Active search for one's place in the life of young people. Features of the social status of youth. Structure of legal culture

A group is an association of people with common interests that influence each other. In groups, they satisfy communication needs; master the skills of a hostel with other people; learn certain stat tevoroli and norms of behavior; are attracted to individual subcultures. Subculture is understood as a set of specific socio-psychological features that affect the lifestyle and thinking of individual groups of people and allow them to recognize and assert themselves as different from other representatives of society. Subcultures refer to the stylized mechanisms of personality socialization.

As a result of the rejection by adolescents and young people of youth and economic reforms, social and spiritual values ​​of the state, exacerbation of their own problems, they began to unite in various groups

According to the legal status, groups (associations) are divided into formal (officially recognized) and informal (there exist spontaneously), mostly informal associations appear as a protest against the existing order and the search for more equitable forms of communication.

After analyzing the reasons why teenagers and young people fall into informal groups, scientists have identified the main ones:

The need for friends;

The desire to know the unusual, including modern trends in art;

School failure and alienation from the school community;

Lack of interest in anything, inactivity, indifference to learning;

The need for emotional impressions;

Lack of an individual approach at school;

Neglect, loneliness, abandonment, defenselessness;

Originality of impressions received in the group, freedom;

Opportunity to protest against something;

Inaccessibility of education;

Not employability and others;

According to the social orientation, the groups are divided into:

1 prosocial. Among members of social subcultures, the norms of behavior do not contradict generally accepted

2. Antisocial, in which group culture is opposed to social norms, and its carriers are distinguished by destructive behavior aimed at destroying established norms and values ​​of public life

3. A social groups in which the transformation of universal norms is observed. Carriers are characterized by deviant behavior that does not coincide with social norms and values ​​accepted in society. A separate subgroup consists of criminogenic groups, which are united on the basis of activities that are antisocial in nature. There are three levels of development of criminogenic game groups.

1. Asocial (pre-evil) groups of adolescents with a focus on anti-social activities. Such groups arise at the place of residence, they are characterized by an indefinite pastime, antisocial behavior: gambling, drunkenness, petty offenses. In full force, members of the group do not commit offenses. For this they do not have a leader and the group is not cohesive.

2. Criminogenic groups are characterized by a criminal orientation of value orientations. Drunkenness, debauchery, self-interest are becoming the norm. The group moves on to more significant crimes for society. However, groups do not prepare in advance for criminal activity. Criminal activity is not organized.

3. Criminal groups. In groups, there is a leading center - a leader, there are unwritten laws and values, sanctions. The composition of the group is permanent, the plan of crimes is being developed. Members of the group have edged weapons and a wasp to remove thefts, robberies, violence, robberies and attacks.

Peculiar signs of subculture in informal associations:

Specific value orientations and norms of behavior;

Peculiar hobbies, tastes;

Special ways of spending time;

jargon;

Features of clothing and appearance

Among children today it is not fashionable to be ordinary, you need to stand out from the crowd. Out-of-school education at this stage has not found wide distribution, so schoolchildren after school (until their parents see them) take up arms, roam dangerous areas, imitating non-children's games. There is a diverse number of groups among which it is possible to define tactics.

. Outrageous amateur groups . The purpose of association in such groups is belonging to an elite subculture. Characteristic representatives are punks, majors, wash, bikers, goths, emo

Punks are marked with cock hairstyles (Iroquois), painted hair in different colour, a leather jacket on a naked body, coarse jargon, causing behavioral

Bikers ride motorcycles without silencers, at high speeds, mostly at night, do not have a driving license

Majors wear clothes of one of foreign countries, drive expensive cars, like fast driving, lead an active lifestyle

Wash emphasize disrespectful attitude towards others, block vigorous activity

Grouping. Emo unites children who are not afraid of death and disregard the rules, they can be recognized by the black and pink color scheme of clothes and the obligatory bangs on their foreheads. Emo - from the word "emotion" These are those who do not hide in their feelings, they laugh and cry loudly. Main danger black and pink teenagers - a cult of suicide. Children do not even hide it. Adults. Emo prove suicide to the end

. Cultural amateur groups aimed at creating new artistic values. The most widespread are hippies, musicians who create music on a computer, rockers (Beatlemans, obscurantists, hardrockers, metalheads, breakers), and metalists - supporters of metal rock are divided into: heavy metal rock (heavy metal rock), black metal rock ( black metal rock), high-speed metal rock (speed metal rock), professing the cult of sat ani, calling for violence, cruelty, cyberpunks - people who are passionate about computers.

