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In the early 1960s, American society witnessed a cultural shift
that gave birth to a new class of people known as "teenagers." This concept soon
spread globally, and young people became a separate class with their own
fashion, music, and political outlook. The promotion of this new culture proved
very profitable since jobs and money were plentiful. Before the 1960s, people
aged under eighteen were considered children, while those above eighteen were
adults.
The emergence of the teenage culture was built on two common factors among the
age group - adolescent insecurity and the desire to conform to peer pressure.
The promotion of fashion in dress, music, politics, and general outlook proved
irresistible to many young people, and they became slaves to fashion. The
fashion trend was not just limited to clothes but extended to the whole of life.
Some of it was harmless enough, while others were pernicious.
The radical change in the early 60s was a result of the post-war instinct to
defy conventions that were seen as associated with adult repression. This led to
the birth of the tee-shirt and jeans culture, which carried anti-establishment
legends, references to hard left social policies, the lure of uncontrolled sex,
the support of homosexuality, the attractions of the 'drop-out' culture, and the
wonders of the fast-growing hallucinatory drug scene. While some of this was
inevitable and harmless, the pernicious element was centered in San Francisco
and later infected other major cities.
Alongside the fashion culture, the pop music cult emerged, and successful stars
and groups became the objects of hysterical teenage adulation. The subversive
and corrupting views of some of them did immense harm, and the fashions they set
became irresistible. In the later 60s and 70s, violence, drugs, alcohol, and
indiscriminate sex became fashionable, leading to the rise of violent protests,
vandalism, and football hooliganism.
However, not all young people conformed to the fashion trend. Many proved to be
a very fine generation, individualistic rather than conformist, eschewing
smoking, drugs, and alcohol. They were fitter and more athletic than their
predecessors and engaged in social work in their spare time. Some spent a year
on voluntary service overseas, and they had a conscience about people less
fortunate and the well-being of our world.
Today's young people are exposed to the world's suffering and problems with
immediacy unknown in earlier days, and they respond by being slaves to their
consciences, which is not a bad form of slavery. They work hard and prepare for
a job market that is far from plentiful, and their admirable qualities show that
the evolution of youth identity has come a long way from the teenage fashion
culture of the past. |
