Youth and its role in the modern world. Problems of self-realization of youth in modern conditions

Young people are the future of any country. Despite this, state policy is rarely aimed at maintaining and developing this layer of the population. A person who is looking for himself may step on a slippery slope that will lead him to no one knows where. What role does youth play in modern society? Read about it below.

Social role

Young people are the support and future of our country. Do they know about this? They probably guess. What is the role of youth in modern society? First of all, the main task of the younger generation is to become worthy citizens of the country in which they were born. A person who has embarked on the path of growing up is always faced with the question of self-determination. He is trying to find himself and his path. Based on this, over time he understands what role he will play in society. Every person should make it their goal to improve their country and help people. This is what will help make the state stronger and better. The social role of youth in modern society is the development and change of established standards. The older generation is mostly conservative. People do not want to change either technical equipment or their views. Young people perceive change as something natural and very logical. Schoolchildren, students and university graduates are happy to receive new knowledge and rush to put it into practice. Improving your skills is the true goal. Every person strives for self-realization. Why is he doing this? To find your place and role in modern society. Young people strive to bring something new into the world, invent something or improve something.

What else does society require from the younger generation? Preservation of traditions and values ​​that have been shaped by ancestors over the centuries.

Values

While the role of youth in modern society is quite clear, it is not clear to everyone what else is required from the younger generation. Preservation and increase of knowledge? Certainly. But still the main task is to preserve human values. What does this mean?

• Humanity. In the age of automated technology, people must preserve what makes them different from machines. For many of our compatriots, it is not understood that a person should remain sensitive, sincere and understanding. In many European countries, young people are required to hide their emotions and put on smile masks. This is not yet common in our country, but the influence of the West can already be observed in some large cities. People must preserve their humanity and their emotions. Young people must be responsive, sensitive and understanding.
• Good manners. Speaking about the role of youth in modern society and the values ​​that need to be preserved, it should be said that over time it fades into oblivion. Good manners are a sign of respect. Young people should help older people and come to the aid of each other. Lately, even basic standards of good manners have been forgotten. Young people do not always give up their seats on public transport to older people, and guys rarely open their doors to girls and women.
• Hard work. Nowadays, work has become something shameful. Young people want to earn money without making any effort. Businessmen and entrepreneurs are honored. People who used to be called speculators are now becoming role models. If a young man becomes an engineer, his friends may look askance at their acquaintance. According to most, it is unwise to spend most of your life inventing something that does not exist. Such a profession today will not bring a vocation and does not promise large fees. This is sad.
• Honesty. It seems strange, but frankness between people is dying. Today, young people want to appear better than they really are. The person is not trying to grow up somehow, but he is trying to show off. Social media promotes secrecy. People seem to live openly, but this life is not real, but ostentatious.
• Kindness. Such a simple and understandable quality seems almost repulsive. If one person offers help to another, a catch will be looked for in this action. It’s hard to imagine that in our time you can get free help that comes from the heart.

Positive traits

The role of youth in modern society is determined by what is interesting and what they strive for. What positive qualities do modern youth have?

• Self-education. The fact that most teenagers for quite a long time cannot decide on their true purpose instills the habit of studying what they are really interested in on their own. Young people are happy to attend courses or gain knowledge on the Internet. Specialized books and magazines are used. Any source that can provide useful information, will be used for its intended purpose.
• The desire to understand this world. Young people want to know the world in which they live. People study art, culture, politics. Teenagers are interested in the morals and customs of not only the residents of their own country, but also those living abroad. Knowledge of the world today occurs more often not through books, but through TV shows and through all sorts of YouTube channels.
• The desire for self-organization. Planning and time management are in fashion. It is not surprising that most young people devote a lot of time to studying this science. A person values ​​every minute of his life and wants to make his everyday life more productive. This helps young people figure out which values ​​are considered genuine for them and which are artificially instilled.
• Organizing your leisure time. The openness of the world allows young people to spend their weekends not in front of the TV screen, but on all kinds of excursions and extreme travel. People try to diversify their leisure time with all sorts of activities. This can include various Mind games, extreme sports or general educational excursions.
• Love to cultural events. Museums, art galleries, theaters and conservatories have rarely seen so many young people among their spectators and fans. Every self-respecting teenager chooses the area of ​​art that is closest to him and becomes an ardent fan of it. Some people go to concerts of their favorite musical groups, others do not miss a single art exhibition.

Negative qualities

Young people not only participate in the development of society. The younger generation strives to know all aspects of life and sometimes the methods chosen for knowledge are very reprehensible. When a person writes an essay about the role of youth in modern society, he usually embellishes the situation. What are they really like? negative qualities among young people?

• Dependencies. Alcohol, nicotine and drugs are the things that people try between the ages of 14 and 30. A teenager thinks that a bad habit will make him more mature and more important in the eyes of his peers. Few people think that self-indulgence can turn into an addiction, which will then be impossible to get rid of.
• Idleness. Despite the fact that many teenagers today have goals and even plans to achieve them, laziness is still present to one degree or another in the life of every person. But adults, burdened with family and work, cannot afford to idle all day. But teenagers can. And it’s good if only one day. Thanks to the Internet and the time it consumes, young people can procrastinate for weeks and sometimes months.
• Uncertainty. IN school age Not all teenagers can decide on their purpose. Many young people listen to their parents' advice and go to study for prestigious professions. And then, in the 3rd or 4th year, people realize that they are in the wrong place. Parents do not allow me to leave college, so I have to complete my studies in a profession in which I have no interest. It is unclear what such individuals should do after college. Some go to work in the profession they received, some choose those specialties that do not require special skills, and only a few find the courage to go get a second higher education.
• Indifference. Uncertainty and poor choices breed indifference. People don’t find or even look for their goal, they just go with the flow. Therefore, it is so important at the stage of personality development to help a person understand his purpose and identify his strengths and weaknesses.

Hobbies

How to understand the role of youth in modern society? Values ​​and passions speak louder than any other analysis. What is the younger generation doing today?

