Youth role in the modern world. Youth in modern society

Youth as the “future of the nation” has always been a special value for society. It occupies an important place in social relations, the production of material and spiritual goods. The position of young people in society and the degree of their participation in the development of the social environment depends both on the state and on their own active life position. On the one hand, young people plan and build their future, so they must take into account the experience of generations and not make mistakes and misses. On the other hand, society and the state must rethink how to rediscover youth as a subject of history, as the main factor of change, as a social value. In modern Russia, the concept of the youth policy of the state has been built, which is a purposeful activity of bodies state power, public associations and other social institutions aimed at solving the problems of young people in all spheres of their life. Today, the state offers a system of measures, programs to create conditions for the realization of the social, intellectual, cultural and economic potential of the younger generation. On the one hand, the modern government is interested in the development of the "youth sphere", motivating the younger generation to cooperate in the development of society. On the other hand, young people innovate and contribute to creative potential development of society. Using their creative abilities, thoughts, proposals, young people create new organizations, associations and movements. So, for example, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, with the support of the federal and regional authorities, were formed; Krasnoyarsk regional student teams, Yenisei patriots, union of professionals, Young Guard, KVN, labor teams of high school students, volunteers, voluntary youth squads, regional youth congresses, summer youth camp "Team Biryusa". Thanks to their creation, hundreds of young residents of our region join the ranks of active youth every year. In the field of leisure, mass media (television and radio), artistic life, pop music, cinema, fashion, youth is an important factor in the formation of tastes. Its spiritual values ​​spread all over the world. Her views are increasingly influencing those in power. Young people have a special interest and feel their involvement in solving the problems of socio-economic development, independence, democratization and peace. She demonstrates enthusiasm and ability to strengthen international understanding, participates in the movement for the ecology of the planet. Speaking about the role of youth and the state in the development of the social environment, one cannot remain silent about the other side of this issue. At present, the role of youth in social development much lower than it should and could be. In addition, society and the state have not yet completely overcome the consumer attitude towards young people, which in turn negatively affects the position of the younger generation. Today, the subjectivity of youth is only being formed, based on the principle "what I did for my country, and not what the country did for me." This principle requires appropriate approaches on the part of the state and society, the creation of a new system of youth work. The future cannot be built without the conscious and active participation of the youth themselves. The problem of the participation of young generations in social development is a matter of the pace, nature and quality of human development. A significant part of the youth is alienated from the process of participation in all spheres of life, which makes it difficult for them to integrate into society. Failures in social adaptation and alienation of young people from society and the state are manifested in youth crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness, prostitution, the scale of which has become unprecedented. The formation of a young person as a person, the process of socialization of youth takes place in very difficult conditions of breaking many old values ​​and forming new social relations. Modern youth must adapt to new requirements, assimilate the system of knowledge, norms, values ​​and traditions in the labor, political and legal spheres of life. The role of youth in the development of society is great. She is smart, enterprising, energetic, and thanks to this, she is a driving force in strengthening and modernizing society. The model of youth participation in all spheres of society has changed. In many countries, young people support the ongoing changes, social reforms. Russian youth is an important subject of social change. It is with it that the reforming country associates possible changes in the future. In general, students have enough strength and knowledge to take on the solution of many problems, but they still need to show a vital active position.

YOUTH CONTRIBUTION TO RUSSIA:
PARTICIPATION, DEVELOPMENT, PEACE

The concept of youth, which underlies the activities of the UN with this category of the population, arose in the late 60s after the well-known "youth revolutions" that shook a number of countries in Western Europe and North America. It was these "revolutions" that forced the governments of many countries and international organizations to pay attention to the phenomenon of youth, to think about the place and role of youth as a factor in social change, about the need to conduct and strengthen a special public and state youth policy.

The International Year of Youth (1985) was celebrated by the United Nations under the slogan "Participation, development, peace". This slogan is the most accurate expression of what youth policy should be aimed at in modern Russia, striving to increase the contribution of young people to overcoming the crisis and to the social development of the country.

Participation

Human society, if it really wants to survive and progress, must radically change its approach to judgments about the future. The focus of his attention should not be abstract processes and trends, prolonged from the present into tomorrow, but Human, which is the root cause, beginning and end of all social, and now many natural processes and phenomena. Man, again, not abstract, but real, alive. And above all a man young as a man already active, producing already affecting life and society, but more in the early stages of life more having a significant potential of undeveloped and untapped abilities and talents, a large reserve of future years own life necessary in order to have time to realize themselves and change society.

From this point of view, youth is not a service-preparatory phase age development, as it was considered for centuries, and the precious world in itself, the main source of today's changes.

The participation of young people in the transformation of Russia must be ensured by offering them major cases that have the character of nationwide tasks.

The first task is to put an end to the spiritual and moral crisis that has engulfed the youth in the first place. The material in her consciousness rose above all measure above the spiritual, and from here comes the main threat to everything, including the most material. A dynamic society cannot do without the spiritualization of its goals, plans, and aspirations. The hidden opportunities of youth should be directed to the benefit of society, to the service of a new social ideal. Idea voluntary service Russia must enter national consciousness youth as its highest element. At this stage, when it comes to the survival and salvation of Russia, we have to talk about serving selfless. The vast majority of today's youth are not ready for this, but they must be educated in this spirit, understanding that, in principle, children and youth are not progressive, not conservative by nature. Initially, they are only potency, ready for any turn of events.

Young people will make a contribution to the life of society of such a scale and nature as a spiritual potential - a system of ideas, values, knowledge and moral qualities- put society into it. Education, training and upbringing are the three main directions in overcoming the spiritual and, ultimately, the economic crisis in Russia. And here the place for applying the efforts of young people is huge.

Another group of tasks is in the field of economics and geopolitics. In Soviet times, young people were widely involved in such tasks, and their enthusiasm was used. The change of formation turned everything 180 degrees. Komsomol appeals for the construction of the country were condemned as a violation of individual freedom. What was created by the young was also forgotten, it was also noted that many of them forged character at such construction sites, in fact, became personalities. Critics lost their sense of proportion, forgetting that a person, including a young one, is not only a goal, but also a means of social change.

The time for sweeping criticism of Soviet life has passed. Once again, we need to give young people a chance to make themselves and make the country. Siberia, Far East- all the lands of Russia beyond the Ural Mountains are depopulated, their wealth will lie around until another foreign investor lays eyes on them. The national pride of Russia is in the inhabited Siberian and northern expanses, and only young people can really solve the problem of economic, social and cultural development these lands.

Development

World practice and our domestic experience have shown that if a society is aimed at development, it socializes (trains and educates), in other words, develops young people in such a way that they are able to develop society and develop themselves. If a society is set up primarily to preserve the existing system, to conserve its ideas, values ​​and traditions, it molds the youth exclusively in its own image and likeness. In this case, youth as a subject of activity acts on an extremely limited scale, it is primarily an object, and often object only impact.

Developing the foundations of a new youth policy in modern Russia, we must speak about a fundamentally new discovery of youth, the starting point of which is to establish a point of view on youth as equal among others, human age, which is not reduced only to age-related features and deviations from the “norm” (“immaturity”, “non-rationality”, etc.), but, on the contrary, the most valuable period of a person’s life for society, in in which he more than ever strives for self-determination, self-affirmation and self-realization. Self-knowledge, self-determination, self-affirmation, self-realization, self-activity - these are the central concepts of the new sociological concept of youth and the new youth policy.

Of course, one should not “bring” young people out of society, to see in them some kind of “external” force. It is impossible to turn the entire "adult" society into conservatives, and all the youth into innovators and carriers of progress. This would be absurd in the essence of the state of affairs, because among the older generations there are many "young" minds, supporters of progress, and among the youth there are a lot of retrogrades. But this is not about exceptions and examples, but about rules and general laws. Logic, science and practice show that in the strategic plan, innovative, creative potential is primarily and to a much greater extent young people; that in general (objectively!) the older generation is the zealot of the past, the old, often obsolete and obsolete. With the increase in life expectancy, the concept of youth has changed, which has significantly pressed, on the one hand, childhood, and on the other hand, maturity. Youth has become the most valued age, influencing with its ideas, views, tastes, values, habits, etc. - in a word, with its culture, on the ideas, views, tastes, values ​​and habits of the whole society.

