YOUTH CULTURE IN A DIGITAL WORLD
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION
Culture = a group’s distinctive way of life, including its beliefs and values, its
customs, and its art and technologies.
- Geographical factors = related to a country/location
- Social factors = based on groups that you wish to belong to, based on
social economic status or based on the same goals
- Temporal factors = based on age, generation
Youth culture refers to:
- Shared beliefs, behaviors, practices, and values of young people within a
particular society or subculture
- The ways in which young individuals express themselves, interact with one
another, and distinguish themselves from older generations
- Is dynamic and can vary significantly across time and place, reflecting the
cultural, social, and historical context in which it emerges
Youth culture is not universal, we’re studying western countries.
Key aspects: fashion and style, music, language, social activities, values and
ideas, media and technology (where all the aspects are shown and shared, focus
of this course).
Digital (binary) media (way to spread information):
Social media = websites and applications that enable users to create and share
content or to participate in social networking. Sharing, following, and
collaborating (do something on media).
Digital media has disrupted/enriched traditional communication? 3 theories:
- Social presence theory = people don’t see facial expressions when
calling
o ‘Sense of being together' lower in digital media
o Face to face is the best communication
- Social information processing theory (SIP) = how people react to
social information (it can be interpreted in different ways)
o Social media is not just disrupting or enriching our lives, it depends
on the receiver and how they process information
- Channel expansion theory = people use emotions in texts to develop
their messages
o Users with experience will strive to develop necessary skills (emoji)
How social media is used:
- Replacement (vervanging) or addition (toevoeging)
- Passively (scrolling, see what people do) or actively (beneficial)
Why social media is used:
Lasswell (1948): Uses & Gratifications theory = what purposes or functions
does media offer for active users/receivers (the needs that users have)? 4 main
reasons to use media:
1) Surveillance of the environment = the need to see what’s going on in
the world, get information
2) Affective need = the need for emotional fulfillment, get a feeling how
other people are talking about things (hear various perspectives), thinking
about how you should feel
3) Cultural transmission = the need to know what are the values in society
, 4) Entertainment = the need to relax, have fun
Other needs: self-promotion, maintain existing relationships, need for creativity,
escapism, expressing opinions
One size does not fit all (different people, platforms, and reasons):
- Information: Twitter (X)
- Social connection: Instagram, Snapchat
- Entertainment: Instagram, YouTube
- Convenience/pass the time: YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter (X)
Adolescence
- Early adolescence: 10-13 years
- Middle adolescence: 14-17 years
- Late adolescence: 18-24 years
Youth development: 2 theories
1) Developmental tasks approach = developmental tasks/challenges need
to be fulfilled (normative/general), hierarchic list of tasks, met through
biological or social development (socialization), they need fulfill a task
before they can develop to the next
o Erikson’s developmental stages (1958) = in each developmental
stage it there a problem/certain task that you are going to explore
Infancy: trust VS mistrust
Early childhood: autonomy VS shame and doubt
Preschool: initiative VS guilt
School age: industry VS inferiority
Adolescence (13-18): identity VS role confusion, key
developmental tasks:
Learning to build intimate and committed
friendships/relationships
Adjustment to pubertal changes
Transition to secondary schooling
Developing strong and coherent personality identity
Young adulthood : intimacy VS isolation
Middle adulthood: generativity VS stagnation
Maturity: ego integrity VS despair
o Effect of media (media effect): depend on the age of the user
o Scary media content and trauma:
Perceptual stage (2-7): scary photo, looking scary
Conceptual stage (7+): real live, being real, war
o Adolescents and parents (<12) or influencers (12+)
o Adolescents key developmental tasks:
Learning to build intimate and committed
friendships/relationships
Adjustment to pubertal changes
Transition to secondary schooling
Developing strong and coherent personality identity
2) Risk and resilience approach = differential life experiences among
children, risk and protective factors explain differences between people,
focus on individual differences
o Cumulative risk model = the more risk factors a person is
exposed to, the higher the likelihood of negative outcomes
o Snowball effect = the more risk factors, the bigger are the
consequences
, o Turnaround model = people who develop along a high risk path
can later reverse course and achieve positive outcomes when
protective factors emerge or contexts change
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION
Culture = a group’s distinctive way of life, including its beliefs and values, its
customs, and its art and technologies.