Members of the hippie group have an interest in denim clothing. They wear long hair parted in the middle, a thin headband. At the core of their philosophy is inner freedom, independence from society smells of pacifism, oppose military service, believe in meditation, their clothes and behavior are explained by the desire not to break away from nature.

. Groups of social amateur performance . The activities of such groups are aimed at solving social problems- ecologists, eco-culturists, ethno-culturists, mutual support groups, internationalists, etc.

. Political amateur groups - political clubs, funds for social initiatives. The activity is aimed at changing the political situation and political conditions in the country

Groups of aggressive amateur performance

Sports fans - a group of people who unite in revered signs towards football players

Right-wing extremists - neo-fascists, copy the image. Hitler, have reactionary views

Livoextremists - supporters of Soviet politicians

. Graffiti . Representatives of this group depict certain symbols, statements on the walls of houses, fences, in elevators anywhere. Thus they protest against certain social norms, individuals, and also assert themselves through symbolic identification with their favorite sports teams, musical groups or currents.

When working with such adolescents and young people, a social educator needs to know the characteristics of each group, each member. It is necessary to collect data on existing groups in the microenvironment, to establish who is in them, to find out interests, their level, ideals, beliefs, desires, to find out the structure of the group, the rules for admission to it, the nature of leadership, the relationship between members.

Lecture 4

Types of amateur performances of youth.

Aggressive self-activity - It is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values ​​based on the cult of persons. Primitivism, visibility of self-affirmation. Popular among teenagers and young people with a minimum level of intellectual and cultural development.

outrageous(amaze, surprise) amateur performance - It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hair, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenge” aggression on yourself from other people so that you are “noticeable” (punk style, etc.)

Alternative amateur performance - It is based on the development of alternative behavioral patterns that are systemically contradictory to generally accepted ones, which become an end in itself (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.)

Social amateur performance - Aimed at solving specific social problems (environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.)

Political amateur performance - Aimed at change political system and the political situation in line with the ideas of a particular group

Modern humanity is a complex ethnic structure, including several thousand ethnic communities (nations, nationalities, tribes, ethnic groups, etc.), differing both in number and level of development. Most modern countries polyethnic. There are more than a hundred ethnic groups in the Russian Federation, including about 30 nations.

ethnic community- ϶ᴛᴏ historically developed on certain territory a stable collection of people (tribe, nationality, nation, people) with common features and stable peculiarities of culture, language, mental warehouse, self-awareness and historical memory, as well as awareness of their interests and goals, their unity and difference from other similar entities.

Lecture:

Youth is the most active and dynamic social group of maturing people. Throughout history, society's attitude towards youth has changed. There were times when children worked on a par with adults for 10-12 hours a day. Before the transition of society to the industrial stage of development, young people did not stand out as a separate social group. And in modern society, it is a special demographic group, differing in age range from 14 to 30-35 years.

Adolescence is a very important period for a person, when the formation of personality takes place, the acquisition of one's "I", the assimilation of knowledge and values, the mastery of social roles. This is the period of the most important events in life. First, the young person completes schooling and enters a vocational school. Secondly, he reaches the age of majority, which characterizes his civil formation - the achievement of full legal capacity. Thirdly, he acquires a profession and finds a job. And, finally, fourthly, creates a family.

Consider the features of the social status of the youth group:

Transitivity of the situation - the search for oneself, frequent changes in activities and hobbies, becoming social status.

A high level of mobility - young people are not tied to a certain place by any obligations, for example, family ones, and actively move along social elevators.

Favorable prospects for choosing a profession and starting a family.

Active search for one's place in life, tireless experimentation, creative upsurge.

Mastering new roles, for example, student, worker, family man.

A special psychological warehouse, the desire to assert their individuality.

Value-oriented orientation of the personality, which different people different. For example, Andrei is interested in music, reading books, visiting museums, for him the value is art. Marat is a master of sports in freestyle wrestling, he never spends a day without training, for him the value is sport. Sasha is interested in banking, he knows how and at what price one can buy Sberbank shares, for him the value is money).

