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Volda-Griffith Austral-Asian Study Immersion Program 2010

Topic: “Young People and Youth in Australia”

Wayne Muller

Griffith University

29th September 2010

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Young People and Youth in Australia

STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION

• Beginning Activity• Introductory Points• A generational approach• Young people and ethnicity• Gender, gender relationships and young people• Social class, socio-economic class and young people• Urban young people• Rural young people• Contemporary concerns and issues with/ of young people- a

sample• Conclusion- Lifestyle(s) and young people

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Beginning Activity- Reflection 1

• Before arriving in Australia what preconceptions of Australia ( and young Australians) did you have?

• What do you think were the sources of these preconceptions?

• If you had two hours to give an overview of young people in Norway to an overseas audience, what attributes would you highlight?

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Introductory Points

• (1) In any topic of social analysis in any society beware of the “one trend fallacy”/ stereotyping

– -> complex societies with a diversity of categories and self identified groups of young people, and complex trends and issues within these

– Ethnicity/ gender/ “social class”/ socio-economic class/ family composition and membership/ urban/ rural/ etc –The Rubik Cube Analogy

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Introductory Points (continued)

• (2) Exploring the terms:– “childhood”, “children”, “adolescence”,

“adolescents”, “youth”, “youths”, “young people”

– The “social construction” of these terms and their changing meaning over time- Reflection 2

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Introductory Points (continued)

• (3) Adolescence and youth often described as “a problem”- the so called “deficit model” of analysis of social groups

• (4) Importance of a comparative and “issues based” approach to young people and youth in Norway and Australia

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A generational approach

• The post war “baby boomer” generation– Born 1946-1961– An indulgent generation- the pursuit of “lifestyle”?– Workaholics– The wealth of the baby boomers– The demographics of retirement- the “sea change” and “tree

change” phenomenon

• Generation X– Born 1962-1981– Most educated– Resent the perceived privileged baby boomer generation

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A generational approach- Reflection 3

• Generation Y (See Reading 3)

– Born from about 1982 to about 1995 (Cut offs vary a lot)

– Keeping their options open/ job mobility

– Living with parents

– Technologically literate

– Electronic communication

• The latest generation (See Reading 4)

– Born from about 1996 onwards

– Claimed disappearance of childhood and the loss of innocence

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Young People and Ethnicity

• Australia is an immigrant society(Tables Reading 1, P 1)

– 50% of Australians born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas

• Sources of migrants- (2004-2005)– UK 15% NZ 14% China 9% India 8% Sudan

5%

• Ethnic diversity/ cultural pluralism/ multiculturalism

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Young People and Ethnicity- Reflection 3

• Issues of ethnicity for young people– Concept of a “hierarchy of prejudice”– Clash of ethnic values and “mainstream” Australian

values- > often “torn between two cultures”-> family conflict

– Desire for peer group acceptance– Ethnic identity is “contextual”– Ethnic suburbs and ethnic schools– Stereotypes of ethnic young people- eg Vietnamese

young Australians– Case study: The Brisbane Samoan and Tongan

communities

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Gender, Gender Relationships and Young People- Reflection 4

• The so called “gender revolution”-> the empowerment of young women (Tables Reading 1, P 2)

• Young women and schooling• Careers, partners, marriage and parenting

– Diverse and changing patterns in all these issues (Tables Reading 1, pp 3-7)

• Male relationships- the Australian phenomenon of “mateship”

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Social Class, Socio-economic Class and Young People- Reflection 5

• The concepts of “social class” and “socio-economic class” (Tables Reading 1, pp 8-11)

• Australian denial of social class- an “un-Australian” concept which challenges the “myth of egalitarianism”

• Class does exist in virtually every aspect of life:Occupations- professions, white collar, blue collar jobsWealth distribution- super rich to homelessSuburbs- elite, middle class/ working class, and underclassEducation- including private versus public schooling Language variations

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Urban Young People

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Urban Young People

• The dominance of urban living in Australia

• The “Australian dream” of home ownership

• The suburban experience- attractions and limitations

• The “inner city suburb” phenomenon

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Rural Young People

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Rural Young People- Reflection 7

• The tyranny of distance, isolation and aridity• Responses to these challenges- eg rural versus

urban conceptions of distance• The demographic consequences• Challenge of “Rural Despair”• Rural youth and in-migration to the cities• Moves to remote areas to cash in on

“commodities boom” – temporarily less significant due to the global financial crisis

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Contemporary Concerns and Issues with/ of Young People- A Sample- Reflection 8

• The Unaffordability of Housing– The cost of residential property in Australia

– Options: stay with parents, rent, purchase on the periphery

– The trendiness of some inner city suburbs- rent or purchase

– The “First Homeowners Scheme”

• Attitudes to the environment– Enhanced levels of awareness (see reading 4)

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Contemporary Concerns and Issues with/ of Young People- A Sample

• Binge drinking (Tables Reading 1, p 14)

– Hotel and night club trading hours– “Schoolies week”– Alcohol consumption and taxation- the “Alcopops

Taxation debate• Obesity, lack of exercise, etc (Tables Reading 1, p 15)

– The sedentary nature of much work– The sedentary nature of recreational technologies– Junk food– However, popularity of gyms and participation in

sport

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Contemporary Concerns and Issues with/ of Young People- A Sample

• Youth violence– Gangs- often ethnically or social class or

neighbourhood based

– Media reporting of specific incidents– Strong links with alcohol and drug consumption

(Tables Reading 1, pp 13-14)

– Claimed links to violence in computer games, movies, television programs, etc

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Conclusion: Lifestyle(s)

• Suburbia and the trendy inner suburbs, and ethnic influences on lifestyle:- ethnic restaurants, festivals, etc

• A secular society (Tables Reading 1, p 16)

• Outdoors/ beach/ sport/ etc- both mythical and reality?• As part of “global culture”- Hollywood, popular music,

globalised food, etc• Negative celebrity role models- “triumph of the

airheads”?• Consumption and overconsumption and “the cult of the

body”• Youth sub-cultures- eg Goths and Bogans• “Virtual lifestyles”: communications technology- mobile

phones, the internet, You Tube, Twitter, Avatars, etc