Youth kinda social battery those transformations that are always gradual (day after day, year after year), therefore imperceptibly to the general eye, occur in the depths public life eluding the attention of the majority. These are critical views and moods regarding the existing reality, new ideas and the energy that is especially needed at the time of fundamental reforms. The youth - accelerator introduction into practice of new ideas, initiatives, new forms of life, because by nature it is an opponent of conservatism and stagnation.

For the social development of Russia, it is of great importance that the Russian youth is carrier huge intellectual potential, special abilities to creativity(increased sensuality, perception, imagery of thinking, enhanced imagination, desire for fantasy, looseness, sharp memory, mind play, etc.). In youth, a person is most capable of creative activity, of formulating heuristic hypotheses, and is as efficient as possible. Therefore, the progress of modern science is largely associated with youth. Youth is open to learning, and in its highest form, which is the mastery of the most complex methods of intellectual activity in various fields of science and technology; intellectual labor, in the process of which the acquired skills and abilities, developed abilities receive not only implementation, but also further development- improve creatively. Age today is a scientific and technical category.

Youth is carrier new and latest knowledge, with which it fertilizes production and other spheres of social life. Moreover, the volume and quality of knowledge and new ideas in society is growing primarily at the expense of young people. The value of youth in our time is also increasing in connection with the expansion of the terms of education, professional training, which is necessary in the information society. In youth, a person easily acquires basic knowledge, skills and abilities.

The need for continuous adult education, periodic updating of not only knowledge, but often important fundamental principles professional activity(which is easier given to the young) causes in people of mature and old quite understandable unwillingness to meet the new requirements. Age today is an economic category.

Youth is the healthiest physically part of the population, it is vital force society, clot energy, unspent intellectual and physical strength requiring an exit. Due to these forces, the life of society can be revived. Many prestigious human activities carry significant age restrictions ( big sport, ballet, aviation, etc.) and are inextricably linked in our minds with youth.

The position of "instability", "dependence", "subordination", "inferiority", "debtor" creates in youth environment special psychological an atmosphere of predisposition to changes in social life, because these changes are fraught with hope and the possibility of changes for the better.

A free and developing society must think about how to “absorb” all the life-giving properties and forces of youth and thereby “rejuvenate” at their expense. The rise of the role of young people in public life as it becomes more complex and intensified is a general sociological law. That society can consider itself advanced, where this law is understood better, where it is not only understood, but also correctly used for the common good.

In modern society, and the further, the more intensification will be carried out due to discoveries and inventions that are unexpected for the majority. We need a special mass readiness to accept new ideas, new professions and forms of activity, which an adult person, and even more so an old one, cannot possess to the proper degree; readiness, which only young people have with their inexperience, exceptional openness, predisposition to the New.

Already today, life has put forward such development tasks for society, some of which, due to a special class of their complexity, requirements for a person, can be practically solved. only the youth. For example, computerization, which is just unfolding in our country. It has been proven by science and practice that people who are over forty, and even more so over fifty, due to their age, master the mathematical language, electronic literacy, and programming techniques not always willingly and always with great difficulty. Meanwhile, computerization is the "second literacy", without mastering which it is impossible to advance scientific and technological progress. One cannot fail to be aware that fundamentally new types of machinery and equipment, the latest technologies, and control systems, which are the main factors in the intensification of the economy, can only be created by people of a new, non-traditional type of thinking.

There is another area of ​​development where young people could show themselves much more actively, but where they face the biggest obstacles. This is the realm of politics. For the improvement and development of the political process in Russia, the change of political generations. The younger generation in politics is at the same time a destroyer of the Old and a force capable of actively creating the New. It all depends on the intentions of the youth themselves and on how society uses this power. Age today is not so much a demographic concept as it is a social and political one.

The parties operating in Russia, with few exceptions, are afraid of young people, do not trust them, do not include them in their election lists, and keep them at a distance when the election race is underway. The Fatherland-All Russia bloc has great opportunities not only to rely on the support of young people in the elections, but also to give scope for political activity and this opportunity must be seized.

Once again, we need to see the enormous influence that the younger generation can have on solving the global problems of our time, and above all, the problems of war and peace. Here, youth policy is called upon to rely on the most Lately widespread ideology of "culture of peace"

This ideology involves creation, not destruction, construction, not war. The culture of peace replaces the culture of war, first of all in consciousness, and only then in practice. Her “weapon” is knowledge, information. It is accepted by a person and society voluntarily, and not forcibly, through the means of education, upbringing and training. That is, it is distributed by open, public, non-violent methods, does not imply cruelty, lies and deceit.

The ideology of the culture of peace is a system of views, ideas, in which the attitude of people to the issues of war and peace and (in this regard) to each other is recognized and evaluated, and also contains the goals (programs) of social activity aimed at exclusion from public life " culture" of war and the establishment of a culture of peace in it.

The meaning of the ideology of a culture of peace is to reveal, through the dissemination of knowledge and information, the essence and content, the negative consequences of the modern process of globalization as a form of world war for the establishment of a new order. This means that none of the phenomena affecting public life as a result of globalization should avoid careful research and evaluation, dissemination of the information received. Knowledge and information are prerequisites for a culture of peace and democracy. This means that the movement for a culture of peace must have its own think tanks, its own vision of the strategy of world development. These centers should actively study global capitalism, develop recommendations on new forms and methods for establishing a culture of peace. Of course, the United Nations and UNESCO should be mentioned first of all among these centers.

Speaking about the war, N. A. Berdyaev said: “Evil must be sought not in the war, but before the war, in the most peaceful times in appearance. In these peacetime spiritual murders are committed, malice and hatred are filled. In war, the evil done is sacrificially expiated... War is a great developer. In it, what is happening in depth is projected onto the plane. In the depths of the soul, in the depths of the mind, in the conscious, subconscious and unconscious. In human nature.

To replace the "culture" of war with a culture of peace is to change the nature of man. Unthinkable, utopian task. For this is the task of creating a “new man”, for the solution of which mankind was taken more than once, and on a special scale - in Soviet Russia. I must say that in the struggle for the "new man" a lot of good things were done for this man - in healthcare, education and other areas of the social sphere. Many good qualities have been strengthened in the people themselves. But it's not about that now.

Why and when does the problem of the “new man” arise? Every time when a radical breakdown of the old order is started and fundamentally new tasks arise before society. Because in order to make a global change, some critical mass people who stand for this new change, while fundamentally rejecting the old, old order of things.

Perestroika and "reforms" in Russia from the very beginning ran into a problem: who will carry them out? Those who ruled in the old days? But they are also “old”, which means that everything new will be done with an eye to the old. What was needed was precisely the “new” people, not connected with the past either by views or deeds. This is how the “young reformers” appeared, although these young people were at best under forty, and even strongly “for”. But it was thought that they allegedly carry a "new grain" in themselves; new knowledge, thoughts, energy. "New people"! Although all their novelty consisted in unconditional devotion to the "new" tasks and rules of the political game, "new" in terms of their positions and old in age, the arbiters of Russia's destinies.

Soon another expression of the same kind appeared - "new Russians". And the point was not only that this concept mainly arose because of the desire of honest, decent and cultured citizens to separate from themselves different kind nouveaux riches, boors and "schmuck". The "new Russians" - mostly small entrepreneurial fry and punks from small and medium-sized businesses - were, however, really "new", in something important for the economy and life in general. Aggressive-active, unrestrainedly enterprising, cynically pragmatic, aimed at success in their "business" at any cost, and in the end - for money. They are already quite wealthy and do not hide their riches, which were far from always obtained by righteous labors. There were no such people in the country before. They were despised and despised, hated and hated. But they, nevertheless, almost became the basis of that very "middle class", which, they say, gives stability and stability to society.

In fact, this problem is the problem of new personnel, and in a sense, of the “new person”, of course, the family is called upon and must solve, but first of all - Russian school- middle and high. This is the task of education viable generations of Russian youth, which was mentioned above.

Humanization, spiritualization of man is a matter of incredible complexity and difficulty. But if they are not dealt with, the world will go wild. The human spirit grows incredibly slowly, and is lost much faster.

Today, not only socio-economic conditions and the whole atmosphere of life, but also television literally pushes young people onto the path of cruelty and violence. If there was nothing else to do but only arrange TV programs TV channels ORT and NTV, maximum limiting demonstration of TV horrors, violence and cruelty, erupting into young souls and minds from television screens, then this would already be a big deal.

