Youth Subculture Analysis

Youth subculture is seen as an illustration of social change or a barometer of future changes, that is why at the time of social, economic and political changes, youth becomes an object of sociological, cultural and psychological analysis in contemporary society. Understanding youth subculture enables researcher and academics to have an insight of the problem youth are facing in society. Therefore, subculture has relevance in order to understand youth in contemporary British society to understand and reason why a certain event occurs or what is changing in society (Dvarionaite, 2007; Sweetman, 2013). For example, when unemployment in youth rises, youth subculture helps academics and policy makers to study the structure of youth and what brings about
The concept of subculture is relevant in in understanding the social attitude o of young people. It gives many different ways in which young people can be studied and observed their behaviour in society (Kehily, 2012). Also, it is through subculture that many activities of young people become visible and if it is something that needs attention from the state or if it is something to be dealt with. For example, if there is a drug increase in society, it is through subculture that this problem can be visible to the authorities and resolve it. In this case subculture become relevant in understanding not only youth, however certain activities that goes on in society that needs attention (Blackman, 2010). According to Kehily, (2012) subculture still has relevance in understanding youth within contemporary society, it also may be a response to changing social and economic relations in society. Sub-cultural activities may be understood as an effort to resolve some of the flaws faced by young people in a particular social
However post-subculture theorists argued that style is unique to each individual and does not necessarily signify anything at all. According to Debies-Carl, (2013) individual has become difficult to understand because of the multiplicity of meaning, expressed through different style, places of subculture, activity and behaviours engaged in which they are all highly unstable and diverse. In addition, post modernist theorists argued that, youth subculture in the contemporary society can contribute to the understanding of the situation or behaviour of young people who are neither in education, employment or training also with a similar focus on socially excluded young people. One can argue that, by observing the behaviour of the recent youth subculture, in the contemporary British society, there can be understanding of what bring about that problem in society and find a solution for it (Shildrick and Macdonald 2006; Furlong, 2011). Although most post-subculture theorists argue that, subcultures have turned away from what it used to be to make an understanding of young people. However, other theorists argue that, the subculture has now run its course and it has become superficial and no longer relevant and fails to provide a useful description of young people