- Geographical factors = related to a country/location
- Social factors = based on groups that you wish to belong to, based on
social economic status or based on the same goals
- Temporal factors = based on age, generation
Youth culture refers to:
- Shared beliefs, behaviors, practices, and values of young people within a
particular society or subculture
- The ways in which young individuals express themselves, interact with one
another, and distinguish themselves from older generations
- Is dynamic and can vary significantly across time and place, reflecting the
cultural, social, and historical context in which it emerges
Youth culture is not universal, we’re studying western countries.
Key aspects: fashion and style, music, language, social activities, values and
ideas, media and technology (where all the aspects are shown and shared, focus
of this course).
Digital (binary) media (way to spread information):
Social media = websites and applications that enable users to create and share
content or to participate in social networking. Sharing, following, and
collaborating (do something on media).
Digital media has disrupted/enriched traditional communication? 3 theories:
- Social presence theory = people don’t see facial expressions when
calling
o ‘Sense of being together' lower in digital media
o Face to face is the best communication
- Social information processing theory (SIP) = how people react to
social information (it can be interpreted in different ways)
o Social media is not just disrupting or enriching our lives, it depends
on the receiver and how they process information
- Channel expansion theory = people use emotions in texts to develop
their messages
o Users with experience will strive to develop necessary skills (emoji)
How social media is used:
- Replacement (vervanging) or addition (toevoeging)
- Passively (scrolling, see what people do) or actively (beneficial)
Why social media is used:
Lasswell (1948): Uses & Gratifications theory = what purposes or functions
does media offer for active users/receivers (the needs that users have)? 4 main
reasons to use media:
1) Surveillance of the environment = the need to see what’s going on in
the world, get information
2) Affective need = the need for emotional fulfillment, get a feeling how
other people are talking about things (hear various perspectives), thinking
about how you should feel
3) Cultural transmission = the need to know what are the values in society
, 4) Entertainment = the need to relax, have fun
Other needs: self-promotion, maintain existing relationships, need for creativity,
escapism, expressing opinions
One size does not fit all (different people, platforms, and reasons):
- Information: Twitter (X)
- Social connection: Instagram, Snapchat
- Entertainment: Instagram, YouTube
- Convenience/pass the time: YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter (X)
Adolescence
- Early adolescence: 10-13 years
- Middle adolescence: 14-17 years
- Late adolescence: 18-24 years
Youth development: 2 theories
1) Developmental tasks approach = developmental tasks/challenges need
to be fulfilled (normative/general), hierarchic list of tasks, met through
biological or social development (socialization), they need fulfill a task
before they can develop to the next
o Erikson’s developmental stages (1958) = in each developmental
stage it there a problem/certain task that you are going to explore
Infancy: trust VS mistrust
Early childhood: autonomy VS shame and doubt
Preschool: initiative VS guilt
School age: industry VS inferiority
Adolescence (13-18): identity VS role confusion, key
developmental tasks:
Learning to build intimate and committed
friendships/relationships
Adjustment to pubertal changes
Transition to secondary schooling
Developing strong and coherent personality identity
Young adulthood : intimacy VS isolation
Middle adulthood: generativity VS stagnation
Maturity: ego integrity VS despair
o Effect of media (media effect): depend on the age of the user
o Scary media content and trauma:
Perceptual stage (2-7): scary photo, looking scary
Conceptual stage (7+): real live, being real, war
o Adolescents and parents (<12) or influencers (12+)
o Adolescents key developmental tasks:
Learning to build intimate and committed
friendships/relationships
Adjustment to pubertal changes
Transition to secondary schooling
Developing strong and coherent personality identity
2) Risk and resilience approach = differential life experiences among
children, risk and protective factors explain differences between people,
focus on individual differences
o Cumulative risk model = the more risk factors a person is
exposed to, the higher the likelihood of negative outcomes
o Snowball effect = the more risk factors, the bigger are the
consequences
, o Turnaround model = people who develop along a high risk path
can later reverse course and achieve positive outcomes when
protective factors emerge or contexts change