The programs of schools and universities should include at least small global studies courses and conflictology. Today, everyone who acts in the field of social management and politics, makes decisions, should be aware of the challenges and threats that humanity and our country face, as they say, at times feel the unity and indivisibility of the world, the interconnection and interdependence of regions, states, peoples and nations. Ignorance in this area is one of the threats without which global problems cannot be solved.

Today, everyone who makes political and socio-administrative decisions should have at least a minimum knowledge of conflictology. Know, in particular, that conflict is not a pathology of social life, but a way of existence of society. That dreaming of conflict-free development is a harmful utopia. That the conflict has a creative beginning. What matters, after all, is not only in the conflict, but in the culture, the civilized nature of its resolution.

Objectively, the world is becoming more and more conflicted, and young people need to learn to live in conditions of increased and growing conflict states, peoples, nations, social groups, organizations and individuals. If we do not talk about politics, then there can be only one way to solve this problem - education, that is, training and education. People should know what conflict is and how to overcome it, and also have the necessary qualities of mind, thinking, character for this: moderation, restraint, caution, tolerance, etc.

It is also necessary to develop work to disseminate the ideas of democracy among young people and educate them in the spirit of democracy.

Of course, what we are seeing in Russia is not democracy, if we talk about democracy as a result and condition. The people who supposedly embody and create Russian democracy are not democrats at all. And this caused great damage to the idea of ​​democracy in the eyes of the people, including young people. But that doesn't change things. In particular, the fact that democracy corresponds to human nature. The fact that (as proven by history, including modern) democracy is a political system that gives the greatest chance to achieve peace and justice. The fact that democracy is not so much a result as a process of democratization, stretched out in time and (if we talk about Russia) for a very long time. And yet we do not have decisive reasons why Russia should abandon the ideas of democracy and democratization.

It must be taken into account that young people in Russia have, alas, inherited a non-democratic legacy. That in no country in the world and in no era has democratization preceded economic reform. Democracy is built on economics. There cannot be a satisfactory, developed and modern democracy in a hungry country. Hunger and poverty are a pretext for theft, robbery and murder. Reforms should not go synchronously, but asynchronously: first, shifts in consciousness, then - changes in the economy, and then - restructuring and development of political institutions, democratization. This should have been the case from the very beginning and has been going on throughout all the reforms. Of course, in reality this is an extremely complex and difficult to regulate process, but only under this condition can it be effective.

You need to talk about this with the youth. It should be able to get at least a knowledge of the nature and essence of democracy. It must be brought up in the spirit of democracy. How is another question. But we must set such a task. In particular, to create UNESCO clubs everywhere, the main task of which is to spread the idea of ​​a culture of peace.

The state and society should do everything possible to ensure that young people are more active self-organized in order to disseminate and implement the ideas of a culture of peace and democracy.

Indeed, what is "youth"? This is an abstraction, and a high order. As the concept of "people". Abstraction is silent, it has no will, it is inactive. The youth, like the people, is the "great mute." "People" will not come out of the crisis, will not put things in order. The "youth" will not solve its problems, because in this capacity it is an object. Until he realizes his goals, he doesn’t organize to achieve these goals, he doesn’t start fighting for them. Until it acquires subjectivity, it will not become the subject of historical action.

The ideas of a culture of peace will remain good wishes if at least some part of the youth does not see in them the purpose and meaning of their activity, if they do not serve them. We, those who take seriously this idea and the concept created by the Director-General of UNESCO F. Mayor, must take concrete measures for this.

In Russia, the CIS countries and of Eastern Europe, where many of the main "hot spots" are now located, in the space of which many more conflicts will undoubtedly erupt in the 21st century, it is necessary to deploy mass movement Youth for a Culture of Peace.

In connection with the fact that the year 2000 has been declared by the United Nations as the Year of Culture and Peace, a major nationwide project is being implemented in Russia. The Youth Institute and its UNESCO Youth Institute for a Culture of Peace and Democracy, of which I am the director, participate as coordinator of the youth subprogramme. Within the framework of this subprogramme, there is an intention to hold in 2000 an International Youth Festival with the participation of youth from the CIS countries and Eastern Europe. This project can, firstly, work well for integration processes, which means removing contradictions, prejudices, mutual intolerance in interstate, intercultural and interethnic relations throughout the post-communist space. Secondly, through concrete deeds, it would bring together thousands of leaders of various kinds of youth organizations in dozens of countries, and help to identify the leaders of a new political generation. We must be aware that the problem of cultivating new political leaders is the most acute for all former socialist countries. There is no need to prove that most of the current presidents of the CIS countries are "siloviki" in their mentality.

In principle, all the problems of peace and democracy rest on culture. authorities, more specifically, culture political leaders: their consciousness, culture of thinking, mind, wisdom, moderation, caution. New political thinking cannot be presented, introduced, it is inseparable from the character of a person, it is formed in the process of education - training and education, corrected by practice. In other words, it is a process and a long process. The cultivation of political leaders cannot be left to the elements, this process must be organized, it must be managed. It is important that those who tomorrow will govern states at different levels know each other as long and better as possible, trust each other.

Within the framework of the Youth for a Culture of Peace movement, national and international youth festivals could be held, and many others, primarily educational, cultural and sports events, could be carried out. After an appropriate study, the issue of creating a mass movement "Youth for a Culture of Peace" could be submitted for consideration by the Council of the CIS countries.

From the book: Ilyinsky I. M. Between the Future and the Past: The Social Philosophy of What is Happening. M., 2006.

Ilyinsky Igor Mikhailovich

Social characteristics of youth. Youth is a socio-demographic group identified on the basis of age parameters, characteristics social position and socio-psychological properties. IN different countries, in different social strata, the point of view on the processes and indicators of the maturation of the individual is not the same. In this regard, the age limits of youth are not strictly unambiguous and are determined by different researchers ranging from 14–16 years to 25–30 or even 35 years. As a rule, this period of a person's life is associated with the beginning of independent labor activity, gaining material independence from parents, civil and political rights. Some scientists add more signs such as marriage and the birth of the first child.

Note that the age at which youth begins does not coincide with the age at which childhood ends, the duration of which is defined as 18 years and enshrined in international documents such as the Declaration and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In our country, young men and women receive a passport at the age of 16, and this means recognition by society of their civil maturity. Youth is a certain phase, a stage of a person's life cycle. During this period, there is a sense of its originality and individuality. On the basis of young people's awareness of their capabilities and aspirations, comprehension of previous experience, an internal position is formed, and a search for their place in life is underway.

In youth, a person undergoes a number of important events that affect the change in his status. This is not only obtaining a passport, but also graduating from school, serving in the army. In their younger years, many people are actively looking for a profession that is significant for them, complete their education, become established as specialists, and thereby determine their new position in society. Youth is called the time of becoming. There is an opinion that before the age of 40 a person works for authority, for a name, and after 40 years, authority and a name work for a person rather.

The formation of the personality of a young person is carried out under the influence of family, school, public organizations, informal associations and groups, mass media, labor collectives. In general, young people today, much later than their peers in the past, begin independent adult life. This is due to the complication of labor activity, which entails the lengthening of the required training period.

In terms of socialization, a special place is occupied by the period of early youth. It includes boys and girls who are approximately 16-18 years old. Many at this age are quite capable of making responsible decisions, psychologically ready for this (for example, choosing friends, educational institution etc.), although full legal capacity comes only at the age of 18.

The acquisition of the fullness of rights and obligations changes the status of a young person and significantly expands the range of his social roles, which undergo significant changes in adolescence. If the roles of the child and adolescent are mainly related to the family (son / daughter, brother / sister, grandson / granddaughter), school (student / student), various forms leisure activities (participant in the sports section, hobby group), then new ones appear in youth: worker, student, husband, wife, mother, father, etc. Friendship, love, work experience help young people feel like adults for the first time, ideally they form the ability to be with another person in a relationship based on trust, support and tenderness. However, the difficulties of socializing young people can lead to psychological breakdowns. First of all, the gap between the desire to most likely achieve and the inability, unwillingness to achieve the goals set by painstaking work has a negative effect. Well, if there is willpower, diligence, patience, if a person is not spoiled.

