Culture Essay Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 11 Words: 3204 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/09/11 Category Sociology Essay Type Narrative essay Level High school Did you like this example? Youth culture in Paris Introductions Culture is defined as a way of living that has been adopted by people depending on certain factors such as races and beliefs. Age is also a factor that determines the culture that has been adopted by the people in a certain age bracket. It has been noted that different age groups adopt different cultures which satisfy their lives and make them enjoy it to their fullest. When we focus on the youths, they are seen to have a different culture than all the other people (Steinberg, Parmar Richard, 2006). The reason for this is because they are still young and are trying to explore all the different aspects of life. Most of them do not really care about what is good or what is bad as long as it makes them happy. The youth’s culture differs from one city to another and the urban youth culture is different from the rural youth culture. France has its economy flailing and its politics are in the correct line. It has also been noted that the youth culture is catching up with that of the world so that the sleepy arrondissements that once existed in the north-eastern part of Paris, have been transformed by both social and economic forces making it more vibrant and with many activities going on. Other businesses such as clubs have also been established in this place and this has opened up room for the social activities by the youths. This has been an improvement from their previous way of doing things and the drastic change has been noted by many people (In Gullotta In Plant In Evans, 2014). The museum that exists in the middle of the town has also seen rapid changes as many activities have been invented and especially by the multinational corporations since some Parisians do not want to be associated with some places. A globalized youth culture exists in all towns including in Paris. The youths want to have some connection with those of their neighboring cities and also adopt some practices that are present in their cultures. The adopted practices are then incorporated in their daily activities adding up to their culture. The reason why they do this is in the efforts to create their own identity and become different from others in different cities. It is true that the youths are the susceptible group that is so much into borrowing culture and in some cases the borrowed ways affect the production of a city either positively or negatively (Stecker, 1996). Some of these cultural practices include dress codes, aesthetics, language and ideologies. For example Japanese punk has revolved to the hip hop of Australia, and this has shown that youth subcultures are implicitly rebellious. They are seen to have a rejection of the culture of those who have been before them and want to create an identity of their own different from all the others there before. In this case, childhood has been seen to mean acceptance, adulthood to mean conservatism and youth to mean rebelliousness. What has bro ught all these changes in the youth culture is the cultural industry which deals with the production of the cultural commodities, marketing them and then distributing them to their potential customers and in this case, the youths. The youths have thus been in the front line to pick what they feel is good for their lives so that they can look as if they are advancing and living up to their age. This has however made them make the wrong decisions and thus contaminating their cultures. The buying of what is not necessary for their age has been happening and this has created the wrong picture of who the youths really are because their behavior does define them with a lot of pessimism. According to research, producers are not only making good thing for the youths but also things that will ruin their lives as they aim to impress them( In Gullotta,   In Plant In Evans, 2014). The youths however are straining to find out things that please them and make them get the recognition from others. In Paris, the youths are seen to have a different way of life as compared to the children and the adults. For example in cases of education, job and the specific culture pursuits the youths are seen to be more dominating than the adults and children. The youths are said to be the ones between the ages of 15 to 24 years and this means that at this stage, they are undergoing a transition from childhood to adulthood and the transition shapes them in a way that they become different and in most cases rebellious so that anything said against them is an offence (Steinberg, Parmar Richard, 2006). They want things to be done their way and never against them. They feel that all they do is right and no one should have a say on how they should live. The youths are then seen to have some powers that the adults and children do not have. In this sense, they are able to enjoy certain privileges that no other age group can enjoy. They are seen to have a special relationship with th e labor market so that they even receive favors. At this age, they prefer the agency relationship so that things are done for them by other people on their behalf. The number of youths in the education centers is large and this denotes that they dominate these places and development of their cultures is greatly influenced by this environment. It is seen as one of the incubation centers for the cultures associated with the youth. In these educational institutions, creation of groups happens so that in these groups, the students try to identify themselves and create a foundation of their youth life and their future life (Stecker, 1996). It has been that most issues associated with character change are experienced during the school life of most youths. The teachers and lecturers have a huge task of trying to shape the lives of these kids through guiding them towards the right direction. Though they face some kind of opposition from the youths, it still remains their obligation. T hrough the media, youths from Paris are able to get