Growing up as a part of teenage communities: Current trends and risks

The article describes teenage communities as a special space of growing up. The authors examine some major transformations of the contemporary society and socialization risks generated by them in teenage communities for today’s high parental employment outside the home makes peer groups the most important agent of socialization and a key space for teenagers’ growing up. The article identifies the main socio-psychological conceptions of group dynamics, types of relationships among teenagers and functions of peer communities that provide teens a chance to grow up in a system of intergroup communications. The authors emphasize the fact that traditionally peer relationships serve as a “school” of social experience necessary for the normal format of growing up, but today communicational and recreational practices of teens and youth are increasingly “constructed” by the consumption industry. The article considers tendencies of consumerism and virtualization in teenage communities that are changing not only the shape but also the very essence of interactions and relationships among teens and youngsters; discusses the criminalization risks in these groups due to today’s mass media impact, and the risks associated with the Internet activity, such as intellectual primitivization and infantilization due to the overreliance on the Internet.

growing up, teenage communities, group interaction, subcultures, consumerism, virtualization of communication, deformation of the growing up space, risks