It is not uncommon for modern young people, on the one hand, to want to remain children as long as possible, shifting the care of themselves, and even of their young family, to their parents, and on the other hand, they demand to be treated as adults, seek non-interference in their personal life. Such behavior is called infantilism. Infantilism(from lat. infantilis - infantile, childish) - this is the preservation in adults of the physical and mental traits characteristic of childhood. Such features are emotional instability, immaturity of judgments, irresponsibility, capriciousness. This condition is sometimes the result of diseases suffered in early childhood, or some other reasons that led to excessive care from parents or close people. But if you are already an adult, then take the trouble to be him in practice and be fully responsible for yourself.

A person feels young as long as he is capable of creativity, can change, rebuild himself and at the same time be responsible for everything he has done. There are people who feel young not only in their mature years, but also in a very old age. Youth prolongs doing what you love, in which there is interest and creative activity, as well as healthy lifestyle life. The feeling of youth is manifested both in appearance and in human behavior. “A person is as old as he feels himself to be,” says a well-known aphorism.

Youth subculture. The desire to communicate with their peers leads to the development of a specifically "youthful" self-consciousness and lifestyle - a youth subculture. Under youth subculture refers to the culture of a certain young generation, characterized by a common style of life, behaviors, group norms and stereotypes. As a special subculture, it has its own goals, values, ideals, illusions, which do not always and do not exactly repeat those prevailing in adult society; it even has its own language.

The reasons for the formation of the youth subculture are the desire of people of this age to separate themselves, first of all, from the elders, the desire to belong to any community of peers, the search for their own path in the "adult world". Formed both formal and informal youth groups. Formal groups are officially registered and are often led by adults. The motives for joining this or that group, this or that youth direction, are different. First of all, this is the desire to gain mutual understanding and support, to feel stronger and more secure; sometimes it is also a desire to feel power over others.

There are many types of youth groups and associations. Some of them are characterized by aggressive self-activity based on rather dubious or even asocial value orientations. Primitivism, flashy visibility of self-affirmation is also popular among some teenagers and young people. For individual young people, outrageous outrageousness is often the most accessible form of self-affirmation.

Some groups actively oppose themselves to the adult world. Call public opinion most often expressed in the features of clothing and fashionable additions to it. Sometimes direct antisocial acts (hooliganism, fights) are also committed. In this case, society is faced with deviant behavior.

In the youth subculture, as a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, in turn, there are smaller, but nevertheless rigidly designed subcultures (punks, ravers, rockers, skins, football and music fans, etc.).

At the same time, groups of social amateur performance aimed at constructively solving specific social problems are becoming more and more authoritative in the youth environment. These include environmental movements, activities for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, the provision of mutual support (warriors who fought in "hot spots", the disabled, etc.); the activities of volunteers who help people who are especially in dire need of it are also important.

Social mobility of youth. Youth is the most active, mobile and dynamic part of the population.

social mobility called the transition of people from one social group to another. A distinction is made between horizontal and vertical mobility. Horizontal mobility- this is the transition of a person to another social group without changing the social status, for example, divorce and the formation of a new family, the transition to work in the same position from one enterprise to another, etc. Vertical mobility associated with the transition up or down the steps of the social ladder. This, for example, promotion or, conversely, demotion, or even deprivation of work. A private entrepreneur can go from being a small owner to becoming the owner of a reputable firm, but it can also go bankrupt.

In modern society, the intensity of the processes of horizontal and vertical mobility increases dramatically. The reason for this is the dynamism of social life, rapid transformations in the economy, the emergence of new professions and activities, and the curtailment, even disappearance of many old, once quite respectable industries and corresponding jobs.

Today, a young person entering an independent life should be prepared for the fact that he may have to retrain, master new occupations, constantly improve his qualifications in order to be in demand on the labor market. Many young people will need to consider moving to another city or changing careers to work in rural areas. The fact is that young people often lose out in competition with older, skilled and experienced workers who already have a good reputation. It is no coincidence that youth unemployment rates are particularly high in many countries.

At the same time, young people are on the side of quick reaction to changes taking place in the labor market. It is easier for young people to master new professions generated by scientific and technological progress. They make decisions easier than older people to move to a new place of work and residence, start a business, undergo retraining, etc.

The acceleration of the pace of social life entails the transformation of young people into an active subject of the economy, politics, and culture. The activity of young people is also clearly manifested in the sphere of politics, since all ongoing political processes directly or indirectly affect the life of young people, their position in society. Society and its power structures are oriented towards young people as the most promising age category in terms of social and professional careers.

Young people are in many ways the way society has raised them. At the same time, she, as a rule, has her own common sense, the intention to get a quality education, the desire to work for the benefit of herself and people.

Questions and tasks.

1. What factors influence the definition of the age limits of youth? Why does the age at which youth begins not coincide with the age at which childhood ends?

2. What is the contradictory nature of the socialization of young people?

3. There are many different classifications of youth groups and associations. So, according to the nature of the motivation of amateur performance, they are divided as follows:

· aggressive self-activity, which is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values ​​based on the cult of persons;

shocking amateur performance, which consists in “calling” aggression on oneself in order to be “noted”;

· alternative self-activity, consisting in the development of behavior patterns that are contrary to generally accepted norms;

constructive social initiative aimed at solving specific social problems.

What motives for joining youth groups and associations can be considered positive? Which of the above types of amateur performance, in your opinion, is socially acceptable? Lead concrete examples youth groups with such types of amateur performances.

4. What, in your opinion, is the role of youth in the development of modern society?

5. Create a verbal "portrait" of a typical young person in our country. Indicate his life plans, mastered social roles, etc. What qualities do you personally lack?

Study assignments for topic 1

1. Washington D.C. professor Denis Bolz (USA) writes:

“In high school I taught sociological subjects: history, political science, psychology, sociology and international relationships". In what sense is the word "sociology" used here? How is sociology defined today?

2. Depending on the subject, conflicts can be subdivided:

- on intrapersonal (between the conscious and unconscious desires of the individual, between the requirements of conscience and the desire for pleasure, between instinctive urges and norms of culture and morality);

- interpersonal (between two or more individuals who are at war with each other due to competition for the possession of vital resources in the form of property, power, position, prestige, etc.);

- intragroup and intergroup (occur both within a social group and between different groups as a result of the struggle of individual individuals and their communities for better conditions and a higher degree of remuneration for activities in the group - industrial, political, sports, etc.);

- ethno-national (occur when the interests and attitudes of one ethnic group or nation are infringed or suppressed by the state, representatives of other nations or other social communities);

- international (arise between nations due to a clash of economic, territorial, ideological interests, etc.).

According to the scale and prevalence in sociology, conflicts are local, regional, within one country, global.

Give examples of these types of conflicts from history, literature, and the media.

3. Let's think about the representatives of which professions should have the most developed sociological thinking and sociological vision of the world? In other words, who needs sociological knowledge the most? To do this, analyze the professions (driver, teacher, salesman, miner, manager, pilot, farmer, janitor, waiter, banker, magician, journalist, border guard, plumber, cook, engineer) according to two criteria:

a) how often their representatives have to communicate with people on duty;

b) whose professional or business success to the greatest extent depends on the knowledge of the psychology of people and the ability to solve social problems.

For convenience, break professions into three groups with strong, medium and weak severity of these signs.

4. How do you understand the saying of Mark Twain: “When I was 14 years old, my father was so stupid that I could hardly bear him, but when I was 21 years old, I was amazed at how much this old man had grown wiser over the past seven years” ?

What features of the younger generation can be illustrated by this statement? Justify your answer.

5. Men and women entering into interpersonal relationships regarding the organization of the family and marriage, they go through several stages: premarital relationship between potential spouses (love, matchmaking, engagement); marriage; stage young family; the appearance of children, the formation complete family; stage mature family(growing up of children, their socialization); as well as the stage family breakdown(for reasons of divorce, or the death of one of the parents; aging, illness and death; separation of children from parents, etc.).

Discuss this chart with your parents. At what stage do they see their family? What joys and difficulties of the passed stages do they remember most of all? How does this relate to you?

6. Do you agree with the opinion that young people have better adapted to the conditions of modern Belarusian reality than representatives of older generations? Give examples.

