Youth is a hard concept to define due to the many sociologists who have different opinions on the time period in which it takes place. However, youth is a social construction because of cultural relativity which means that what is normal in one cultural may be strange in another. Youth culture can be seen as being created by the media however it can also be seen as being created by consumption, style and the economy. Youth culture can be seen as being created by the media because of the role models that it creates.
Celebrities are portrayed in the media as being role models for the youth of today and youth desire to be like them. For example magazines are the most criticised for portraying and constantly promoting the specific way that people should look by showing celebrities at their best and worst times. These magazines are aimed at the youth culture and therefore the effect that they have is massive due to people idolising the celebrities. This shows that youth culture is created by the media because the norms and values of the culture are influenced by those shown in the magazines.
The media also is seen to socialise us with the norms and values of society. For example the hypodermic syringe model suggests that the media has a direct and immediate effect on its audience. The idea relies on the theory that the audience is passive. This shows that youth culture is created by the media because it suggests that our culture gets its norms and values from what is presented in advertisements, tv programmes and music. The majority of these aspects of the mass media are aimed at the youth culture and therefore represent the ‘normal’ way to behave.
However, youth culture can also be seen as being created by consumption. The youth culture are targeted by big companies to tap at their disposable income. In the 1950s the youth had more disposable income than ever before. This created more subcultures. For example consumption has led to the Burberry chavs and Fred Perry being associated with the mods and skinheads. This shows that youth culture is created by consumption because the way youth look is a major aspect of the norms and values of the culture and the sub cultures within. Consumption, on the other hand, is also linked with style.
Polhemus, in 1997, said that due to style their can now be more sub cultures than ever before. For example the subculture of chavs are portrayed as wearing tracksuit bottoms, trainers and caps/snap backs. This shows that style is a part of your identity. Style is also linked to disposable income because due to advertisements and the media, youth spend their disposable income on their style and the way they look. This shows that style creates the youth culture because your identity is a way of showing the culture to the wider society.
Finally, youth culture can be constructed by the economy. The government provided Education Maintenance Allowance which gave ? 30 a week to families with a low income to pay for educational purposes such as travel or materials. This was stopped however because people were taking this money for granted and spending it on their style. Furthermore, the economy was boosted when the school leaving age increased because there was less unemployment and the youth were more educated and therefore are now getting better jobs so more money and more tax for the government.
Also, part-time jobs give the youth culture more disposable income to spend on their identity and the media. Overall, I think the media doesn’t just construct the youth culture but also constructs all age groups and this means that the media is as influential on youth. I think consumption is an important factor because there was no youth culture until the 1950s when advertisement started being aimed at youth when they had disposable income. So, I think even though media is important I think consumption and the economy is more important as it is what boosts mass media and the cultures and sub cultures based around youth.