• Sport. A beautiful body today is considered not only a sign of health and attractiveness, but also almost a cult. Almost every wealthy teenager has a gym membership. People are truly passionate about sports. When considering the role of youth in modern society, interests and hobbies do not play a role. last role. The situation in our country is such that we will soon have a lot of good and strong athletes, as young people will instill in their children a love of sports.
• Intellectual clubs. Some may say that young people are becoming stupid before our eyes, but this is not so. Intellectual entertainment is in high esteem today. All kinds of quizzes, lectures, and seminars are in great demand. People often gather in clubs based on their interests. For example, book clubs are opening across the country, where young people enjoy reading both the classics and the works of their contemporaries. Hobbies and the role of young people in modern society are interconnected. People strive for knowledge and understanding, which means that hope for a bright future does not disappear.
• Quests. There are rooms from which you need to find a way out by solving logical riddles in almost every major city. Young people enjoy visiting all kinds of locations and successfully overcome them. This method of entertainment prevails over gatherings at home or in a cafe.
• Trips. Since travel around the world has become accessible, young people consider it their duty to become better acquainted with the beauty and culture of those countries that were studied from the pages of textbooks. Traveling for many people is a favorite hobby, and for some even the purpose of life.
• Language learning. Traveling around the world would be impossible if people did not strive to learn foreign languages ​​and cultures. Young people study English not only for a good grade in a certificate or diploma, but also in order to use the language throughout their lives.
• Creation. Expressing your individuality today is possible in various formats. People paint, create their own musical groups, open studios and come up with all kinds of creative workshops. For some, creativity is not just a hobby, but a favorite job and a life goal.

Peculiarities

How does the role of youth in the development of modern society differ from the role played by the older generation? People who have a lot of life experience make mistakes less often, which means they experiment less often. Young people, due to their inexperience, can afford to go off the beaten track and look for new vectors of development. In politics, such a movement is called liberal. Youth parties are trying to convey to the government those demands that older comrades are afraid to voice. It is young people who can openly announce problems that everyone is used to turning a blind eye to. Teenagers are more expressive, so they can make decisions quickly, without particularly burdening themselves with thinking about the outcome of their actions. And it is this property that helps make life better. You don't have to wait 10 years for innovation. Yes, maybe the first pancake will be lumpy, but after the process is started, it’s easier to act.

What other features of the role of youth in modern society are there? Reconsidering the values ​​of the older generation makes society more open. People of all countries become more united and can work together. They will have no language problems or racial disputes. Such a symbiosis gives birth to new ideas and helps to make grandiose discoveries.

Subcultures

The role of youth in the development of modern society is determined not only by people’s hobbies, but also by their affiliation with a particular company. Subcultures today are not clearly identified, but they still exist behind the scenes. What are they?

• Gamers - young people love computer games. They like to spend their time free time, building cities, developing a strategy to capture someone else's camp, or simply chasing the enemy. On the one hand, such a pastime seems useless, but on the other hand, such a vacation helps to relax, engage the brain and improve logic. But we should remember that everything is good in moderation.
• Bikers. Young people riding motorcycles around the city instill fear in old women. Guys in black leather jackets decorated with chains listen to rock, move with a deafening roar and love noisy parties. But nothing prevents such guys from being smart and enlightened young men.
• Fashion subculture. Girls who follow new collections of famous designers find themselves in separate subculture. Fashionistas often wear unthinkable things in unusual combinations. The girls who belong to this subculture are not very smart or developed intellect- this is what the older generation thinks. Not everyone is ready to pay a lot of money for clothes.
• Football subculture. The interests and role of young people in modern society are formed under the influence of their environment. And if the parents are ardent football fans, then the child will become one too. There is nothing bad about such a hobby. The love of sports, which is instilled in childhood, helps a person quickly find teammates in any environment.
• Cosplay. A modern subculture that includes anime fans. People love all kinds of fairy tales so much that they even transform into their favorite characters. Cosplay lovers prepare for the event in advance. They sew a suit and completely think through the image.

Problems

The social role of youth in modern society is not only the transformation of the state for the better. Often young people face problems that older generations can avoid. What are these problems?

• Misunderstanding. Young people are rarely understood by the older generation. Moreover, parents and relatives, as well as older colleagues, force young people to be more down-to-earth. They call far-reaching plans a dream, and interesting ideas - nonsense. With such support, it is difficult to stay with your ideas and not say goodbye to them at the embryonic stage. Misunderstanding extends beyond the realm of study and work. Young people may be eager to travel while their parents are screaming at them to start a family and not waste their time on stupid things.
• Lack of money. Rarely do any teenagers have money. Mostly young people start working quite early. And since students study and work at the same time, they usually have little money. Few people can implement grandiose ideas without a budget. And by the time material prosperity comes to a person, sometimes there is no strength left to implement ideas.
• Finding yourself. Young people can look for their calling until they are 30 years old. A person will try himself in sales, marketing, creativity, or in the exact sciences. Only by changing several jobs and trying yourself in different roles can you find your place in life.
• Lack of idols. play a huge role in the lives of modern youth. Society does not always provide people with idols. Today it is difficult to find among the older generation a person whom young people can look up to. If a person does not have a role model, there is a chance that he will choose false idols.

What influences development

At school and in college, teachers often set the topic for an essay: “The role of youth in modern society.” What can be written in the paragraph about the impact on the younger generation?

• MASS MEDIA. Magazines, television and radio are the sources of information that young people consume. Thanks to the media, the younger generation develops a view of the world and problems that should be considered important. For this reason, parents should talk more often with their child about the role of youth and the environment in modern society. If the correct values ​​are not instilled in the older generation, then children may develop the wrong idea about the true problems that exist in the modern world.
• Internet. Social networks are what is popular today. It is from them that teenagers, and all young people in general, receive new information. Bloggers also have a great influence on the worldview.
• Parents. The older generation should be an authority for young people. But unfortunately, not all children are lucky with their parents. After all, education does not end at 14 years old. We need to talk to young people and warn people against mistakes.
• Teachers. Young people are more lucky with their parents than with their teachers. But it is these people who form the idea of ​​the world and the role that the younger generation plays in it.

Development conditions

What influences the role of youth in modern society? Development conditions. What are they?

• If the family has good income, then the teenager has a greater chance of becoming a good man and a specialist.
• Territorial position. Young people who live in the capital have a better chance of development than their peers living in the provinces.
• Personal abilities. What else determines the role of youth in modern society? The conditions that influence the development of each person are personal qualities and talent.
• Young people have different levels of education, which means their aspirations and values ​​are different.
• Environment. A person is shaped by his social circle. If a young man is lucky, he will meet experienced teachers and mentors along the way who will help with self-determination.

The youth- this is a special socio-age group, distinguished by age limits and their status in society: the transition from childhood and adolescence to social responsibility. Some scientists understand youth as a set of young people to whom society provides the opportunity for social development, providing them with benefits, but limiting the possibility of active participation in certain spheres of social life. Young people, in large part, have a level of mobility, intellectual activity and health that distinguishes them favorably from other groups of the population. During this period, a person goes through an important stage of family and non-family socialization.