7. Discuss which of the following criteria determine whether a young person has reached adult status: economic independence, living apart from parents, marriage, participation in elections, having a child, ability to answer before the law. Think about what other criteria you could name as defining. Justify your answer.

8. In the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" is very subtly noticed: "Everything happy families similar to each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. How do you understand the words of the great writer?

9. Choose statements that are close to you famous people about family. Explain your choice.

10. It is known that any social phenomenon necessarily has two sides - positive and negative. There are no unilateral events. If you only find the negative, then you missed or haven't found the positive yet.

For example, "hippies" were considered in the 60s. both in our country and abroad, mainly as a negative phenomenon. But years have passed, and it turned out that it was they who awakened ecological consciousness in society, which changed our world for the better.

Find the positive and negative aspects of the following phenomena:

Collectivization of the 30s

Massovization of culture

Gorbachev's perestroika.

Migration of people from the village to the city.

The collapse of the USSR.

12. Compare two approaches to the problem of the social ideal.

A.V. Lunacharsky: “The meaning of our socialist work is to build a life that would make it possible to develop all the possibilities hidden in a person, which would make a person dozens of times smarter, happier, more beautiful and richer than today.”

J. Adams: “The American dream is not just a dream of cars and a high salary, it is a dream of a social order in which every man and every woman can straighten out to the full height that they are internally capable of achieving and receive recognition - as such, what they are - from other people, regardless of the accidental circumstances of their birth and position.

13. From the standpoint of the stratification theory, society is viewed as a system of social strata. The widely used so-called one-level stratification(when dividing society according to one attribute) and multilevel(when a society is divided simultaneously on two or more grounds, for example, on grounds of prestige, professional, income level, level of education, religious affiliation, etc.).

Build a diagram: "The social structure of the Belarusian society" in the 20s (30s, 80s) 20th century Describe the dynamics based on it social structure Belarusian society. What do you think caused it?

14. According to the 1999 census, out of 10,045,000 inhabitants of Belarus, 81% of them identified themselves as titular nationality- Belarusians. 19% of the population represent more than 140 nationalities and nationalities, including 11% (1,141,731 people) identified themselves as Russians; 3.9% (395,712 people) - Poles; 2.4% (237,015 people) - Ukrainians; 0.3% (27,798 people) are Jews. Throughout the centuries-old history, a stable interaction of the culture of the titular nation with the culture of other national communities, primarily Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Tatars, has been preserved.

Compare the 1999 census data with previous census results. To do this, build a comparison table. Which historical events led to the changes you identified. Give examples of mutual assistance and cooperation of different nationalities in Belarus that you know.

15. Build a block diagram: "Types of social groups." Specify it with examples.

Documents and materials

1. P. Sorokin believes that social space is a kind of universe, consisting of the population of the Earth. Where there are no human individuals, or where only one person lives, there is no social space (or universe), since one individual cannot have any relation to others. It can only be located in geometric, but not in social space. Accordingly, to determine the position of a person or any social phenomenon in social space means to determine his (their) attitude towards other people and others. social phenomena taken as such "reference points". The very choice of "reference points" depends on us: they can be individuals, groups or aggregates of groups.

To determine the social position of a person, it is necessary to know his marital status, citizenship, nationality, attitude to religion, profession, membership in political parties, economic status, his origin, etc. But this is not all. Since there are completely different positions within the same group (for example, a king and an ordinary citizen within the same state), it is also necessary to know the position of a person within each of the main population groups.

1) social space is the population of the Earth;

2) social status is the totality of his ties with all groups of the population, within each of these groups, that is, with its members;

3) the position of a person in the social universe is determined by establishing these connections;

4) the totality of such groups, as well as the totality of positions within each of them, constitutes a system of social coordinates that makes it possible to determine the social position of any individual.

Based on the characteristics of P. Sorokin, determine the place of the Republic of Belarus in the social space. What is the position of your family in the social space?

2. Get acquainted with an excerpt from the work of the German sociologist R. Dahrendorf "Elements of the theory of social conflict."

The regulation of social conflicts is a decisive condition for the reduction of violent almost all types of conflicts. Conflicts do not disappear through their resolution; they do not necessarily become immediately less intense, but to the extent that they can be regulated, they become controlled, and their creative power is put at the service of the gradual development of social structures ...

For this, it is necessary that conflicts in general, as well as these individual contradictions, be recognized by all participants as inevitable, and moreover, as justified and expedient. The one who does not allow conflicts, considers them as pathological deviations from an imaginary normal state, fails to cope with them. Resigned recognition of the inevitability of conflicts is also not enough. Rather, it is necessary to be aware of the fruitful creative principle of conflicts. This means that any intervention in conflicts must be limited to regulating their manifestations and that futile attempts to eliminate their causes must be abandoned.

How does the author assess the possibility of conflict regulation? Based on the texts of the paragraph and the document, formulate the basic principles of compromise conflict resolution. Illustrate them with examples you know. How do you understand the meaning of the last sentence of the text? What conclusion can be drawn from the read text for understanding the social conflict?

3. Get acquainted with the reasoning of I. S. Aksakov:

“Society, in our opinion, is that environment in which the conscious, mental activity of a certain people takes place, which is created by all the spiritual forces of the people, developing the people's self-consciousness. In other words; society is... self-conscious people.

What is a people?.. A people consists of separate units, each having its own personal intelligent life, activity and freedom; each of them, taken separately, is not a people, but all together they make up that whole phenomenon, that new face, which is called the people and in which all individual personalities disappear ...

There is no society yet, but a state is already emerging over the people - continuing to live an immediate life. But doesn't the state express people's self-consciousness? No, it is only an external definition given to itself by the people; its activity, that is, the state, and the sphere of its activity are purely external... And so we have: on the one hand, the people in their immediate being; on the other hand, the state - as an external definition of the people, borrowing its strength from the people - strengthening at its expense with its inaction inner life, with its long-term stay in immediate being; finally, between the state and the people - society, i.e. the same people, but in its highest human meaning ... "

How, according to I. S. Aksakov, do the state, people and society differ from each other? Why does the state not express the people's self-consciousness?

4. From the work of the modern American sociologist E. Shilze "Society and Societies: Macrosociological Approach".

What is included in societies? As has been said, the most differentiated of these consist not only of families and kinship groups, but also of associations, unions, firms and farms, schools and universities, armies, churches and sects, the party and numerous other corporate bodies or organizations which, in in turn, have boundaries that define the circle of members over which the appropriate corporate authorities - parents, managers, chairmen, etc., etc. - exercise a certain measure of control. It also includes systems formally and informally organized along territorial lines - communities, villages, districts, cities, districts - all of which also have some features of society. Further, it includes unorganized collections of people within society - social classes or strata, occupations and professions, religions, language groups - who have a culture that is more inherent in those who have a certain status or position than everyone else.

So, we have seen that society is not just a collection of united people, original and cultural collectives, interacting and exchanging services with each other. All these collectives form a society by virtue of their existence under common authority which exercises its control over the territory defined by the boundaries, maintains and propagates a more or less common culture. It is these factors that make a set of relatively specialized original corporate and cultural collectives into a society.

What components, according to E. Shils, are included in society? Indicate to which spheres of life of society each of them belongs. Select from the listed components those that are social institutions. Based on the text, prove that the author considers society as a social system.

5. Julian Simon, in his book Basic Methods of Research in Social Science (New York, 1969), writes:

“Psychology students often think that a laboratory experiment, during which causal relationships are established between various aspects of the behavior of animals or people, exhausts all the possibilities of social research.

Many of those involved in concrete economics are still convinced that only statistical analysis, which makes it possible to give an objective picture of fluctuations in prices and mass of commodities, is the most reliable measure of economic behavior.

In contrast, some anthropologists continue to believe that participant observation remains the most reliable way of knowing, as a result of which we study the daily interactions of people who create the social world in which we live.

At the same time, psychoanalysts are convinced of the infallibility of getting used to or feeling inner world his patient as the only reliable method of studying human behavior, his intimate motives.

And marketers do not recognize any other means than studying how the aspirations of a particular individual are related to his social characteristics and consumer behavior.

Indeed, each science that studies human behavior has developed its own scientific traditions and accumulated relevant empirical experience. And each of them, being one of the branches of social science, can be defined in terms of the method that it predominantly uses. Although not only in this way. The sciences also differ in terms of the problems they study.

