withdrawn into its own little world. Young people are absorbed in the internal problems of survival in difficult and cruel times. They strive to receive the culture and education that will help them survive and succeed.” .

According to the results of the Foundation's surveys Public Opinion conducted in 2002, 53% of young Russians answered the question: “What life goals, in your opinion, most often sets itself modern youth?”, first of all, noted her desire to achieve material well-being and enrichment; secondly (19%) - getting an education; in third place (17%) – work and career. (See Table 1). Analysis of the data obtained indicates a clear pragmatic and rational position of young people, their desire to achieve material well-being and successful career, interconnected with the possibility of obtaining good vocational education.

Table 1. “Goals modern youth»

Modern youth in general are characterized by a change in the direction of life orientations from the social (collectivist) component to the individual. “The personal value position of young people does not correlate with the values political ideology which they prefer." Material well-being began to be valued much higher than freedom, the value of wages began to prevail over the value interesting work. Among social problems, most of all worrying young people at the present time, in the first place are such problems as: increased crime, rising prices, inflation, increased level of corruption power structures, increasing income inequality and social inequality, division between rich and poor, environmental problems, passivity of citizens, their indifferent attitude to what is happening. The problems experienced by young people are brought to the fore material security and health, although the orientation towards a healthy lifestyle is not actively formed.

The dominant values in the value system of modern youth are money, education and profession, business career, and the opportunity to live for pleasure (see Table 2).

Table 2. Distribution of basic values of young people .

According to the results of an expert study conducted in 2007 by the Pitirim Sorokin Foundation, the hierarchy of dominant values of young Russians is built as follows:

Material well-being.

The value of “I” (individualism).

Career (self-realization).

At the same time, analyzing the current state of Russian society, it was noted that the place of values in Russia is largely occupied by anti-values. Among the value systems that dominate today in Russian society, experts noted the following anti-values:

Cult of money;

Indifference and individualism.

Permissiveness.

Characterizing the youth consciousness and value system of modern Russian youth, sociologists highlight:

Mainly entertainment and recreational orientation of her life values and interests;

Westernization of cultural needs and interests, displacement of the values of national culture by Western patterns of behavior and symbols;

Priority of consumer orientations over creative, constructive ones;

Weak individualization and selectivity of culture associated with the dictates of group stereotypes;

Extra-institutional cultural self-realization;

Lack of ethnocultural self-identification.

The dominance of consumer value orientations inevitably affects the life strategy of young people. Data from the analysis of results conducted in 2006 - 2007 by the Department of Youth Sociology of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov's sociological research among students showed that: “Currently, among young people, in society, one can find ambiguously assessed life principles. The data obtained allow us to draw a conclusion about troubles among young people and require more detailed study. Noteworthy is the rather high degree of indifference of young people to such traditionally negative phenomena as opportunism, indifference, unscrupulousness, consumerism, an idle lifestyle and their positive assessment.” (See Table 3).

Table 3. List of phenomena encountered among young people

All of the above problematic features of the modern youth socio-cultural environment clearly indicate an alarming trend of deep and systemic social degradation of a significant part of modern Russian youth, in particular, and our entire society as a whole. The youth environment clearly copies and mirrors all the most significant processes taking place in our society. A systemic crisis in which our society and state are still in, which have not clearly and clearly formulated national idea and not defining their development strategy, led to their loss of the meaning of their own existence and immediately affected the youth environment. In it, as in modern Russian society, in general, there is definitely no single established system and hierarchy of values. At the same time, one can observe the coexistence of two processes: both the continuity of traditional values historically inherent in our society, and the formation, mass spread of new liberal (consumer) interests, the triumph of anti-values. The improvement of the youth environment, which carries out the formation of value orientations of modern Russian youth, can, in our opinion, be carried out by improving the system, forms, and methods of implementing youth policy in Russian Federation.

Social organization(from French. organization, from late Latin. organizo - I give a slender appearance, I arrange) - historically established orderly system of activity of society and people; a historically established orderly system of social relations, for example, economic organization society, military organization of society, political organization society, etc.