Own subculture, characterized by a special image, slang, behavior and often subject to criminalization.

Problems of youth and youth policy of the Russian Federation

The solution of these problems is only within the power of the state. In our country, a Decree “On the main directions of youth policy in the Russian Federation” has been developed. Its goals are the spiritual and physical development of young people, the prohibition of discrimination based on age, the creation of conditions for the full inclusion of young people in all spheres of society, the support of talented youth, etc.

Based on these goals, the directions of youth policy are:

ensuring the rights of young people (for example, parents are responsible for ensuring access and creating conditions for their children to receive school education);

guarantee of employment and employment (by the employment service, unemployed youth are temporarily involved in public paid work, so that the young person can try himself in something new and, possibly, find something of his own);

stimulation of entrepreneurial activity (a young person who wants to do business has the right to do so already at the age of 16, for this he needs the written consent of his parents);

support for a young family (in the Russian Federation there are social programs to improve the living conditions of young families);

support for talented youth (organization and holding of competitions of various content aimed at identifying and encouraging talented youth), etc.

Mind map in social studies No. 37

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Aggressive amateur performance

It is based on the most primitive ideas about the hierarchy of values ​​based on the cult of persons. Primitivism, visibility of self-affirmation. Popular among teenagers and young people with a minimum level of intellectual and cultural development.

Outrageous (fr. epater - to amaze, surprise) amateur performance

It is based on a challenge to norms, canons, rules, opinions both in everyday, material forms of life - clothing, hair, and in spiritual ones - art, science. “Challenge” aggression on yourself from other people so that you are “noticeable” (punk style, etc.)

Alternative amateur performance

It is based on the development of alternative behavioral patterns that are systemically contrary to generally accepted models of behavior, which become an end in itself (hippies, Hare Krishnas, etc.)

Social initiative

Aimed at solving specific social problems (environmental movements, movements for the revival and preservation of cultural and historical heritage, etc.)

Political amateur performance

Aimed at changing the political system and the political situation in accordance with the ideas of a particular group

The acceleration of the pace of development of society causes an increase in the role of young people in public life. Involving in social relations, young people modify them and, under the influence of the transformed conditions, improve themselves.

Problems Russian youth, in their essence, represent the problems not only of the modern young generation, but of the whole society as a whole, on the solution of which not only today, but also tomorrow of our society depends. These problems, on the one hand, are interconnected and come from objective processes taking place in modern world- the processes of globalization, informatization, urbanization, etc. On the other hand, they have their own specifics, mediated by modern Russian reality and the youth policy pursued in relation to youth.

Most topical issues for modern Russian youth, in our opinion, are the problems associated with the spiritual and moral sphere of being. The process of formation of modern Russian youth took place and is taking place in the conditions of breaking the "old" values ​​of the Soviet period and the formation new system values ​​and new social relations. In the context of the systemic crisis of modern Russian society and its main institutions, which has affected all spheres of life, the institutions of socialization (family and family education, the education and upbringing system, institutions of labor and labor activity, the army), the state itself. Active planting and substitution of the foundations of the existence of civil society with the standards of the consumer society, education young man, not as a citizen, but as a simple consumer of certain goods and services. There is a tendency towards dehumanization and demoralization of the content of art (decrease, deformation, destruction of the image of a person), substitution of the norms of the value of high culture with average examples of mass consumer culture, reorientation of young people from collectivist spiritual values ​​to selfish-individual values. This, as well as the lack of a clearly formulated national idea and a unifying ideology, a development strategy consolidating society, insufficient attention to the cultural development of the population, the inconsistency of the state youth policy naturally leads us to extremely negative consequences.

Against the background of the ideological uncertainty of young people (their lack of ideological foundations of sense orientation and socio-cultural identification), commercialization and the negative influence of the media (forming the "image" of the subculture), the ongoing spiritual aggression of the West and the expansion of mass commercial culture, the imposition of standards and psychology of the consumer society, there is primitivization of the meaning of human existence, moral degradation of the individual and a decrease in the value human life. There is an erosion of value foundations and traditional forms of public morality, weakening and destruction of the mechanisms of cultural continuity, a threat to preserve the originality of national culture, a decrease in the interest of young people in national culture, its history, traditions, to the bearers of national identity.