What are the main methods of studying people? What can be learned about them through observation? What is an experiment? What calculations are carried out when studying the behavior of people and their opinions? What research methods will be required in order to determine: a) the population of a given country; b) readiness of people to vote in the forthcoming parliamentary elections; c) ways of interaction of miners during the strike; d) the rate at which rumors spread?

6. Read the judgment of one of the leading American sociologists, Wright Mills:

“By institution I mean the social form certain population social roles. Institutions are classified according to their tasks (religious, military, educational, etc.), form an institutional order. The combination of institutional orders forms a social structure.

Society is a configuration of institutions that, in their functioning, limit the freedom of action of people. In modern society, there are five institutional orders: 1) economic - institutions that organize economic activity; 2) political - institutions of power; 3) family - institutions that regulate sexual relations, the birth and socialization of children; 4) military - institutions that organize legal heritage; 5) religious - institutions that organize the collective worship of the gods.

What important institution is not named by R. Mills in the list of institutional orders?

7. Get acquainted with the following judgment:

“Young people are beginning to be afraid and hate, artificially opposing them to the “adult” society. And this is fraught with serious social explosions. The crisis in Russian society has given rise to an acute conflict of generations, which is not limited to the traditional for any society divergence of "fathers" and "children" in their views on clothes and hairstyles, in tastes in music, dancing and behavior. In Russia, it concerns the philosophical, ideological, spiritual foundations of the development of society and man, basic views on the economy and production, and the material life of society. The generation of "fathers" found itself in a position where the transfer of material and spiritual heritage to successors is practically absent. The social values ​​by which the "fathers" lived, in the new historical situation, have been overwhelmingly lost. practical value and because of this, they are not inherited by "children", since they are not suitable for them either for the present or for the future life. There is a gap in generations in Russian society, reflecting a break in gradualness, a gap in historical development, the transition of society to the rails of a fundamentally different system.

What kind of generational gap and conflict between “fathers” and “children” are we talking about here? What is the essence of this phenomenon? Argument your position.

8. E. Starikov in the article “Marginals, or Reflections on an old topic; “What is happening to us?”, which was published in the Znamya magazine in 1985, writes:

... Marginal, simply speaking, is an “intermediate” person. The classic figure of the marginal is a man who has come from the countryside to the city in search of work: no longer a peasant, not yet a worker; the norms of the village subculture have already been undermined, the urban subculture has not yet been assimilated. There is no unemployment in our country, but there are declassed representatives of workers, collective farmers, intelligentsia, and the administrative apparatus. What is their distinguishing feature? First of all, in the absence of a kind of professional code of honor. The physical impossibility of hacking distinguishes a professional worker.

Only under stable conditions permanent place residence and work, a normal living environment, a strong family, an established system of social ties, in a word, the "rootedness" of the individual allows you to develop a clear hierarchy of values, conscious group norms and interests. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "there is nothing in the world more precious than the bonds that connect man to man." To tear them means to dehumanize a person, to destroy society. Everything that weakens human bonds, unnecessary bans, mass migrations, forced distributions, forced evictions, barbed fences - everything that we are still so burdened with is to be avoided.

The rootless human "I" blurs: the motives of behavior begin to form in isolation from the values ​​of a stable group, that is, they largely lose their meaning. Morality ceases to rule actions, giving way to benefit, convenience, and sometimes physiological need (this is the explanation for "unmotivated" cruelty, "senseless" crimes).

In the bowels of society, there are two multidirectional processes. Some of the outcasts quickly turn into lumpen. Look who sells kvass, pies, bus tickets; ask who aspires to be butchers, bartenders, bottle collectors; not to mention the lawless hordes of speculators, blackmailers, prostitutes. These are mostly young people. The path to the social bottom, as a rule, is irrevocable. Another process - the process of taking root in the cities of recent rural residents - in itself, in principle, is even progressive. If, moving to the city, a person can count on a decent qualified job, then from a marginal person he turns into a full-fledged city dweller.

How would you define social entity outcasts and sources of replenishment of their ranks? What does the process of rootedness mean, and how does the deprivation of social roots differ from it? Why does a person's value system change when he gets from a stable social environment to an unstable one? How did you understand the idea of ​​two differently directed processes? Can they be likened to upward and downward social mobility?

Because of man's biological ability to procreate, his physical abilities are used to increase his food supply.

The population is strictly limited by the means of subsistence.

Population growth can only be stopped by counter-reasons, which amount to moral abstinence, or by misfortunes (wars, epidemics, famine).

Malthus also comes to the conclusion that the population is growing in geometric progression, and means of subsistence - in arithmetic.

Which of the views of Malthus turned out to be prophetic? How can scientific and technological revolution compensate for the limited natural resources?

10. The German sociologist Karl Manheim (1893-1947) defined the youth as a kind of reserve acting on foreground when such a revival becomes necessary to adapt to rapidly changing or qualitatively new circumstances. Youth performs the function of an enlivening mediator of social life. This parameter is universal and is not limited by place or time. Young people, according to Mannheim, are neither progressive nor conservative in nature, they are potential, ready for any undertaking.

How do you understand Manheim's words? Is this true for today's youth?

11. From the work of the Russian sociologist O. S. Osinova “Deviant behavior: good or evil?”.

The form of society's response to one or another type of deviation should depend on which (generally) social norms are being violated; universal, racial, class, group, etc. The following dependencies can be distinguished:

- The higher the level (in terms of the degree of generality) of social norms and values ​​is violated, the more decisive the actions of the state should be. The highest value is the natural rights of man.

If we consider the problems of self-realization of young people not only from the side of the individual as the difficulties of realizing an individual, but look at them in general, as problems of the whole society, then we can see that the solution of these problems can improve the social system, increase productivity, and also avoid many social problems. conflicts. The socio-demographic group that falls under the definition of "youth" has more high level perception and acceptance of the modernization of society.

It is easier for young people to adapt to modern conditions of existence, it is easier to master innovations in various fields. Culture, politics, social and economic activities and much more do not stand still, guided only by the cultural heritage and experience of ancestors. All social sectors are changing, acquiring new modern outlines. It can be extremely difficult for people who have crossed the line of youth to accept such changes because of tightly rooted conservative views. Over time, the reins of government in society are transferred into the hands of the younger generation. That is why it is so important to create favorable conditions for the self-realization of young people, helping young people to become harmonious, comprehensively developed personalities.

Way to the future

The period of youth is a kind of road to the future. It is on this thorny path that a person predetermines his future existence, makes a choice towards one profession or another, decides in which social sphere his potential will be fully revealed and more useful to society, which occupation will bring spiritual comfort. The consciousness of young people, like a sponge, is able to absorb, filter and process a large flow of information. In research developmental psychology it is said that it is in the process of growing up that a person develops self-consciousness and a stable system of values, and the social status of the individual is predetermined. The period of youth is characterized by manifestations of critical thinking, a person learns to evaluate and analyze. In parallel with this, the foundation of the stereotypes of the past has already been laid in the minds of young people, the task of young people is to correctly filter the experience of the past years, to highlight the main and useful information for themselves.

Fathers and Sons

We adults do not understand children because we no longer understand our own childhood. Sigmund Freud

The problems of youth self-realization include the eternal confrontation between the old and the young generations. Basically, old people are always dissatisfied with the behavior of young people, they try to give advice from the past years, and young people, with all their youthful ambition, do not want to listen and draw conclusions. In fact, the confrontation between these two social groups can both serve a certain benefit and cause considerable harm in the further realization of youth potential. Definitely, the experience of the past can be useful, for example, not to make the same mistakes or, as they say, not to reinvent the wheel. This is where the ability to filter information and give their own assessment of certain judgments comes in handy for young people.

As for negative consequences, then too persistent imposition of conservative views will hinder the desire of young people to develop in modern world, keep up with the times, adapt to rapidly evolving features environment. Young people, crushed by the authority of the older generation, lose interest in learning everything new, passivity develops, sometimes bordering on infantilism, and these qualities in no way contribute to self-realization and success. Therefore, in the process of education, it is extremely important to find that very notorious “golden mean”. As K. S. Stanislavsky said: “Let the old wisdom guide young vigor and strength, let young vigor and strength support the old wisdom.”

