YOUNG PEOPLE AND SOCIETY Outline 1. Youth as an important age group 2. Youth subcultures 3. Youth organizations in UK Young people are often considered to represent the future as they bring new ideas and energy to add to the pool of knowledge that currently exists. They can bring enthusiasm and vitality which can lead to new discoveries and developments that can benefit society or even the world at large. Is really youth so important or the elder generation is much more important? Frankly speaking young people are the future of any country and any nation. They continue to develop the country, bring it some benefit and keep it alive. We can observe that most young people have new ideas and opinions which differ from their parents’ ones. An in most cases they are more effective. All the modern technologies and scientific revolutions appear because of creative thinking of a new generation. “Young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. ” ― Rick Riordan. Moreover youth is much more rnthusiastic to the work and cn even fight for ideas they seem to be correct. Because of this not-standart thinking which prevails in youth, there are lots of subcultures, where teens can be realized as personalities. They are Mods, punks, soulboys, metallers, goths, hippies and so on. Social groups can offer a set of guidelines about how to behave, dress and think. Your child might like this if she feels confused by having lots of options and choices. Dressing, behaving and thinking like the rest of a subculture gives your child a sense of belonging and identity too. Belonging to a subculture can boost your child’s social skills and teach him the rewards of commitment. And it can also just be fun. Not all young people choose to belong to subcultures. For those who do, membership might be long term, short term, or on and off. All of this can be challenging for parents, but it’s a normal part of growing up. There are about 60 youth organizations in Great Britain. All youth organizations can be divided into three large groups: 1. non-political organizations; 2. youth organizations associated with political parties; 3. youth organizations controlled by religious bodies. The two largest nonpolitical youth organizations are the associations of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides. There are about 1300000 boys and girls in them. The membership is voluntary. There are several youth organizations associated with political parties. The Youth Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (YCND) unites young people and organizes mass rallies and meetings, demonstrations, marches of protest, festivals. It co-operates with the National Union of Students. Religious young organizations and groups aim at helping to elderly people or working in hospitals. There are even groups where young people help released prisoners to start then life a-new. Religious organizations pay attention not only to the study of religious views but involve youth into such activities as music festivals and amateur theatre. As you see, all there organizations aim at preserving and strengthening the social and political system existing in the country.