Speaking about the youth sociocultural environment, of course, one cannot fail to note its certain positive features. Modern youth in general is very patriotic, they believe in the future of Russia. He advocates the continuation of changes in the direction of increasing the socio-economic well-being of the country, the creation of civil society and the rule of law. She wants to live in a great country that provides decent life its citizens, respecting their rights and freedoms. “Young people are easier to adapt to new economic conditions, they have become more rational, pragmatic and realistic, focused on sustainable development and creative work.” . She has a much greater freedom of choice of profession, patterns of behavior, life companions, style of thinking, compared to her peers 20-30 years ago. But this, as they say, is one side of the coin.

Its other side shows that the ongoing "Time of Troubles" has most acutely affected the younger generation. Our society is rapidly aging, there is a reduction in the number of young people, the number of young families, the number of children born. Each new generation of young people turns out to be less healthy than the previous one, diseases have "moved" from old age to youth, jeopardizing the nation's gene pool. The socio-economic pressure on jobs has increased in order to ensure the life of all generations; the intellectual potential of young people, the innovative capabilities of society are rapidly declining. The youth turned out to be the most socially disadvantaged part of society. There is a clear conflict between the interests of young people and real opportunities social mobility. There was a sharp differentiation and social polarization of young people based on property stratification, social origin and their own social status of young people. Possessing social, age and subcultural characteristics of different communities, they differ in material capabilities, value orientations, image and lifestyle. The question arose about the life prospects of young people: their creative self-realization (education, profession, career), well-being, the ability to financially provide for their future family. There are obvious problems of youth employment, deterioration of their material and living conditions, accessibility of education. The youth environment has become a dangerous crime zone. There has been a sharp rejuvenation of crime, an increase in its group character, an increase in the number of "women's" crimes and crimes committed by minors. Each new generation of young people, in comparison with previous generations, according to the main indicators of social status and development: much less spiritually and culturally developed, more immoral and criminal, distant from knowledge and education, less professionally trained and work-oriented.

In a society where material well-being and enrichment become the priority goals of its existence, the culture and value orientations of young people are formed accordingly. Consumer orientations prevail in the socio-cultural values ​​of today's youth. The cult of fashion and consumption gradually and gradually takes over the minds of young people, acquiring a universal character. The tendency to strengthen the processes of standardization of cultural consumption and leisure behavior, approved by a passive-consumer attitude towards culture, begins to prevail. It is impossible not to note the underlined apathy of the youth, which soberly and without false hopes assesses the attitude towards themselves on the part of the state and society as indifferent and frankly consumeristic. “77% of respondents believe that: - “When necessary, they remember us.” Maybe that's why today's young generation is closed in their own little world. Young people are absorbed in the internal problems of survival in difficult and cruel times. They seek the culture and education that will help them endure and succeed.” .

According to the results of the Foundation's polls Public Opinion conducted in 2002, 53% of young Russians answered the question: “What life goals, in your opinion, do you most often set for yourself? modern youth?”, first of all, noted her desire to achieve material well-being and enrichment; in the second place (19%) - education; in the third place (17%) - work and career. (See Table 1). Analysis of the data obtained indicates a clear pragmatic and rational position of young people, their desire to achieve material well-being and successful career, interconnected with the possibility of obtaining good vocational education.

Table 1. "Goals of modern youth"

For modern youth as a whole, a change in the direction of life orientations from the social (collectivist) component to the individual is characteristic. "The personal value position of young people does not correlate with the values ​​of the political ideology they prefer". Material well-being began to be valued much higher than freedom, the value of wages began to prevail over the value of interesting work. Among the social problems that most worry young people at the present time, in the first place are such problems as: rising crime, rising prices, inflation, increased levels of corruption in government structures, increasing income inequality and social inequality, division into rich and poor, environmental problems , passivity of citizens, their indifferent attitude to what is happening. Of the various problems experienced by young people, the problems of material security and health come to the fore, although the orientation towards a healthy lifestyle is not being actively formed.

Dominant in the value system of modern youth are money, education and profession, a business career, the opportunity to live for pleasure (see Table 2).

Table 2. Distribution of core values ​​of young people .