Main difference social organization from social institution is that the institutional form public relations enshrined in the norms of law and morality, and organizational form In addition to institutional ones, it also includes ordered relationships, but which are not yet fixed by existing norms.

Related information.

The youth is a socio-demographic group, identified 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 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

– Transitional position.

– High level of mobility.

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

– Active search for your place in life.

– Favorable prospects in professional and career terms.

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 Latin 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 specific conditions of a social situation;

– self-organization and independence from official structures;

– obligatory for participants and different from typical, accepted in society, behavior patterns that 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 other 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.

Sample assignment

A1. Choose the correct answer. Are the following judgments about the psychological characteristics of young people true?

A. For a teenager, external events, actions, and friends are primarily important.

B. In adolescence, it becomes more important inner world person, the discovery of one’s own “I”.

1) only A is correct

2) only B is correct

3) both judgments are correct

4) both judgments are incorrect

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 size and level of development. All the ethnic communities of the world are part of more than two hundred countries. Therefore, most modern states are multi-ethnic. For example, India is home to several hundred ethnic communities, while Nigeria is home to 200 peoples. The Russian Federation currently includes more than a hundred ethnic groups, including about 30 nations.

Ethnic community - is a historically established stable collection of people (tribe, nationality, nation, people) in a certain territory, possessing general features and stable characteristics of culture, language, mental makeup, self-awareness and historical memory, as well as awareness of their interests and goals, their unity, and differences from other similar entities.

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

Types of ethnic communities

Clan is a group of blood relatives descending from the same line (maternal or paternal) 9 .

Tribe - a set of clans interconnected by common cultural features, awareness of a common origin, as well as a common dialect, unity of religious ideas and rituals.

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

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

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

The characteristics of an ethnic minority are as follows:

– its representatives are at a disadvantage compared to other ethnic groups due to discrimination(belittlement, belittlement, infringement) from others 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, since it created the necessary conditions for joint activities of people. However, later, when the ethnic group has formed, this feature loses its main meaning and may be completely absent. Thus, some ethnic groups and in conditions diaspora(from the gr. diaspora - dispersion) retained their identity without having a single territory.

Another important condition for the formation of an ethnic group is community of language. But this feature cannot be considered universal, since in a number of cases (for example, the United States), an ethnic group takes shape during the development of economic, political and other ties, and common languages are the result of this process.

More stable sign 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 people’s consciousness and behavior.

An integrative indicator of an established 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-awareness 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 on from generation to generation and form a specific ethnic culture.

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

Let's mark two sides national interests:

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

– it is necessary psychologically not to fence yourself off from other nations and peoples, not to turn state borders into an “iron curtain”, you should enrich your culture with contacts and borrowings from other cultures.

Ethnonational communities develop from clan, tribe, nation, reaching the level of nation-state.

A derivative of the concept “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 a classic interethnic nation, in which general civic qualities come to the fore and at the same time the characteristics of the ethnic groups included in it are preserved - language, their own culture, traditions, customs.

Interethnic, civic nation is a totality (community) of citizens of a particular 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 we should talk not about the “end of the nation,” but about its new qualitative state.

Sample assignment

B6. Read the text below, in which a number of words are missing. Select from the list provided the words that need to be inserted in place of the gaps. “The concepts of “__________” (1) and “ethnicity” are similar, therefore their definitions are similar. In 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 basis for uniting people into one __________(3) is blood ties and common ___________(4). With the emergence of states, __________(5) appear, consisting of people related friend with a friend not by blood relationship, but by economic and cultural relations of a territorial-neighborhood 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 and political nature and having, in the words of the English historian D. Hosking, “a single sense of destiny.”

The words in the list are given in the nominative case, singular. Select one word after another, mentally filling in each gap with words. Please note that there are more words in the list than you will need to fill in the blanks.

A) origin

B) community

E) nationality

G) nationality

I) diaspora

The table below shows the pass numbers. Under each number, write down the letter that corresponds to the word you chose.

Transfer the resulting sequence of letters to the answer form.

Answer: DBWAEG.