Today, scientists define youth as a socio-demographic group of society, identified on the basis of a set of characteristics, characteristics of social status and determined by certain socio-psychological properties that are determined by the level of socio-economic, cultural development, features of socialization in Russian society.

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

Differentiation of young people according to the age allows us to distinguish three main groups:

• · 14-19 years old(boys and girls) - a group of youth financially dependent on parent families and facing a choice of profession;
• · 20-24 years(youth in the narrow sense of the word) - a youth group integrating into the socio-professional structure of society, acquiring material and social independence;
• · 25-29 years old(young adults) - a socio-demographic group that has completed acquiring a full set of social statuses and roles, and has become the subject of social reproduction.

Thus, we can conclude that the lower age limit is determined by the fact that from the age of 14 physical maturity begins and a person can engage in labor activity (the period of choice to study or work). The upper limit is determined by the achievement of economic independence, professional and personal stability.

As structural elements can also be highlighted the following groups youth:

• · demographic(gender, age, marital status);
• · national-ethnic;
• · targeted and contact(for example, all young people seeking to enter higher education; all young people working in a given organization);
• · by level of education;
• · at the place of residence(urban and rural youth);
• · by degree of socio-political activity;
• · by type of amateur activity(athletes, musicians, etc.);
• · by professional affiliation.

The use of these and other typological criteria allows us to build a multidimensional personal space for young people.

Thus, it would be more correct to talk not about youth in general, but about studying, student or working youth; youth of large central cities, provincial cities or youth from rural areas etc. It follows that when determining the social positions of young people and their various groups, it is necessary to study the qualitative social characteristics of young people: social composition and origin, financial situation of parents, worldview and religious affiliation, education, professional activities, political views, etc.

In developmental psychology, youth is characterized as a period of formation of a stable system of values, the formation of self-awareness and the formation of the social status of an individual. Consciousness young man has a special sensitivity, the ability to process and assimilate a huge flow of information. During this period, critical thinking develops, the desire to give one’s own assessment of various phenomena, the search for argumentation and original thinking. At the same time, at this age some attitudes and stereotypes characteristic of the previous generation still remain. This is due to the fact that the period of active activity in a young person encounters a limited nature of practical, creative activity, and incomplete inclusion of the young person in the system of social relations. 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. The instability and inconsistency of youth consciousness influence many forms of behavior and activity of the individual. The formation of social maturity of young people occurs under the influence of many relatively independent factors: family, educational institutions, labor collectives, the media, youth organizations and spontaneous groups. This multiplicity of institutions and mechanisms of socialization does not represent a rigid hierarchical system, each of them performs its own specific functions in personality development.

Value orientations are the most important elements of the internal structure of the personality, fixed by the life experience of the individual. The totality of established, established experiences that separate the significant, the essential from the insignificant, forms a kind of axis of consciousness that ensures the stability of the individual, the continuity of a certain type of behavior, and activity, expressed in the direction of needs and interests. Because of this, value orientations are the most important factor ensuring the cohesion of social groups and regulating individual behavior. Through orientation, a person selects the most significant objects for him. Thus, orientations reflect the selectivity of people. This circumstance gives them the status of an independent phenomenon.

Youth, as a social group whose position is completely determined by its socio-economic condition, primarily reacts to changes occurring in society. Youth is of interest as the generation that in the near future will take the place of the main productive force, and therefore its values ​​will largely determine the values ​​of the entire society. The situation in the country as a whole largely depends on what principles, norms and values ​​this social group adheres to.

The system of value orientations of the individual, although formed under the influence of the values ​​dominant in society and the immediate social environment surrounding the individual, is not strictly predetermined by them. A person is not passive in the process of forming his or her orientations. The values ​​offered by society are acquired selectively by the individual. The formation of value orientations is influenced not only by social factors, but also by some characteristics of the individual himself, his personal characteristics. The system of value orientations is not given once and for all: with changes in living conditions and the personality itself, new values ​​appear, and sometimes they are completely or partially revalued. Once again, it should be emphasized that the value orientations of young people, as the most dynamic part of Russian society, are the first to undergo changes caused by various processes occurring in the life of the country.

In the value orientations of modern Russian youth, two groups of values ​​can traditionally be distinguished: terminal - the belief that some final goal individual existence is worth striving for; instrumental - beliefs that some course of action or personality trait is preferable in any situation. This division corresponds to the traditional division into values-goals and values-means.

Currently, the analysis of the values ​​of different generations, and above all youth and its specific part - students, which as a social group is characterized by age, belonging to higher school and involvement in the process of forming a layer of intellectuals. Modern Russian students are forced to focus on a mixed system of values. Traditional values ​​have not been completely replaced by Western ones and, most likely, a complete change in values ​​will not occur. However, changes in the sociocultural situation with an attempt to create a market economy in Russia, democratic changes, led to the emergence and increasing importance of some values ​​that were absent or were on the periphery of the traditional value system.

Values ​​effectively determine people's behavior, unless they are introduced by force, but are based on the authority of society. Studying the value orientations of students makes it possible to identify the degree of their adaptation to new social conditions and their innovative potential. The future state of society largely depends on what value foundation is formed.

Characteristics of modern youth

The intellectual and educational values ​​of modern youth should be considered in terms of their mental and creative potential, which, unfortunately, has declined significantly over last years. This is due to the deterioration of the physical and mental condition of the younger generation. New conditions have given rise to new problems that have become inherent in the sociocultural values ​​of modern youth.

Having no idea what the basic values, guidelines, views and interests of a young man are today, it is extremely difficult to count on a positive result in the process of developing his best qualities as a citizen. Under the conditions of the generally unfavorable influences of the macroenvironment, the prestige of morality has decreased, and greedy orientations and interests of a purely personal, pragmatic nature have increased among young people. A significant part of young people have destroyed and lost such traditional moral and psychological traits as romanticism, selflessness, readiness for heroic deeds, honesty, conscientiousness, faith in goodness and justice, the desire for truth and the search for an ideal, for the positive realization of not only personal, but also social significant interests and goals and others.

Social characteristics of youth. Youth is a socio-demographic group, identified on the basis of age parameters, characteristics of social status and socio-psychological properties. In different countries, in different social strata, the point of view on the processes and indicators of personal maturation 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 work, gaining financial independence from parents, civil and political rights. Some scientists add such signs 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 is enshrined in international documents such as the Declaration and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Boys and girls in our country receive a passport at the age of 16, and this means society recognizes their civic maturity. Youth is a specific phase, a stage in the human life cycle. During this period, a feeling of uniqueness and individuality appears. Based on young people’s awareness of their capabilities and aspirations, comprehension of previous experience, an internal position is formed and they are searching for their place in life.