According to the results of an expert study conducted in 2007 by the Pitirim Sorokin Foundation, the hierarchy of the dominant values ​​of young Russians is built as follows:

Material well-being.

The value of "I" (individualism).

Career (self-realization).

At the same time, analyzing the current state of Russian society, it was noted that the place of values ​​in Russia is largely occupied by anti-values. Among the value systems that dominate today in Russian society, experts noted the following anti-values:

The cult of money;

Indifference and individualism.

Permissiveness.

Characterizing the youth consciousness and the value system of modern Russian youth, sociologists distinguish:

Its predominantly entertainment and recreational orientation life values and interests;

Westernization of cultural needs and interests, the displacement of the values ​​of national culture by Western patterns of behavior and symbols;

Priority of consumer orientations over creative, constructive ones;

Weak individualization and selectivity of culture associated with the dictates of group stereotypes;

Extra-institutional cultural self-realization;

Lack of ethno-cultural self-identification.

The dominance of consumer value orientations inevitably affects the life strategy of young people. Data from the analysis of the results carried out in 2006 - 2007 by the Department of Sociology of Youth of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov sociological research among students showed that: “At present, in the youth environment, in society, one can meet ambiguous life principles. The data obtained allow us to draw a conclusion about the dysfunction in the youth environment and require a more detailed study. Draws quite a bit of attention high degree indifference of young people to such traditionally negative phenomena as opportunism, indifference, unscrupulousness, consumerism, an idle lifestyle and their positive assessment. (See Table 3).

Table 3. List of phenomena encountered in the youth environment

All of the above problematic features of the modern youth sociocultural environment unequivocally testify to the alarming trend of deep and systemic social degradation of a significant part of modern Russian youth, in particular, and our entire society as a whole. The youth environment clearly copies and mirrors in itself all the most significant processes taking place in our society. The systemic crisis in which our society and state are still living, which have not clearly and clearly formulated the national idea and have not defined their development strategy, has led to them losing the meaning of their own existence and immediately affected the youth environment. In it, as in modern Russian society, in general, there is definitely no single, well-established system and hierarchy of values. At the same time, one can observe the coexistence of two processes: both the continuity of traditional values ​​historically inherent in our society, and the formation, mass dissemination of new liberal (consumer) interests, the triumph of anti-values. The improvement of the youth environment, which forms the value orientations of modern Russian youth, can, in our opinion, be carried out by improving the system, forms, methods of implementing youth policy in the Russian Federation.

social organization(from the French organization, from the late Latin organizo- I report a slender appearance, I arrange) - historically established orderly system of activity of society, people; historically established ordered system of social relations, for example, the economic organization of society, military organization society, political organization societies, etc.

The main difference between social organization and social institution lies in the fact that the institutional form of social relations is fixed by the norms of law and morality, and the organizational form includes, in addition to institutional ones, also ordered relations, but which are not yet fixed by existing norms.

Similar information.

The concept of "youth" as a definition of a socio-demographic group originates from the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. Prior to this, young people were not recognized as a special social group. Until the end of the 19th century, youth problems were considered through the problems of personality development, the education of a citizen of a historically specific society, which found scientific expression in pedagogy, philosophy, psychology of the Renaissance, Modern times, Western philosophy XVII-XVIII centuries. The actualization of the theoretical studies of youth, the creation of independent concepts of age took place at the beginning of the 20th century and were developed in the sociological theories of youth.

Youth as a special social group was recognized by objective features that determine the existence, development and change of all aspects of a given social entity.

The initial position of the life cycle, coinciding with youth and associated with the process of preparation for adult functions, appeared in the process of transition from a traditional society to an industrial one. The process of socialization in a traditional society is carried out through the transfer from generation to generation of values, activities, the means and goals of which have existed for centuries as stable models and social norms. In modern conditions, the need for qualitatively different ways of preparing and including the individual in society has increased.

Therefore, today it is impossible to study youth either only from the point of view of sociology (socio-demographic group), or only from the point of view of a cultural approach (spiritual values ​​and ideals of youth). This makes the learning process one-sided. The way out lies in combining the two approaches into a single inseparable socio-cultural approach.

The concept of youth in the socio-cultural aspect began to be developed in the 50s of the XX century. such researchers as G. Shelsky, K. Mannheim, A. Tenbrook, S. Eisenstadt. In the domestic literature on youth issues, the sociocultural approach does not always receive proper objective coverage.

