We are most certainly living in a better society than that which the 70s, 80s and 90s produced. Although easy to reminisce and romanticise generations past through cultural movements, music and film, these times were rife with racism, homophobia and poverty, all which still exist but on a much lesser scale. Nevertheless, a production of society prior generations gave rise to that has near dissipated to its former self is youth culture.

 

Comradery among the young used to be about challenging stereotypes and authority, advocating justice for marginalised groups, even if the methods were doubtful it was always the intent and spirit that counted. Instead, today, mellowed young people prefer Instagram selfies, follower counts and video games to making change or supporting those in need and in countries such as France and Italy, young voters are increasingly supporting right-wing parties, advocating for Marine Le Pen’s and Giorgia Meloni's promises of a return to authority and tradition – all for the sake of preventing change and diversity, lazily seeking comfort in what they already know without the courage or will to stand for equality, change and refugees. In fact, the common notion that younger generations are of a left-wing inclination is declining worldly, with more looking to Conservative groups lead by right-wing figureheads such as Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro, who recently set alight a Barbie and Ken doll before going on a 40-minute anger spuing rant against the film about dolls.

 

Youth communities today consist mostly of dance challenges on TikTok, trolling each other on streaming platforms such as Twitch and rioting in the streets for a PS5. A far cry from prior generations who were precociously keen to understand more of the world around them, undistracted by social media and Fortnite. Instead, finding comfort in literature, music, politics and philosophy, young people were better prepared to confront the world with more grit and preparedness than those of today, attaining the capacity to not just rebel but achieve greater individuality and confidence, attributed to the influence of youth groups and movements.

 

Take the Parisian Riots of May 68, in which students at the Nanterre campus of the University of Paris staged protests against restrictions on dormitory visits preventing male and female students from sleeping with each other. Young people stood against it and clearly made their point, nearly inciting a revolution that bled to other areas of French society, if an event such as this was admonished today, a few young activists would perhaps write their dismay on Twitter, and move on to the next relevant ‘injustice’. The ease of social media has enabled ‘injustices’ to become two a penny, in which people believe they are making a difference by tweeting their dismay and then instantaneously moving on to the next ‘injustice’, usually something irrelevant like celebrity drama.

 

This change and lack of community among the young has led to increased isolation and rising mental health issues. Near gone are the days in which young people would ‘get out the house’ spending weekends and summer holidays with friends and those who felt alienated or struggled to conform with society could retreat into their own private society of books, music and friends, forming their own original identity in the process.

 

Instead, at present, communities and networks exist primarily online, via social media and video-gaming platforms. These overbearing presences usurp any notion of togetherness, instead these novel circles offer no relief from the harsh social pressures of the moment but reinforce and intensify not only the need to conform, but the detrimental impact they have on self-esteem and negative feelings of self-worth. A double whammy to the youth, they already have so little in terms of physical community and interaction while the virtual platforms they do frequent make them literally feel like death – studies show that girls who used social media for at least two to three hours when they were about 13 years old and then greatly increased their use over time were at a higher clinical risk for suicide as emerging adults.

 

In fact has become a normality for school children to make comments and joke about feelings of depression and lethargies frivolously in passing conversation, and though it may be attributed to a mere remark or quip the intention and meaning can be taken as an influence from the current state of culture that they witness and are fed, such as it’s cool to be depressed and bad to be a ‘tryhard'.

 

Rebel without a cause? It would be one thing if youth rebellion had disappeared because all causes for rebellion for social ills and injustices had been solved, allowing this generation to relax, put their feet up and watch TV. But of course not, although racism and homophobia may be slighter than 20 years ago, it still violently breathes across the world along with innumerable injustices and wrongs that capsulate our lives. Furthermore, if not for conformity, what will young people turn to, with fewer places to show their true self in a world filled with cameras and judgement no wonder young people shun individuality for compliance.

 

Spirit has risen among protests against climate change, but it took the knowledge that the earth will end to get young people to stand up and adorn a sign-post, and many were in it for the Friday off school. Sometimes when they do combat against a social injustice they go too far, such as seen through ‘cancel culture’, fighting what they are against with what they are against, Fighting fascism with fascism.

 

Speaking to the Guardian, Dr Ruth Adams of Kings College London said: “The most straightforward, prosaic theory is that, as with virtually every area of popular culture, it's been radically altered by the advent of the internet: that we now live in a world where teenagers are more interested in constructing an identity online than they are in making an outward show of their allegiances and interests.”

 

Prevalent youth cultures with a difference that are paving the way can be most seen throughout LGBTQIA+ groups. Combined with the spirit of LGBTQIA+ groups many young people witnessing the environmental crisis have been inspired to involve themselves in matters impacting those in need, fed up with injustices that could be resolved if politicians made the right decisions, young people are understanding swiftly that change can happen at a grassroots level if they come out in masses and spend a quarter of the time they do on social media on focusing their intentions on social injustices.