Problems of youth in the modern world

The modern world is no longer so strict about the observance of the rules of morality, as in ancient times, this also has a considerable component of the essence of the problem of self-realization of young people. That is why most of today's young people have extremely vague moral standards. The majority is dominated by hedonistic inclinations, selfishness, which sooner or later leads to self-destruction of the individual. The problems faced by modern youth hinder the self-realization of the individual or make it almost impossible. Spiritual devastation, hopelessness of further life, a split in value orientations, spreading nihilism and breaking moral ideals - these are the main reasons that bring modern young people to such social problems, How:

• Alcoholism
• Addiction
• Immorality
• Crime
• suicidal tendencies
• Change of life values

Getting into one of the above currents, the individual enters the path of degradation and self-destruction. And only through a long and complex social, physical and psychological rehabilitation can a person be returned to a normal existence, as well as motivate his personality to further self-development.

What hinders the self-realization of youth

Here are some of the most basic problems of youth self-realization

Non-compliance with social requirements

It is unlikely that anyone in childhood dreams of becoming a successful plumber or loader. Everyone wants to be astronauts and stewardesses, pilots and ballerinas. But over time, a person realizes that it is not always possible to realize dreams. Society does not need millions of dancers and actresses, preference is given to professions in the field of science, physical or engineering labor. The first problem of self-realization of the individual is the discrepancy between the desired and the actual. You have to make a choice between a childhood dream and a profession that is more prestigious and profitable. But often young people do not understand that it is possible to realize oneself not only in a career. Self-realization is a combination of all spheres of life, such as creativity, hobbies, family, environment, and the like. It turns out that now the majority of modern youth prefer the choice of a profession more profitable, but to which the soul does not lie at all. Of course, therefore, the opportunity to be realized in the labor field in this case is extremely small.

Lack of social requirements

The youth of the modern world is overwhelmingly aimed at obtaining a good income. But the development of a profession and hard work are not included in the plans of young people. The absence of a labor incentive primarily arises from the futility of later life, the individual does not see the point in making efforts. Such qualities as laziness, passivity, lack of initiative begin to prevail, a feeling of hopelessness arises, which can lead to stress and personal conflicts of the individual.

Lack of social guidelines

The younger generation sometimes does not have time to adapt to such a rapidly changing society. The experience of the past and the modernization of society are sometimes so different from each other, and these changes occur short term that introduce a certain dissonance into the fragile consciousness of the younger generation. At young people there are no social guidelines, because what was important for the previous generation is rapidly losing its value in the framework of urbanization and modernization of the modern world. Therefore, the further choice of the goal and path of young people begins to be determined by the circumstances and requirements of society, and not by the abilities and desires of the individual himself. Therefore, it is extremely important to form the ability to adapt one's professional and personal goals to the development trends of modern society, to be able to adapt without violating mental balance.

Reduction of social programs

The problems of youth self-realization directly depend on social activities. In order to fully show their potential, to determine the propensity for a particular branch of activity, young people need to be provided with a foundation, so to speak, an arena for implementation. The reduction of various youth programs, the inability to find conditions for active amateur performances, difficulties in the right to direct participation in educational, political, and labor activities. The younger generation has absolutely nowhere to show their potential, as the society is not able to provide affordable leisure sites for realization.

social insecurity

For successful self-realization, the younger generation must feel support and support from others. It is not only about the family and the general education system. The state must fully create favorable conditions for the life support of the young generation and the formation of a harmonious personality. If young people do not feel guarantees, a certain guarantee for the success of their future, then this contributes to the emergence of a sense of fear, uncertainty about the future. Which, like any negative thoughts and emotions, creates obstacles for the self-realization of young people.

Moral and spiritual chaos

The last period of the development of modern society notices a tendency towards the dehumanization of culture, the meaning of art is demoralized, the image of a person becomes belittled, spiritual and moral values ​​fade into the background. Empathy and altruism give way to greed and consumerism. The spiritual values ​​of collectivism have been replaced by selfish-individual goals. All these factors, as well as the lack of a clear national idea among young people, are also one of the components of the essence of the problem of self-realization of young people. The mass media and social networks exert their detrimental influence on the fragile young psyche. One should not underestimate the value of the Internet and all its benefits (which, in the conditions of the modern world, occupy not the last place in the self-realization of the individual), but here, again, it is necessary to develop in young people the ability to properly filter information.

Solving the problem of self-realization of youth

So what conditions are necessary for the self-realization of young people? First of all, one should not forget that the self-realization of a person primarily depends on the person himself, his aspirations and readiness for hard work. The task of others is to help young people to form, creating all the necessary favorable conditions for the development and realization of their potential.

On the part of the family and close circle, this may be the transfer of valuable experience, the formation of moral values. This can be achieved, for example, by your personal example - a child who grows up in harmony and sees a favorable family model in front of him is already one step closer to a successful future. The education system, too, usually makes a significant contribution to the formation of personality. Pedagogical trends should not stand still; constant growth, development, and the search for new productive methods of upbringing and education are necessary. The state should also introduce various social programs for the development of young people, provide an opportunity to realize their creative and creative inclinations, create so-called leisure and cultural platforms for young people to throw out their amateur activity. Also, do not forget about social guarantees - young people should not feel unprotected within social policy. Each person must be sure that persistent, honest and hard work is an opportunity to achieve success, and the state will assist in this, since the mechanism of governing the country should be interested in obtaining worthy personnel and educating a worthy young generation.

Young people should not be treated with condescension. It is very possible that, having matured, they will become outstanding husbands. Only one who has achieved nothing by reaching the age of forty or fifty does not deserve respect. Confucius

The problems of youth self-realization are not only individual and personal difficulties of young people. This is a global problem of the whole society as a whole. It is quite possible that the cute kid that you see in the sandbox will later become the head of state and the arbiter of the fate of the entire society. Therefore, one of the most important goals of the modern world is to solve the problem of self-realization of young people and create high-quality conditions for self-realization of young people.

Youth is the main bearer of the intellectual and physical potential of society, it has great abilities for work, technical and cultural and artistic creativity, productive activity in all spheres of human existence;

Young people have a great social and professional perspective, they are able to acquire new knowledge, professions and specialties faster than other social groups in society.

The fundamental issue when considering the role of youth in society is the question of youth as a subject and object of social transformations. Entering life, a young person is subject to the influence of social conditions, family, educational institutions, and later, in the process of growing up and moving into more mature phases of development, he begins to significantly influence society. That is, youth acts as a subject when it influences society, giving up its potential, at the same time it is an object, since social influence is directed at it in order to develop it. The youth acts as an object both to society and to itself.

Without a doubt, youth is a very important part for Chuvashia and for Russia as a whole, as it is the most active component of the state. The young are the best adapted to the introduction of new technologies, innovations and reforms. They are mobile and full of energy, so Russian state interested in the fact that the younger generation would be involved in the economic life of Russia and political ... Most recently, our country has passed the economic crisis, and is now at the stage of stabilization, so young specialists in the field of economics are simply necessary for Chuvashia. It follows that the state should be interested in the formation of a viable and healthy new generation, because young people are the “salvation” for the state in terms of creating a family and eliminating the demographic crisis.

In a word, Chuvashia in our time is doing everything for the successful development of the younger generation - the rest depends on us. Purposefulness and ambitions are the main components of a happy life and a secure future, so it is important to choose your path right now, because youth is not eternal and goes away every day... Giving up bad habits, worthy occupation, finding your favorite job will help change your life for the better . The future of Russia is in the hands of young people, and this should always be remembered.

YOUTH - a socio-demographic group identified on the basis of age parameters, social status and socio-psychological qualities.

One of the first definitions of the term "youth" was given in 1968 by V.T. Lisovsky:

"Youth is a generation of people passing through the stage of socialization, assimilating, and at a more mature age already assimilating, educational, professional, cultural and other social functions; depending on specific historical conditions, the age criteria for youth can range from 16 to 30 years."

Later more complete definition was given to I.S. Konom:

"Youth is a socio-demographic group distinguished on the basis of a combination of age characteristics, characteristics of social status and socio-psychological properties due to both. Youth as a certain phase, stage of the life cycle is biologically universal, but its specific age limits, associated social status and socio-psychological characteristics are of a socio-historical nature and depend on social order, culture and the laws of socialization characteristic of a given society.

