Youth Culture the Sixties
The Sixties:
A Social Revolution?
The period between 1959 and 1975 was a time of great social and moral change throughout Britain. The most significant change involved the emergence of a new youth culture.
In my day, the population had consisted of only two age groups, children and adults. This meant you were either too young to work and therefore went to school, or you were at work earning money and handling the responsibilities of an adult.
…”the nation’s youth were already different to us”,
The post war baby boom meant that youngsters made up the largest part of the population in the late fifties and early sixties. They had benefitted from not having to live through the crippling austerity that we as parents had endured. This meant that the nation’s youth were already different to us, as they were brought up in a more affluent and stable environment. New technology, better living conditions, the safety net of a free health service and welfare state enabled people to live a healthier and wealthier life than ever before. As a social group, working class teenagers were able to find work easily after leaving school. These jobs were often well paid and allowed working class apprentices to learn a trade.
The youngsters of the sixties also had much more free time than we ever did. The introduction of labour saving devices into the home meant we as parents were less likely to require help with house-hold chores. The new generation had money in their pockets and time to spend it. So what were our teenagers spending their money on?. Unlike us, teenagers had little or no financial commitments. They chose instead to spend their money on themselves in the form of leisure activities, fashion, travel and music.
An influential sociologist named Mark Abram carried out market research on spending patterns of teenagers. He was particularly interested in the new consumer group that was emerging in the late fifties early sixties. Abram’s “The Teenage Consumer”, was
A Social Revolution?
The period between 1959 and 1975 was a time of great social and moral change throughout Britain. The most significant change involved the emergence of a new youth culture.
In my day, the population had consisted of only two age groups, children and adults. This meant you were either too young to work and therefore went to school, or you were at work earning money and handling the responsibilities of an adult.
…”the nation’s youth were already different to us”,
The post war baby boom meant that youngsters made up the largest part of the population in the late fifties and early sixties. They had benefitted from not having to live through the crippling austerity that we as parents had endured. This meant that the nation’s youth were already different to us, as they were brought up in a more affluent and stable environment. New technology, better living conditions, the safety net of a free health service and welfare state enabled people to live a healthier and wealthier life than ever before. As a social group, working class teenagers were able to find work easily after leaving school. These jobs were often well paid and allowed working class apprentices to learn a trade.
The youngsters of the sixties also had much more free time than we ever did. The introduction of labour saving devices into the home meant we as parents were less likely to require help with house-hold chores. The new generation had money in their pockets and time to spend it. So what were our teenagers spending their money on?. Unlike us, teenagers had little or no financial commitments. They chose instead to spend their money on themselves in the form of leisure activities, fashion, travel and music.
An influential sociologist named Mark Abram carried out market research on spending patterns of teenagers. He was particularly interested in the new consumer group that was emerging in the late fifties early sixties. Abram’s “The Teenage Consumer”, was