In youth a person experiences whole line important events influencing changes in its status. This is not only getting a passport, but also graduating from school and serving in the army. In their young years, many people are actively searching for a profession that is meaningful to them, completing their education, establishing themselves as specialists, and thereby determining their new position in society. Youth is called the time of formation. There is an opinion that up to 40 years of age a person works for authority, for a name, and after 40 years of age it is more likely that authority and name work for a person.

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

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

Acquiring full rights and responsibilities 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 a child and a teenager are mainly related to the family (son/daughter, brother/sister, grandson/granddaughter), school (student/student), various forms of leisure activities (participant sports section, hobby group), then in youth new ones appear: employee, student, husband, wife, mother, father, etc. Friendship, love, work experience help young people for the first time feel like truly adults, ideally they develop the ability to be with another person in relationships based on trust, support and affection. However, difficulties in socializing young people can lead to psychological breakdowns. First of all, the gap between the desire to most likely achieve and the inability, reluctance to achieve goals through painstaking work has a negative impact. It’s good if there is willpower, hard work, patience, if a person is not spoiled.

There are often cases when modern young people, on the one hand, want to remain children for as long as possible, shifting worries about themselves, and even about 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 Latin infantilis - infantile, childish) - this is the preservation in adults of physical and mental traits characteristic of childhood. Such traits are emotional instability, immature judgment, irresponsibility, and capriciousness. This condition is sometimes a consequence of illnesses suffered in early childhood, or some other reasons that led to excessive guardianship on the part of parents or loved ones. But if you are already an adult, then take the trouble to actually be one 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 very old age. Youth prolongs doing what you love, which involves interest and creativity, as well as a healthy lifestyle. The feeling of youth is manifested both in appearance and in a person’s behavior. “A man is only as old as he feels,” says a well-known aphorism.

Youth subculture. The desire to communicate with one’s peers leads to the development of a specifically “youth” identity and lifestyle – a youth subculture. Under youth subculture refers to the culture of a certain young generation, characterized by a common lifestyle, behavior patterns, group norms and stereotypes. As a special subculture, it has its own goals, values, ideals, illusions, which do not always and accurately replicate those dominant in adult society; it even has its own language.

The reasons for the formation of a youth subculture are the desire of people of this age to isolate themselves, first of all, from their elders, the desire to belong to some community of peers, and the search for their own path in the “adult world.” Both formal and informal youth groups are emerging. Formal groups are officially registered and are often led by adults. The motives that encourage one to join one or another group, one or another youth trend are different. This is, first of all, a desire to gain mutual understanding and support, to feel stronger and more protected; 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 initiative based on rather dubious or even asocial value orientations. Primitivism and flashy visual self-affirmation are also popular among some teenagers and young people. For some young people, external shocking 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 are committed (hooliganism, fights). In this case, society is faced with deviant behavior.

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

At the same time, among young people, amateur social groups aimed at constructive solutions to specific social problems are becoming increasingly authoritative. These include environmental movements, activities to revive and preserve cultural and historical heritage, providing mutual support (soldiers who fought in “hot spots”, disabled people, etc.); The activities of volunteers who help people who are especially in dire need are also important.

Social mobility of youth. Young people are the most active, mobile and dynamic part of the population.

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

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

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

At the same time, on the side of young people is the speed of 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 more easily 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 youth into an active subject of economics, politics, and culture. Youth activity is also clearly manifested in the sphere of politics, since all ongoing political processes directly or indirectly affect the lives of young people and their position in society. Society and its power structures focus on young people as the most promising age category in terms of pursuing a social and professional career.

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 receive a quality education, and the desire to work for the benefit of herself and others.

Questions and assignments.

1. What factors influence the determination 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 motivation for amateur performances, they are divided as follows:

· aggressive initiative, which is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values, based on the cult of persons;

· shocking amateur performance, which consists of “challenging” aggression on oneself in order to be “noticed”;

· alternative initiative, consisting in the development of models of behavior that contradict 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 these types of amateur activities, in your opinion, are socially acceptable? Give specific examples of youth groups with these types of amateur activities.

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 man in our country. Indicate his life plans, mastered social roles, etc. Think about what qualities you personally lack?

Study assignments for topic 1

1. Professor from Washington Denis Bolz (USA) writes:

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

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

- intrapersonal (between the conscious and unconscious desires of the individual, between the demands of conscience and the desire for pleasure, between instinctive urges and the 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 (arise both within a social group and between different groups as a result of the struggle of individuals and their communities for Better conditions and a higher degree of remuneration for activities in the group - industrial, political, sports, etc.);

– ethnonational (occurs in cases where the interests and life attitudes of one ethnic group or nation are infringed upon or suppressed by the state, representatives of other nations or other social communities);

– international (arise between peoples due to clashes of economic, territorial, ideological interests, etc.).

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

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

3. Let's think about which professions in the most to a greater extent Should sociological thinking and a sociological vision of the world be developed? In other words, who needs sociological knowledge the most? To do this, analyze the professions (driver, teacher, salesman, miner, manager, pilot, farmer, watchman, 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 depends most on knowledge of human psychology and the ability to solve social problems.

For convenience, divide professions into three groups with strong, medium and weak expression of these characteristics.

4. How do you understand Mark Twain’s statement: “When I was 14 years old, my father was so stupid that I could hardly stand him, but when I turned 21, I was amazed at how much this old man had become wiser in the past seven years.” ?

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

5. Men and women, entering into interpersonal relationships regarding family organization and marriage, go through several stages: premarital relations between potential spouses (love, matchmaking, engagement); marriage; stage young family; the birth of children, the formation complete family ; stage mature family(children growing up, 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 scheme with your parents. At what stage do they see their family? What joys and difficulties of the stages they went through do they remember most? 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 achieved adult status: economic independence, living separately from parents, getting married, participating in elections, having a child, being able to answer to the law. Think about what other criteria you could name as determining ones. Give reasons for your answer.

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

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

10. It is known that any social phenomenon necessarily has two sides - positive and negative. There are no one-sided phenomena. If you only found the negative, it means that you have missed or have not yet found the positive.

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

Find the positive and negative sides the following phenomena:

Collectivization of the 30s.

Massivization of culture

Gorbachev's perestroika.

Relocation of people from village to city.

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 ten times smarter, happier, more beautiful and richer than today.”