In developmental psychology, youth is characterized as a period of formation of a stable system of values, the formation of self-awareness and the social status of an individual.

The consciousness of a young person has a special susceptibility, the ability to process and assimilate a huge flow of information. During this period, develop: critical thinking, the desire to give their own assessment of various phenomena, the search for argumentation, original thinking. At the same time, at this age, some attitudes and stereotypes characteristic of the previous generation are still preserved. Hence, in the behavior of young people, there is an amazing combination of contradictory qualities and traits: the desire for identification and isolation, conformism and negativism, imitation and denial of generally accepted norms, the desire for communication and withdrawal, detachment from the outside world.

Youth consciousness is determined by a number of objective circumstances.

Firstly, in modern conditions the process of socialization itself has become more complicated and lengthened, and, accordingly, the criteria for its social maturity have become different. They are determined not only by entry into an independent working life, but also by the completion of education, the acquisition of a profession, real political and civil rights, and material independence from parents.

Secondly, the formation of the social maturity of young people occurs under the influence of many relatively independent factors: family, school, work collective, mass media, youth organizations and spontaneous groups.

The boundaries of youth age are mobile. They depend on the socio-economic development of society, the level of well-being and culture achieved, and the living conditions of people. The impact of these factors is really manifested in the life expectancy of people, expanding the boundaries of youth age from 14 to 30 years.

Since ancient times, the formation of society has been accompanied by the process of socialization of new generations. One of the main problems of the socialization of young people is that they either accept the values ​​of their fathers or completely reject them. The second happens more often. Young people believe that the social values ​​that the "fathers" lived by lose their practical significance in any new historical situation and, therefore, are not inherited by children.

Today, the main task of the survival of the Belarusian society is to solve the problem of maintaining social stability and transferring cultural heritage from one generation to another. This process has never been automatic. He always assumed the active participation in it of all generations. It must be remembered that it is at a young age that a system of value orientations is formed, the process of self-education, self-creation of the individual and affirmation in society is actively underway.

In today's rapidly changing, dynamically developing world, young people have to decide for themselves what is more valuable - enrichment by any means or the acquisition of high qualifications that help them adapt to new conditions; denial of previous moral norms or flexibility, adaptability to the new reality; unlimited freedom of interpersonal relationships or family.

Values ​​are a relatively stable, socially determined attitude of a person to the totality of material and spiritual goods, cultural phenomena that serve as a means of satisfying the needs of the individual.

TO core values relate:

1. Humanity;

2. Good manners;

3. Education;

4. Tolerance;

5. Kindness;

6. Honesty;

7. Diligence;

8. Love;

Young people have acquired a number of new qualities, both positive and negative.

The positives include:

1. The desire for self-organization and self-government;

2. Interest in political events in the country and region;

3. Not indifferent to problems national language and culture;

4. Participation in organizing your leisure time;

5. Focus on self-education;

Negative qualities such as:

1. Tobacco smoking, drug testing and adolescent alcoholism;

2. Doing nothing;

3. Sexual experimentation;

4. Infantilism and indifference (nihilism);

5. Uncertainty and unpredictability;

There are several important socio-cultural conditions for successful personal socialization:

1. Healthy family microenvironment;

2. Favorable creative atmosphere at school, lyceum, gymnasium;

3. Positive impact of fiction and art;

4. Media influence;

5. Aestheticization of the nearest macro environment (yard, neighborhood, club, sports ground, etc.)

6. Active involvement in social activities;

Social adaptation is a controlled process. It can be managed not only in line with the impact of social institutions on a person in the course of his production, non-production, pre-production, post-production life, but also in line with self-government. IN general view most often, four stages of adaptation of a person in a new social environment are distinguished:

1. the initial stage, when an individual or group realizes how they should behave in a new social environment for them, but are not yet ready to recognize and accept the value system of the new environment and strive to adhere to the old value system;

2. the stage of tolerance, when the individual, the group and the new environment show mutual tolerance for each other's value systems and patterns of behavior;

3. accommodation, i.e. recognition and acceptance by the individual of the basic elements of the value system of the new environment while simultaneously recognizing some of the values ​​of the individual, the group of the new social environment;

4. assimilation, i.e. complete coincidence of the value systems of the individual, group and environment; Complete social adaptation of a person includes physiological, managerial, economic, pedagogical, psychological and professional adaptation.

Specific points of social adaptation technology:

* only a person tends to create special "devices", certain social institutions, norms, traditions, facilitating the process of his adaptation in a given social environment;

* only a person has the ability to consciously prepare the younger generation for the process of adaptation, using all means of education for this;

* the process of "acceptance" or "rejection" by individuals of existing social relations depends both on social belonging, worldview, and on the direction of education;

* a person consciously acts as a subject of social adaptation, changing his views, attitudes, value orientations under the influence of circumstances;

Social adaptation is the process of active development of the social environment by the personality, in which the personality acts both as an object and as a subject of adaptation, and the social environment is both an adapting and adaptable side.

Successful social adaptation of the individual requires the maximum expenditure of the spiritual energy of the individual.

Youth is the path to the future, which is chosen by the person himself. The choice of the future, its planning is a characteristic feature of a young age; he would not be so attractive if a person knew in advance what would happen to him tomorrow, in a month, in a year.

General conclusion: "Each subsequent generation of young people is worse than the previous one in terms of the main indicators of social status and development." This is expressed, first of all, in the trend of reducing the number of young people, which leads to the aging of society and, consequently, a decrease in the role of youth as a social resource in general.

The demographic situation is complicated by a new reality in Belarus - the growth of murders and suicides, including among young people. The reason is the emergence of difficult personal and life situations. According to the data, 10% of graduates of state institutions for orphans commit suicide, not being able to adapt to living conditions.

First, the unresolved socio-economic and everyday problems.

Secondly, in the trend of deterioration in the health of children and adolescents. The rising generation is less healthy physically and mentally than the previous one. On average, only 10% of school graduates in Belarus can consider themselves absolutely healthy, 45-50% of them have serious morphofunctional deviations.

Recently, there has been a clear increase in the number of diseases among students, such as:

1. mental disorders;

2. peptic ulcer of the gastrointestinal tract;

3. alcohol and drug addiction;

4. venereal diseases;

Some young people, due to an unbalanced diet and reduced physical activity, gain excess weight, spend little time outdoors, and are not involved in sports and recreational activities.

Thirdly, in the tendency to expand the process of desocialization, the marginalization of young people. The number of young people leading an asocial, immoral lifestyle is increasing. For various reasons and to varying degrees, they include: disabled people, alcoholics, vagrants, "professional beggars", persons serving sentences in corrective labor institutions who strive to be socially useful citizens, but due to social conditions cannot become them. There is a lumpenization and criminalization of youth. ѕ young students consider themselves to be low-income.

Fourthly, in the trend of decreasing opportunities for youth participation in economic development. Statistics show that the share of young people in the unemployed remains high. The labor market is characterized by a significant overflow of labor from the state to the non-state sector of the economy.

Moving to the sphere for positions that do not require professional knowledge, young people risk their future well-being, not ensuring the accumulation of intellectual property - professionalism. Moreover, this area of ​​employment is characterized by a very high degree of criminalization.

Fifth - in the downward trend social value labor, prestige of a number of professions important for society. Sociological studies of recent years state that in labor motivation, priority is given not to meaningful work, but to work aimed at obtaining material benefits. "Big salary" - this motive turned out to be decisive in choosing a place of work.

Modern youth has such a feature that shows that most of them want to have a good income, while having neither a profession nor a desire to work. This is due to the fact that young people do not have incentives to work.

The problem of criminal influence on young people cannot but disturb the Belarusian public lately. Among criminal offenses every fourth is carried out by young people and teenagers. Among the offenses, mercenary crimes attract attention - theft, extortion of money, fraud. When analyzing statistical data, the volume of acquisitive crimes in the present period is growing rapidly. It depends on the fact that there is a differentiation among young people and most of the young people, parents cannot give what they would like, taking into account requests. And they themselves cannot receive this due to the fact that they do not have a specialty or work skills. Young people do not want to get an education just because they have no prospects after they get an education. Nowadays, more and more young people are using drugs. Maybe this comes from the hopelessness of realizing their capabilities or from the fact that, due to a lack of understanding of the seriousness, they were involved in this by people interested in drug trafficking.