---
title: "Youth culture"
chunk: 1/3
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_culture"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:59:01.670257+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. 
An emphasis on clothes, popular music, sports, vocabulary, and dating typically sets youth apart from other age groups. Within youth culture, there are many constantly changing youth subcultures, which may be divided based on race, ethnicity, economic status, public appearance, or a variety of other factors.

== Existence ==
There is a debate surrounding the presence, existence, and origins of youth culture. Some researchers argue that youth culture is not a separate culture, as their values and morals are not distinct from those of their parents. Additionally, peer influence varies greatly among contexts, gender, age, and social status, making a single "youth culture" difficult to define. which differ from those of their parent's culture. Janssen et al. used the terror management theory (TMT) to argue for the existence of youth culture. They tested the following hypothesis: "If youth culture serves to help adolescents deal with problems of vulnerability and finiteness, then reminders of mortality should lead to increased allegiance to cultural practices and beliefs of the youth." The results supported the hypothesis and the outcome of previous studies, and suggest that youth culture is a culture.
Schwartz and Merten used adolescent language to argue that youth culture is distinct from the rest of society. Schwartz argued that high school students used their vocabulary to create meanings that are distinct to adolescents. Specifically, the adolescent status terminology (the words that adolescents use to describe hierarchical social statuses) contains qualities and attributes that are not present in adult status judgments. According to Schwartz, this reflects a difference in social structures and the ways that adults and teens experience social reality. This difference indicates cultural differences between adolescents and adults, which supports the presence of separate youth culture.

== Movements ==
Throughout the twentieth century, youth have had a strong influence on both lifestyle and culture. The flappers and the Mods are two examples of the impact of youth culture on society. The flappers were young women that were confident about a prosperous future after World War I. This liveliness showed in their new attitudes in life in which they openly drank, smoked, and, in some cases, socialized with gangster-type men. The fashionable dress at the time also reflected the flapper's new lifestyle.
Mods emerged during a time of war and political and social troubles, and stemmed from a group called the modernists. They were young men and women who came from all classes who believed that their fashion choices "gave them entrée everywhere" and empowered them. The Mods' style and embrace of modern technology spread from the UK overseas to North America and other countries.