J. Adams: “The American Dream is not just a dream of cars and high wages, it is a dream of a social order in which every man and every woman can reach the full height of which they are internally capable of achieving and be recognized - as such as they are - from other people, regardless of the accidental circumstances of their birth and position."

13. From the perspective of stratification theory, society is viewed as a system of social layers. The so-called single-level stratification(when dividing society according to one criterion) and multi-level(when dividing society simultaneously according to two or more criteria, for example, based on prestige, professional, income level, level of education, religious affiliation, etc.).

Build a diagram: “The social structure of Belarusian society” in the 20s (30s, 80s). XX century Based on it, characterize the dynamics of the social structure of Belarusian society. What, in your opinion, was the reason for it?

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

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

15. Construct a structural diagram: “Types of social groups.” Concretize 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 relationship with others. It can only be 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) relationship to other people and other social phenomena taken as such “reference points”. The very choice of “reference points” depends on us: they can be individuals, groups or collections of groups.

To determine social status person, it is necessary to know his marital status, citizenship, nationality, attitude to religion, profession, affiliation political parties, economic status, its origin, etc. But that’s 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 position is the totality of his connections 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 P. Sorokin’s characteristics, determine the place of the Republic of Belarus in social space. What is your family's position in social space?

2. Read an excerpt from the work of the German sociologist R. Dahrendorf “Elements of Theory social conflict».

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

To do this, it is necessary that conflicts in general, as well as these individual contradictions, are recognized by all participants as inevitable, and moreover, as justified and expedient. Anyone who does not allow conflicts, viewing them as pathological deviations from an imaginary normal state, fails to cope with them. Submissive acceptance of the inevitability of conflicts is also not enough. Rather, it is necessary to recognize the fruitful creative principle of conflict. This means that any intervention in conflicts must be limited to regulating their manifestations and that useless attempts to eliminate their causes must be abandoned.

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

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

“Society, in our opinion, is the 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-awareness. In other words; society is... a self-aware people.

What is a people?.. A people consists of separate units, each having its own personal rational life, activity and freedom; each of them, taken separately, is not a people, but all together they form that integral phenomenon, that new person, which is called a people and in which all individual individuals disappear...

There is no society yet, but a state is already emerging over the people - who continue to live immediate life. But doesn’t the state express the people’s self-awareness? No, it is only an external definition given to itself by the people; its activities, that is, the state, and the scope of its activities are purely external... And so we have: on the one hand, the people in their immediate existence; on the other hand, the state - as an external definition of the people, borrowing its strength from the people - strengthening at their expense during the inactivity of their internal life, during their long-term stay in immediate existence; finally, between the state and the people is society, that is, 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 doesn't the state express the people's consciousness?

4. From the work of modern American sociologist E. Schilze “Society and societies: a macrosociological approach.”

What is included in societies? As already said, the most differentiated of them consist not only of families and related groups, but also from associations, unions, firms and farms, schools and universities, armies, churches and sects, parties and numerous other corporate bodies or organizations, which in their turn have boundaries defining the circle of members over which the respective 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 a society - social classes or strata, occupations and professions, religions, linguistic groups - who have a culture inherent more to those who have a certain status or occupy a certain position than to everyone else.

So, we are convinced that society is not just a collection of united people, primordial and cultural groups interacting and exchanging services with each other. All these collectives form a society by virtue of their existence under a common authority, which exercises its control over the territory delineated by borders, supports and enforces more or less general culture. It is these factors that transform a collection of relatively specialized initial corporate and cultural groups into a society.

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

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

“Psychology students often think that a laboratory experiment, during which cause-and-effect 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 specific economics are still convinced that only statistical analysis, which allows us to give an objective picture of price fluctuations and commodity supply, is the most reliable measure of economic behavior.

In contrast, some anthropologists continue to believe that the most reliable way of knowing remains participant observation, as a result of which we study the everyday 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 in inner world your patient as the only reliable method of studying human behavior, his intimate motives.

And marketing specialists 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 corresponding empirical experience. And each of them, being one of the branches of social science, can be defined in terms of the method that it primarily uses. Although not only in this way. Sciences also differ in the range of problems they study.

What are the main methods for studying people? What can you learn about them through observation? What is an experiment? What calculations are made when studying people's behavior and opinions? What research methods will be required to determine: a) the population of a given country; b) people's readiness to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections; c) ways of interaction between miners during a strike; d) the speed at which rumors spread?

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

“By institution I understand the social form of a certain set of social roles. Institutions are classified according to the tasks they perform (religious, military, educational, etc.) and form an institutional order. The combination of institutional arrangements 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 regulating sexual relations, the birth and socialization of children; 4) military - institutions that organize legal heritage; 5) religious - institutions that organize collective veneration 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 feared and hated, and are artificially contrasted with “adult” society. And this is fraught with serious social explosions. The crisis in Russian society has given rise to an acute generational conflict, which is not limited to the traditional differences between “fathers” and “sons” in views on clothes and hairstyles, 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 themselves in a situation where there was practically no transfer of material and spiritual heritage to their successors. The social values ​​that the “fathers” lived by have, in the new historical situation, overwhelmingly lost their practical significance and, because of this, are not inherited by the “children”, since they are not suitable for them either for the present or for the future. future life. In Russian society there is a generation gap, reflecting a break in gradualism, a gap historical development, the transition of society onto the rails of a fundamentally different system.”

What generation gap and conflict between “fathers” and “children” are we talking about here? What is the essence of this phenomenon? Give reasons for your position.

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

...Marginal, simply put, is an “in-between” person. The classic figure of the marginal is a man who came from the village to the city in search of work: no longer a peasant, not yet a worker; the norms of the rural 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 some kind of professional code of honor. The physical impossibility of slacking is what distinguishes a professional professional worker.

Only under stable conditions - a permanent place of residence and work, a normal living environment, a strong family, an established system of social connections, in a word, the “rootedness” of the individual allows the development of a clear hierarchy of values, conscious group norms and interests. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “there is nothing in the world more precious than the bonds that connect man to man.” Tearing them means dehumanizing a person and destroying society. We must avoid everything that weakens human ties, unnecessary bans, mass migrations, forced distributions, forced evictions, barbed fences - everything with which we are still so burdened to this day.

The rootless human “I” becomes blurred: motives for behavior begin to form in isolation from the values ​​of a stable group, that is, they are largely deprived of 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 depths of society there are two differently directed processes. Some marginalized people are quickly turning into lumpen people. Look who sells kvass, pies, bus tickets; ask who aspires to be butchers, bartenders, bottle handlers; not to mention the lawless hordes of speculators, black marketeers, and prostitutes. These are mostly young people. The path to the social bottom is usually irreversible. Another process is the process of taking root in cities of recent rural residents– in itself, in principle, even progressive. If, when moving to a city, a person can count on a decent, qualified job, then he turns from a marginal person into a full-fledged city resident.

