Cross-posted from www.youthmesh.org

This is a value or attitude I have been hearing for years about young people and youth culture. It is often said in relation to trying to understand how to relate to young people and connect into their world. I think we have this belief in all countries around the world that because young people are just younger versions of adults then they should act and function the same way - opps I think we got that one wrong.

Trying to lump young people in as younger versions of adults would be like trying to bring a whole lot of people from Bolivia to New Zealand to live and then wondering why they dont talk, act and view the world as New Zealanders do. The reality is that there are similar basic necessities in life between adults and young people but there is a lot that isnt similar - the dress sense, values, attitudes and lifestyles of young people are very different than adults and I think this applies to any society in the world.

Young people want to wear clothes that aren't exactly right, they talk in language that adults often miss, their friends are often more important that their families, traditions and cultural norms aren't followed in the same ways, technology has become their new best friend and controls their actions, jobs and careers aren’t as important, financial security is somewhere in the years to come, they don't believe in institutions, they might have body piercings and tattoos.

Are young people weird - well off course. Part of being young is about creating your own world and doing things differently than generations before. It is about each new generation trying to define itself and separate itself from one’s that had gone before. This is always going to be weird to adults. But they are also weird on another level - they are challenging and changing the rules about ‘what it means to live.’

In a busy and structured world, young people are basing their lives on relationships and being connected, they know that the end result of something is important but the journey is just as important (which is why in their late teens and twenties young people’s lives are like a road trip), authority and power is not bestowed but it is gained, they are experiencing the wider world and they want their share and so they are not content with their parents life and expectations. I think in many ways the emerging generations are starting to change what is seen as ‘important’ in life.

This doesn't mean that you cant relate to young people and that adults have lost it. What it means is that adults need to take the time to understand the world and thinking of young people. This doesnt mean adults need to agree with all that young people think and do (because that would be scary) but when you start to understand why young people have the world view they do then you can better relate to them.

And that bit about being weird - maybe if we are lucky then some of that ‘weird’ might rub off on us as adults because lets be real - as adults we find it easy to get stuck into a groove and a way of being in the world and maybe a bit of weirdness might help us keep moving in our own world.