Youth subcultures: what you need to know
Belonging to a social group or youth subculture is often about exploring who you are and what you stand for. During adolescence, teenagers strive to form independent adult identities. Experimenting with different social groups is one way of doing this. It’s how children can test out being someone new.
Belonging to youth subcultures or social groups can also be a way for teenagers to decide what they identify with in the adult world. It gives your child a way of exploring new values and deciding how these fit with their family values. Social groups can offer a set of guidelines about how to behave, dress and think. Dressing, behaving and thinking like the rest of a subculture can give children a sense of belonging and identity. And belonging is important for teenage mental health and wellbeing.
It can also just be fun. For young people who choose to belong to subcultures, membership might be long term, short term, or on and off. All of this can be challenging for parents, but it isn’t unusual and can be a passing phase.
Can subcultures be harmful?
While it’s normal for teens to experiment with subcultures and social groups, and most of the time this experimentation is harmless, there can be cause for concern. Some social groups can have negative effects on a teenager. It’s not necessarily a cause for concern when teens dress differently or listen to new kinds of music, even if you don’t approve of their taste. But it can be a cause for concern if teens begin to have trouble in school, difficulty sleeping, or a dramatic drop in their academic performance. If teens display signs of depression, anxiety, aggression, or antisocial behavior, it may be a sign that the current social group that they’re associating themselves with is not what’s best for them, or that they may be having problems that are unrelated to their particular subculture. Your best bet is to recommend them to see their doctor or a therapist or encourage them to connect with their own school counselor. These professionals understand child and teen mental health and can connect your teen with the appropriate mental health professionals or come up with a course of treatment and strategies to help teens feel happier and better adjusted. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a teen will leave their chosen subculture, just that they may need help to be able to function in a healthier way within it.