How would you define social essence marginalized people and sources of replenishment of their ranks? What does the process of rooting mean and how does being deprived of social roots differ from it? Why does a person’s value system change when he moves from a stable social environment to an unstable one? How did you understand the idea of ​​two differently directed processes? Can they be compared 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 means of subsistence.

Population growth can only be stopped by counter causes, which boil down to moral abstinence, or by misfortunes (wars, epidemics, famine).

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

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

10. German sociologist Karl Mannheim (1893–1947) determined that youth are a kind of reserve that comes to the fore when such revitalization becomes necessary to adapt to rapidly changing or qualitatively new circumstances. Youth perform the function of animating mediator social life. This parameter is universal and is not limited by either place or time. Young people, according to Mannheim, are neither progressive nor conservative by nature; they are potential, ready for any undertaking.

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

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

The form of society's response to this or that type of deviation should depend on what (in terms of generality) social norms are violated; universal, racial, class, group, etc. The following dependencies can be distinguished:

– The more high level(according to the degree of generality) social norms and values ​​are violated, the more decisive the actions of the state should be. The highest value is natural human rights.

CONTRIBUTION OF YOUTH TO RUSSIA:
PARTICIPATION, DEVELOPMENT, PEACE

The concept of youth, which underlies the UN’s activities 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 of social change, and about the need to implement 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 in modern Russia should be aimed at, trying to increase the contribution of youth 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 to tomorrow, but Human, which is the root cause, the beginning and the end of all social, and now many natural processes and phenomena. A person, again, not abstract, but real, alive. And above all, the man is young, like a man already active, producing, already influencing life and society, but more in the first stages of life, more having a significant potential of undeveloped and untapped abilities and talents, a large supply of future years of one’s own life, necessary in order to have time to realize oneself and change society.

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

The participation of young people in the transformation of Russia should be ensured by offering them major cases of national nature.

The first task is to put an end to the spiritual and moral crisis that has gripped primarily young people. The material in her consciousness has risen beyond all measure above the spiritual, and from here comes the main threat to everything, including the material itself. A dynamic society cannot do without spiritualizing its goals, plans, and aspirations. The hidden potential of youth should be aimed at the benefit of society, at serving the new social ideal. Idea voluntary service Russia must enter the national consciousness of youth as its highest element. At this stage, when it comes to the survival and salvation of Russia, we have to talk about service 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 potential, ready for any turn of events.

Youth will make a contribution to the life of society of such scale and nature, what spiritual potential - a system of ideas, values, knowledge and moral qualities— society will put 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 space for young people to apply their efforts is enormous.

Another group of tasks is in the sphere 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 calls to the country's construction sites were condemned as a violation of individual freedom. What was created by the young was forgotten, and the fact that many of them forged their character at such construction sites, in fact, became individuals, was also swept aside. Critics have lost their sense of proportion, forgetting that a person, including a young person, is not only a goal, but also a means of social change.

Time for sweeping criticism Soviet life 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 have been depopulated, their wealth will lie around until the next foreign investor sets his sights on them. National pride Russia - in the populated Siberian and northern expanses, and only young people can really solve the problem of economic, social and cultural development of these lands.

Development

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

When developing the foundations of a new youth policy in modern Russia, we must say 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 characteristics and deviations from the “norm” (“immaturity”, “unreasonableness”, etc.), but, on the contrary, the most valuable period of a person’s life for society, in which he strives more than ever for self-determination and 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 “take” young people outside the framework of society or see in them some kind of “external” force. It is impossible to turn the entire “adult” society into conservatives, and all youth into innovators and bearers of progress. This would be absurd in the essence of the state of things, because among the older generations there are many “young” minds, supporters of progress, and among the youth there are a lot of retrogrades. But we are not talking about exceptions and examples, but about rules and general laws. Logic, science and practice show that, in strategic terms, innovative, creative potential carries within itself first of all and to a much greater extent youth; that in general (objectively!) the older generation is the zealot of the past, the old, often outdated and outdated. With the increase in life expectancy, the concept of youth has changed, which has significantly displaced, 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, its culture, on the ideas, views, tastes, values ​​and habits of the entire society.

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

For the social development of Russia, it is of great importance that Russian youth are carrier huge intellectual potential, special abilities to creativity(increased sensuality, perception, imaginative thinking, enhanced imagination, desire for fantasy, relaxedness, acute memory, mental play, etc.). In youth, a person is most capable of creative activity, to the formulation of heuristic hypotheses, is most efficient. Therefore, the progress of modern science is largely associated with youth. Youth is open to learning, and in its highest form, which is mastery of the most complex methods of intellectual activity in various fields of science and technology; intellectual work, in the process of which acquired skills and abilities, developed abilities are not only implemented, 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 due to young people. The value of youth in our time is increasing due to the expansion of education and professional training necessary in the information society. In youth, a person easily acquires basic knowledge, skills and abilities.

The need for continuous education of adults, periodic updating of not only knowledge, but often also important fundamental principles professional activity(which is easier for young people) causes mature and elderly people to have an understandable reluctance to meet new requirements. Age today is an economic category.

Youth are the healthiest physically part of the population is vital force society, bunch energy, unspent intellectual and physical strength, requiring exit. Through these forces, the life of society can be revived. Many prestigious types of human activity carry significant age restrictions (elite sports, ballet, aviation, etc.) and are inextricably linked in our minds with youth.

The situation of “instability”, “dependence”, “subordination”, “inferiority”, “debtor” creates a special psychological an atmosphere of predisposition to changes in social life, because these changes conceal 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 youth 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. What is needed is a special mass readiness to perceive new ideas, new professions and forms of activity, which an adult, much less an old person, cannot possess to the proper extent; a readiness that only young people have with their inexperience, exceptional openness, and predisposition to the New.

Already today, life has set before society such development tasks, some of which, due to the special class of their complexity and the requirements placed on a person, can be solved practically only the youth. For example, computerization, which is just beginning to unfold here. Science and practice have proven that people over forty, and even more so over fifty, due to their age, do not always master mathematical language, electronic literacy, and programming techniques willingly and always with great difficulty. Meanwhile, computerization is the “second literacy”, without mastering which one cannot move forward scientific and technical progress. One cannot help but be aware that fundamentally new types of machines and equipment, the latest technologies, and management systems, which constitute the main factors of economic intensification, can only be created by people of a new, non-traditional type of thinking.