To date, in the circles of sociologists, a view has been established of youth as a reference, socio-demographic group, the most important features of which most authors consider age characteristics and the associated features of the social status, as well as the socio-psychological qualities due to both, which allows us to say about the multilevel analysis of youth as a social phenomenon.

However, the question of the final definition of the concept of "youth" remains debatable. Scientists are divided different approaches to the subject of study - from the standpoint of sociology, psychology, physiology, demography, etc.

Researchers Vishnevsky Yu.R., Kovaleva A.I., Lukov V.A. and others distinguish as the most typical approaches found in scientific literature, the following:

• - psychological: youth is a period of development human personality between "puberty" (puberty) and "maturity" (full maturity);
• - socio-psychological: youth is a certain age with its biological and psychological relationships, and as a result - all the features of the age class;
• - conflictological: youth is a difficult, stressful and extremely important period of life, a long conflict between the individual and society, a problematic stage in human development;
• - role-playing: youth is a special behavioral phase in a person's life, when he no longer plays the role of a child, and at the same time is not yet a full-fledged bearer of the role of an "adult";
• - subcultural: youth is a group with its own specific way of life, lifestyle, cultural norms;
• - stratified: youth is a special socio-demographic group, limited by age limits, with specific positions, statuses, roles;
• - socialization: youth is a period of social growth, primary socialization;
• - axiological: youth is socially significant, milestone life cycle of a person, it is at this stage that the formation of a system of value orientations of individuals, a special worldview, aspiration for the future, and optimism takes place.

• - age;
• - socio-historical;
• - sociological;
• - spiritual and cultural;
• - socio-psychological;
• - cultural.

Thus, within the framework of the considered approaches, there are many definitions of youth, reflecting to a greater or lesser extent certain aspects of life and the qualitative characteristics of this social group.

Young people are characterized by a higher degree of life satisfaction, which is associated with greater self-confidence, orientation towards the realization of personal goals and interests, achievement and success. Young people tend to adhere to the values ​​of individualism, personal initiative and independence.

Success for a significant part of young people is characterized by the achievement of a high material status. Higher education is less valued as a condition for success. However, in the minds of young people, the prestige higher education very high compared to the average.

The attitude towards work is very contradictory. On the one hand, young people generally do not include work in the list of the most significant values. This is partly due to the abolition of the ideology of the special social significance of labor and labor education. However, for many it plays an important role interesting job. At the same time, the main motive of young people explaining their choice of a workplace is the possibility of obtaining more income. This is due to the weakening youth consciousness links between money and work in its labor meaning.

Most of today's youth assign a rather important role to the family, considering it an indispensable condition for happiness. Cohabitation as a way of organizing family relations is in many ways inferior to marriage. The vast majority believe that it is essential family happiness are children. Among the main factors that ensure the stability and stability of the family, young people name the following: respect and support between spouses, marital fidelity, satisfaction sexual relations, a decent income, normal living conditions, living apart from parents and a willingness to discuss problems that arise between spouses. The trend is gaining strength, according to which the role of women in the material support of the family is increasing. We can note the increased role of material factors in the functioning of the youth family.

Value orientations determine the spiritual core of a person, express his attitude to the world and to himself, influence the direction and content of social activity, fill life with meaning, represent the main channel for a person to assimilate the spiritual culture of society, the transformation of cultural values ​​into incentives and motives for practical behavior, are system-forming element of the worldview. youth family social educational

In a broad sense, youth is a set of group communities formed according to age characteristics and related activities. I.S. Kohn defined youth as "a socio-demographic group distinguished on the basis of a combination of age characteristics, social status, and socio-psychological properties determined by one or another." The definition of the concept of "youth" is interconnected with the characteristics of generational relations in society, with its social structure, including layers, masses and social groups. In this definition, a clear structure is built, the initial link of which is the "generation", then the "class" (or "stratum"), and, finally, the young part of the class - the youth.

This conclusion is of great methodological importance for the definition of the concept of "youth". At the same time, the researchers proceed from the fact that young people do not occupy a special place in the system of social relations, being distributed among different classes and social groups of society, possessing to some extent class characteristics. It doesn't deny social features youth, determined by age, socio-psychological, physiological signs, specific interests, needs and value orientations. In accordance with this, the question of its age limits is of certain importance for the sociological study of youth. At present, there are three main approaches to defining these boundaries.