so much that they have not incorporated in their cultures. This is mostly through music that they listen to and watch on televisions. It has been noted that the youths have been allowed to listen to music that was prohibited in the past generations. Even though efforts have been made to ensure that they listen to the right type of music, they have failed as they spend very little time with their parents since most of the time they are in school or out with their friends (In Gullotta, In Plant In Evans, 2014). The message behind the music is a factor that triggers some hormones in the minds of many youths so that they yearn to change their way of living and try to live in the music world. The musicians influence these youths and especially through their attitude in life. They admire the musicians in a way that they want to be like them whether moral or immoral figures in the society. Not only does the music influence these p eople but also their way of viewing politics, corporate morality, personal morality and their sexuality as well. This is because of the voice of the musicians who are said to be the key players in the world of music. The youths therefore aim to look for fame through the musician’s way of life and words. They start changing their old ways of life and adopt the new ways learnt through the music (Steinberg, Parmar Richard, 2006). This has also enabled many youths to have the desire to sing with these musicians being their role models so that they adopt their ways fully. Every musician has the message that they want to drive home and some of them might be spreading their views or attitudes towards certain aspects of life. Through adopting such attitudes, the youths abandon their old ways and cultures and adopt new cultures. They live a life that is not theirs but they feel that they get the satisfaction that they need in their lives. Parisian youths have neglected their o ther influences such as the family and religion. It has been noted that most of them are in fact against their families and religion. In matters related with religion, these youths are more interested with what they can see rather than what is spiritual. Their spiritual growth has been deterred by their attitude about religion. They view religion as something that limits the extent of their happiness through prohibiting them from doing some things that are said to be evil in the believers’ realm (Steinberg, Parmar Richard, 2006). The religion is then abandoned and they try to look for other things that seem more satisfying such as music. In the past, the families played an important role in shaping the life of their youths. For example watching TVs, having computers, playing video games and others are things that used to keep the youths at home with their families and this strengthened the family bond. Today, the youths are detached from these things and have other thing s that they call important to do such as clubbing, parties and such. This has made them have a different view of things and thus changed their cultures. Clothing is another factor that has contributed to the youth culture. When a young person is able to dress to the occasion, they feel comfortable both in public and when associating with their colleagues who are their age mates in most cases. They view this as a way of attaining their personal identity and building their confidence in the presence of their fellows. With such a mentality, it is therefore clear that they will go for the newest fashions in town whether presentable or not, decent or indecent. They no longer care about what their clothes say about them as long as they feel good in them (Steinberg, Parmar Richard, 2006). Their clothes are not without labels which communicate a message about them. Their hairstyles also talk so much about which groups they belong to and who they associate with. The shoes that they w ear also show that they are in a certain group in the peer society. Their minds have been dominated by being like others and not being unique in their own ways. Through such a misconception, they have changed their cultures and others have completely abandoned theirs so as to be like others. According to psychologists, the life of a person goes through stages before one is mature. These stages represent different characteristics and it is seen that the most crucial stage is the adolescent stage which represents a time of identity crises. It is the time when youths want to explore everything for example ideas, their appearances and friends. The potential outcome of personal identification is identity diffusion or in other cases identity achievement. Identity achievement is where one is able to successfully develop their self esteem and is able to perform well in life (Stecker, 1996). Identity diffusion is then characterized by low self esteem, trouble when one is trying to mak e friends and very little or no success at all. The youths who belong to the category of identity diffusion have poor skills in solving problems and thus live a miserable life. It is at this stage that youths pull away from their parents and try to identify themselves with others for example their school mates. It is also at this stage that youths want to change their lives and live their way. They end up wanting to make decisions on their own without consulting anyone and it is in this stage that some get lost in some cultures that they adopt. According to studies, parents are seen to be overprotective of the female gender than the male gender and this has resulted to the males being given privileges such as driving when they are still young. This has also led to the male generation being independent of their parents when they are still young while the female are dependent on their parents. It is thus clear that the males are more affected by the change in cultures through tryin g to identify their position in the society. They go through so many challenges that make them look for ways to adapt in the new environment within which they operate or are supposed to live in. On the other hand, the females are looked after by their parents and this limits them to enjoy their youth (Jin, 2011).  . Therefore, when they get a chance to do so, they overdo things and gain the rebellious spirit against their parents, adopt new living styles as well as cultures. This is another factor that has in a big way affected the cultures of youths. The struggle to keep their girls away from the so called bad living styles, have bore no fruits to many parents as they cannot be with their kids throughout their entire lives. This has thus led to change in the cultures of the youths from the original which is the one they have been brought up with to the current which is the way they want to live. Social economic factors also affect the youth culture so that some youths will always want to have all that they want in life at their disposal. In this case, those from a high social class are thus able to do all that they treasure since they have the resources that they need for such products. They go ahead to make others feel inferior since they don’t rank in the same position. This makes them have their culture as they are also able to associate with the so called best crews in their schools or colleges for example. On the other hand those that may not have the resources to acquire them all that they need, may try in all ways to have a social class in which they do not fit (Stecker, 1996). They thus end up engaging in activities that are out of the ways of their cultures which means that they attain a new identity and a new way of life. Money is a determinant to the youth culture adopted by different individuals in Paris. It has also been noted that the social classes that these youths have created are a wheel to their cultures. This means that they form cultures depending on their social classes and live up to this culture which may be against their parents and the society. Social media has been a contributing factor to the youth culture in Paris. Through this media, connections are created with many different people from different nations and races. When the young people are exposed to all these different ways of living, they are then left with no option but to try and be like their friends from other countries. Such media includes face book, twitter instagram among others. They are therefore able to share their opinions and advice each other on how to tackle life without consulting their elders (In Gullotta, In Plant in Evans, 2014). They then go ahead to trying these new ways of life as they are advised by their friends, dress like they do and associate with such people as their friends. This has strengthened the youth power so that going against them is a major problem whether by parents or the governments. T hey believe that they are always right and should be given the go ahead to exercise their culture irrespective of its fitness in their society. It is thus through social media that the youth culture is spreading at a high rate and dynamically being adopted all over the world. The youth stage is quite critical and it is still the same time when both males and females are in the process of mingling so that they can be in relationships with those that they love whether friends or soul mates.    In the process of relationship identification, they are faced with many challenges as they want to be up to the level of their friends in a way that they want to do as per their expectations in this process of building up relationships, the youths in most cases have to change their old ways and try to adopt the new ways which align with those of their friends (Jin, 2011). They need to show that they belong to a certain class and can do all that they wish and for that reason, they have to try and keep up to the ways of the new friends or those that they relate with. The building up of this identity is a process which requires time before it is fully developed.   It also takes them a lot of commitment to maintain these relationships which then means that they have to leave some ways of living and have a new lifestyle hence a new culture. Role models are another factor that affects the youth culture so that the choice of their heroes and heroine determine the kind of life that they will live. This is because the lives of their role models are the same ones that they want to lead and live (Steinberg, Parmar Richard, 2006). They want to be similar to their role models and achieve the fame or prominence that they have in their lives. Through striving to have such a life, they end up having to adopt some of their ways in their lives so that their cultures go through rapid changes.   It has also been noted that marital status of individuals affects their cultures a nd this is much to do with the youth so that those who are still single go out of their way to do things their own way which pleases them while the married ones are bound to their families and observe the family culture. In conclusion, youth culture has gone through advancements and rapid changes which have been caused by the needs and wants of a satisfying culture by the young generation in Paris. They strive to have the best kind of life through the things that they do which are then translated in their culture which they have adopted (Jin, 2011).  . Since the youth stage is a transition from childhood to adulthood, they then feel that their culture should be unique and having certain characteristics that are not present in the other ages. Local factors as well as global factors have then contributed to the youth culture either positively or negatively depending on how individuals are able to cope with the changes. References In Gullotta, T. P., In Plant, R. W., In Eva ns, M. A. (2014).  Handbook of adolescent behavioral problems: Evidence-based approaches to prevention and treatment. Jin, D. Y. (2011).  Global media convergence and cultural transformation: Emerging social patterns and characteristics. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Stecker, P. (1996).  The fashion design manual. Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia. Steinberg, S. R., Parmar, P., Richard, B. (2006).  Contemporary youth culture: An international encyclopedia. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Culture Essay Example For Free" essay for you Create order