There is another area of ​​development where young people could express themselves much more actively, but where they face the greatest obstacles. This is the realm of politics. For health and development political process in Russia the most important thing is change political generations. The younger generation in politics is simultaneously a destroyer of the Old and a force capable of actively creating the New. Everything depends on the intentions of the youth themselves and how society uses this power. Age today is not so much a demographic concept as a social and political one.

Parties operating in Russia, with a 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 during the election race. The Fatherland - All Russia bloc has enormous opportunities not only to rely on the support of young people in the elections, but also to give scope for political activity, and we must take advantage of this chance.

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 recently widespread ideology of a “culture of peace”

This ideology presupposes creation, not destruction, construction, not war. The culture of peace replaces the culture of war, first of all in the mind, 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, education and training. That is, it is distributed through open, public, non-violent methods and does not involve cruelty, lies and deception.

The ideology of a culture of peace is a system of views and ideas that recognize and evaluate people’s attitudes to issues of war and peace and (in connection with this) to each other, and also contains goals (programs) of social activity aimed at exclusion from public life “ culture" of war and the establishment in it of a culture of peace.

The meaning of the ideology of a culture of peace is to, through the dissemination of knowledge and information, reveal 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 escape careful research and evaluation, and the 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 analytical centers, its own vision of the strategy of world development. These centers should actively study global capitalism and develop recommendations on new forms and methods for establishing a culture of peace. Of course, among these centers we should first of all mention the UN and UNESCO.

Discussing 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 peaceful times, spiritual murders are committed and anger and hatred are filled. In war, the evil done is sacrificially atoned for... War is a great manifester. It projects onto the plane what is happening in the depths.” In the depths of the soul, in the depths of the mind, in the consciousness, subconscious and unconscious. In human nature.

To replace the “culture” of war with a culture of peace means changing human nature. An unthinkable, utopian task. For this is the task of creating a “new man”, the solution of which humanity has taken on more than once, and on a special scale - in Soviet Russia. It must be said that in the struggle for the “new man” a lot of good was done for this person - in health care, education and other areas of the social sphere. Quite a lot good qualities strengthened among the people themselves. But that’s not what we’re talking about now.

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

From the very beginning, perestroika and “reforms” in Russia ran into a problem: who will carry them out? Those who ruled in former times? But they are “old” and that means they will do everything new with an eye on the old. What was needed was precisely “new” people, not connected with the past either in views or deeds. This is how the “young reformers” appeared, although these young people were best case scenario under forty, or even strongly “for”. But it was thought that they supposedly carried “new grain”; new knowledge, thoughts, energy. "New people"! Although all their novelty lay in their unconditional devotion to the “new” tasks and rules political game, “new” in 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 due to the desire of honest, decent and cultured citizens to separate from themselves all sorts of nouveau riche, boors and “schmucks”. The “New Russians” - mostly small entrepreneurial fry and punks from small and medium-sized businesses - were, nevertheless, truly “new”, in some ways important for the economy and life in general. Aggressively active, uncontrollably enterprising, cynically pragmatic, aimed at success in their “business” at any cost, and in the end - money. Already quite wealthy and not hiding their wealth, which was not always obtained by righteous labor. There were no such people in the country before. They were and are 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 a problem of new personnel, and in in a certain sense, and the “new person” is called upon and must be decided, of course, by the family, but first of all by the Russian school - secondary and higher. This is the very task of education viable generations of Russian youth mentioned above.

Humanization and spiritualization of man is a matter of incredible complexity and difficulty. But if you don't do it, the world will go wild. The human spirit grows incredibly slowly, but is lost much faster.

Today, not only socio-economic conditions and the entire atmosphere of life, but also television are literally pushing young people onto the path of cruelty and violence. If you didn't do anything else but organize TV programs ORT and NTV TV channels, extremely limiting a demonstration of television horror, violence and cruelty spewing 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 facing humanity and our country, as they say, at times to 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 social-administrative decisions must have at least a minimum knowledge on conflict management. To 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 conflict also has a creative beginning. That the matter, in the end, is not only about the conflict, but about the culture, the civility of its resolution.

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

It is also necessary to expand 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 a state. The people who supposedly personify and create Russian democracy are not democrats at all. And this caused enormous damage to the idea of ​​democracy in the eyes of the people, including young people. But this does not change the situation. In particular, the fact that democracy corresponds to human nature. The fact that (as proven by history, including modern) democracy is the political system that gives the greatest chance of achieving peace and justice. That democracy is not so much a result as a process of democratization, extended over 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.

We must take into account that young people in Russia have, unfortunately, inherited an undemocratic inheritance. That in no country in the world and in any 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 reason for theft, robbery and murder. Reforms should not proceed 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 continues throughout all reforms. Of course, in reality this is an extremely complex and difficult to regulate process, but only under this condition can it be effective.

We need to talk about this with young people. She should be able to gain at least knowledge about the nature and essence of democracy. It must be educated 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 must do everything possible to ensure that young people become 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 of a high order. Like the concept of “people”. Abstraction is silent, it has no will, it is inactive. Young people, like the people, are “the great dumb.” “The people” will not get out of the crisis and will not restore order. “Youth” will not solve their problems, because in this capacity they are an object. Until he realizes his goals, organizes himself to achieve these goals, and begins to fight for them. Until it acquires subjectivity, it will not become a 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 activities and does 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, 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 break out in the 21st century, it is necessary to develop mass movement“Youth for a culture of peace.”

Due to the fact that 2000 has been declared by the UN as the Year of Culture and Peace, a large national project is being implemented in Russia. The Youth Institute and its UNESCO International Institute “Youth for a Culture of Peace and Democracy,” of which I am the director, participate in it as coordinator of the youth subprogramme. As part of this subprogram, there is an intention to hold an International Youth Festival in 2000 with the participation of youth from the CIS and Eastern Europe countries. This project can, firstly, work well for integration processes, which means eliminating contradictions, prejudices, and mutual intolerance in interstate, intercultural and interethnic relations throughout the post-communist space. Secondly, through concrete actions it would bring together thousands of leaders of various kinds of youth organizations in dozens of countries and help identify leaders of a new political generation. We must be aware that the problem of growing new political leaders is 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 problems of peace and democracy rest on culture authorities, more specifically, culture political leaders: their consciousness, culture of thinking, intelligence, wisdom, moderation, caution. New political thinking cannot be given or introduced; it is inseparable from a person’s character, formed in the process of education - training and upbringing, and adjusted by practice. In other words, this is a process and a long process. The cultivation of political leaders cannot be left to the elements; this process must be organized and managed. It is important that those who tomorrow will govern states at different levels know each other as long and better as possible, and trust each other.