The first, so-called demographic approach, considers young people as a special part of the population, i.e. as people born in a certain year and at a certain time included in the working life. Chronological boundaries in this case are from 18 to 30 years.

The second approach is a statistical one, where the basis for determining age limits is taken as time indicators of average life expectancy and the length of time from the birth of parents to the birth of their children. In accordance with this, the age of youth is determined by the period from 14 to 30 years.

The third approach is sociological, when the age limits are determined by the essence of the object of study, i.e. a specific detachment of young people, characterized by certain professional, educational, socio-psychological characteristics. Most researchers limit this range to 16 to 30 years of age, although in individual cases the border is allowed up to 33 and even up to 40 years.

Adhering to the whole sociological approach to the definition of the concept of "youth", it should be noted that this social group reflects the complex differentiation of social life. modern society. Apparently, therefore, various studies characterize the internal structure of young people from different points of view.

Usually in sociology, young people are divided into the following age groups:

• a) students of incomplete and complete secondary schools;
• b) young people aged 16 to 19;
• c) between the ages of 20 and 24;
• d) 25 to 30 years old.

Based on this, it can be argued that the concept of "youth" includes the following groups of the young population, divided according to their place in social labor.

• - Production workers. Machine operators, farm workers, transport workers, builders. Basically, they have a special education on the basis of courses and represent a fairly large group of young people. Although it is 2 times less than among people over 30 years old, it cannot be ignored, including from the point of view of the consumption of public goods.
• - Persons engaged in unskilled and manual labor, still represent a fairly large group of young people. Although it is 2 times less than among people over 30 years old, it cannot be ignored, including from the point of view of the consumption of public goods.
• - Technicians, technical service personnel. An actively growing stratum of young people in the context of computerization of labor and the emergence of new professions for the maintenance of modern technology.
• - A special group of young people are managers, realtors, agronomists, livestock specialists, as well as production organizers and specialists various areas economy. In this group, the most high level secondary and higher education.
• - IN Lately Another group of young people is being actively formed - the scientific and creative intelligentsia. It should include medical workers, teachers and workers of public education and culture. This group has the highest percentage of "brain drain".
• - Student youth is not homogeneous in its age composition and structure. Firstly, these are schoolchildren studying in secondary educational institutions. Secondly, students of colleges, lyceums, vocational schools. Thirdly, students of secondary vocational and higher educational institutions studying various forms(full-time, part-time, part-time). The age limits of this group of young people are from 14 to 30 years old, their needs are very diverse.

So, youth is such a part of the population (aged 14 to 30 years) that is associated with in a modern way life, participates in at least one of the types of life and work and is the bearer and consumer of all modern forms culture

A special value for today's youth is the opportunity to do what they love. As a specific socio-demographic group, young people are characterized, in addition to age limits, by the presence of a certain place in the structure of society, as well as by the peculiarities of social formation and development. Within the framework of the characteristics of the younger generation, it is possible to single out the main and secondary ones. The main characteristics include physiological, psychological, age and social class. These characteristics are common to all young people. Secondary signs follow from the main ones and manifest themselves depending on the types of activity, place of residence and social status of the young person.

N.F. Golovaty identifies the following objective circumstances that determine the special role of youth in the life of society:

• · Youth plays an important role in national economic production, because is the only source of replenishment of labor resources;
• · young people are the bearer of the intellectual potential of society, they have great abilities for work and creativity in all spheres of life;
• · young people are able to acquire new knowledge, skills, professions much faster than other social groups, thanks to which they have a greater social and professional perspective.

The role of youth as an object and subject in the historical process of the development of society also has its own specifics. Upon entry into public life the young person is the object of the social impact of the environment external environment: family, friends, educational institutions, etc. As he grows up, he learns and begins to practice creative activity becoming the subject of socio-economic, political and social transformations.

Youth is a special socio-demographic group that plays its irreplaceable role in society. Youth is the only source of replenishment of labor resources, the bearer of the intellectual potential of society. It is more capable of adapting to new conditions, learning and assimilating new knowledge and skills. The value orientations of young people cannot but have an impact on the life of society as a whole.