Within the framework of the Youth for a Culture of Peace movement, national and international festivals youth, many other, primarily educational, cultural and sports activities are carried out. After appropriate consideration, the issue of creating a mass movement “Youth for a Culture of Peace” could be submitted to the Council of the CIS countries for consideration.

From the book: Ilyinsky I.M. Between the future and the past: Social philosophy of what is happening. M., 2006.

Ilyinsky Igor Mikhailovich

“The role of youth education in the modern world”

Plato

Today's youth are the future of the country and educating the younger generation is one of critical issues, which faces the state, and the future of our country depends on the level at which the youth will be educated. We must use all available resources to ensure that people come first in society true values. So that young people know and appreciate our centuries-old traditions, respect and love their family and friends.

Over the past fifteen years, we have observed the influence of many different factors that are obviously harmful to the mental and mental health of our fellow citizens, especially children. Young people today are different compared to past generations. They already have different values, morals, interests, hobbies, everything else. But she should never forget about the eternal universal spiritual and moral values, without which the formation of a full-fledged personality is impossible. There are a lot of factors that influence a person’s consciousness and the development of his personality, starting from what kind of parents he has and in what environment he lives and develops.

Youth issues are one of the most discursive and strategically significant for successful development modern society.

The current situation in Russian society is characterized by a state of a certain ideological and ideological vacuum, when some social ideals and values ​​have already become a thing of the past, while others have not yet been formed.

The lack of ideals and goals in life negatively affects the development of young people, who are always critical of various kinds of ideals, even in a stable social situation, and on the other hand, they must have certain ideals and goals in order to carry out their personal development, especially in the area of ​​professional development and citizenship.

The relevance of studying the value orientations of young people is determined, first of all, by the problems of the formation and development of society, the need to preserve traditions and reproduce normative rules of behavior.

The practice-tested idea that the components of a person’s civic development are labor, patriotic and moral education began to fall into oblivion. But very soon it became clear that these areas in working with youth cannot be ignored. What is happening to our youth in beginning of XXI century? What life values ​​and social attitudes do young people prefer, what models do they follow?

Research has shown that the main life values ​​of young people are family, friends and health, followed by: interesting job, money and justice (the importance of the latter value is currently increasing). Religious faith closes the top seven main values ​​in life.

It should be noted that the value orientations of young people have undergone noticeable changes in the last 30-40 years; This is especially true when it comes to the importance of work.

The image of an honest worker, a leader in production, and, in general, every working person, has disappeared in the media. It has become unprestigious to be a worker, technician, or engineer. There was a replacement of “heroes of labor” with “idols of consumption” (pop stars, comedians, parodists, astrologers, fashion journalists, sexologists, etc.).

Unfavorable factor in the modern value structure of young people is the lack of a clear connection between work and money. If in Soviet times this connection was weakened due to the manifestation of “equalization”, now it is completely absent. Because some get “mad” money through adventures and manipulations, while others, literally working hard (sometimes in several jobs), have an inadequately small salary. Teenagers and young people capture this perfectly.

A person’s value system is the “foundation” of his relationship to the world. Values ​​are a relatively stable, socially conditioned selective attitude of a person towards the totality of material and spiritual public goods.

Academician D.S. Likhachev, in an interview given by him shortly before his death, spoke about the bitterness of people and the decline of culture throughout the world and that he sees a way out of the situation in which our country finds itself “in education with an educational bias. We must do everything to save the younger generation from lack of spirituality and moral decline.” We are talking about creating a unified educational and pedagogical sociocultural space. It is clear that such activities cannot be done without a significant number of specialists working with youth.

From the above, we can conclude that in line with youth policy and the education of the younger generation, a lot of spiritual and moral work remains to be done on the upbringing and socialization of the younger generation, the consolidation and unity of youth, all its groups, the entire society on the basis of patriotism and citizenship, the establishment of the principles of social justice and morality.

Many value orientations are formed precisely in adolescence, since young people are most susceptible to social and cultural changes in society. The value orientations of young people have changed largely in recent years due to the aggravation of the problem of their socialization.

Young people are the so-called middle ground between people. Youth plays a very important role in the modern world. After all, this is a new generation on which the future of all humanity depends. Youth needs to be taught a lot, and if you educate youth correctly (and this is manifested in patriotic education, in studies and in holding public events, etc.), then they will become a reliable future. Today, in many countries, youth education is the main task.

One thing is certain, that it is the youth today that occupy the leading position among other groups, since they are the most educated. And it is precisely this that in the near future will constitute the intellectual resource of our country.

Research on this issue is important for Russian society, as it shows the social and cultural changes that are taking place among young people, and, consequently, in the country.

Bibliography:

1. Nikandrov N.D. “Spiritual values ​​and education in modern Russia.” - Pedagogy.-2008.

4. Vvedensky, V.N. Continuous professional education/ V.N. Vvedensky // Social and humanitarian knowledge.

3. Vildanova, F.Z. Educational space as a source of self-development of students’ personality / F.Z. Vildanova // Applied psychology. – 2002.

4. Semenov, V.E. Value orientations of modern youth / V.E. Semenov // Sociological studies. – 2007.

5. Sorokina N.D. Changes in education and the dynamics of students’ life strategies / N.D. Sorokina // Socis. – 2003.

6. Tyukulmina, O.I. Problems of social work with youth: Textbook / O.I. Tyukulmina. – Tomsk: TPU, 2006.

7. Shcheglova, S.N. Features of adaptation of school teachers to the values ​​of informatization / S.N. Shcheglova // Socis. - 2006.

8. Vashilin, E.P. Creative youth of modern Russia: features of socialization / E.P. Vashilin // Social and humanitarian knowledge. – 2003.

Application

Case study

I conducted a survey of a small group of classmates. The questionnaire asked 6 questions. The content of the question and the answers are given below in the form of diagrams. The purpose of the questions is the modern attitude of young people to issues of education, as well as to identify their value orientations.

1. Who has more influence on the upbringing of youth: family, society, both?

2. Is it necessary modern society in youth education: yes, no?

3. Are today’s youth well-educated: yes, no?

4. Does the successful future of our country depend on the education of youth: yes, no?

5. What methods can be used to improve the education of youth: the creation of youth organizations, the involvement of the state in education, the involvement of educational institutions?

6. In what order would you place the following life values: family, friends, health, work, money, justice?