youth&society

[dro86-blog]

1.  This is a photo of me gaming. I'm a gamer, "gamers" is the subculture of youth I'm choosing for this assignment. I'm playing an online game of Call of Duty (COD) with my earpiece and microphone on my PS3. Gamers socialize through their video games with the advancement in technology.

2. This is my sisters friend, who is also a gamer. It's very rare for there to be "gamergirls" since really the majority of gamers are guys. She is also playing COD.

3. Here is a pic of group gaming. My friend and fraternity brother are really getting into their game NBA 2k13 for xbox 360. They are not playing online, just against each other.

4. This is a picture my cousin sent me when he went all the way to the Los Angeles convention center for the electronic entertainment expo. Gamers go from all over the place and play the newest games. Gamers get to socialize and meet on another. So jealous he got to see the newest games to be released. 

5. This is the line my friends and I had to wait in at GameStop for the newest FIFA Soccer 13 game for Xbox. I didn't come to buy the game I just tagged along for the atmosphere and to hang out. Sometimes at these events they have promoters passing out free stuff associated with the game. Just the atmosphere alone is worth going for.

[dro86-blog]

StandUp For Kids

"The mission of StandUp for Kids is to help rescue homeless and at-risk youths. StandUp for Kids volunteers work directly with the homeless youth population and go on the streets to find, stabilize, and otherwise help homeless and street kids improve their lives. In addition, StandUp For Kids goes beyond street outreach and extends to deterrence and resource programs that are provided in schools and via the internet."

StandUp For Kids has more than 35 outreach programs in over 18 states. It is the largest all-volunteer charity organization dedicated to making a difference to street kids that are at-risk or homeless. Its main headquarters is located in Atlanta, Georgia. 

http://www.standupforkids.org/ 

[dro86-blog]

Interview Reflection

My interview topic was about Family and Friends, this was one topic that I thought was very interesting. I really enjoyed the interview, the person I interviewed was a friend since freshman year. The interview actually helped us learn a lot more about each other.  We came from similar backgrounds, and he answered most of the questions as I would answer them. One thing that struck me is when he said that it all depends on where we come from and how we're raised. Both family and friends are influential, but if you grew up without close family bonds, your friends would be the ones who greatly change your life. 

[dro86-blog]

Meg Jay: Why 30 is not the new 20

Meg Jay talks about how your 20s are not your years to throw away and have fun and live a carefree life. Many youths today think that they can procrastinate and put out life decision till their 30. I feel that youths should start preparing themselves for the real world early in their lives. But then again I also believe that everyone creates their future on their own regardless of what they think is the "right" way. Many youths don't want to live in the "real world" in their 20s. They want to travel, have fun, and spend those years exploring themselves instead of settling down early. I'm living my life the way I want it, and in my 20s I want to make life changing decisions and settle down. 

[dro86-blog]

Diploma Disaster?

With the job market glutted with unemployed young people with college degrees, is getting a college education a solid plan or a disaster waiting to happen? By Selwyn Duke

This article talks about a youth who received a law degree but couldn't land a full time career job in his field of study. The majority of the article elaborates on graduates with a degree will not get a job in what they studied. Many of them are "underemployed", more than 1/3 of current graduates are in jobs that do not require a college degree, and the proportion is rising rapidly. There is a supply and demand in the workforce. Students are graduating faster than America's labor market is creating jobs. The quality of your degree and education provider determines where you stand as a young adult in the job market post grad. This article is applicable to college educated youths. 

[dro86-blog]

This is a picture of my fraternity brothers (of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc.) at a BBQ we held the other day. They are practicing the tradition of "strolling" also known as "party walking". This act is mostly practiced by multicultural greeks (latinos, asians, african americans, etc) and ONLY practiced by greeks. These brothers in particular are undergraduates from chapters at Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University. This is a part of most youth greeks and undergrad greeks. It's common to go to a greek bbq and there to be a "stroll-off". In my case almost every greek youth I know strolls during leisure time together their and usually does a great job at it. It's purly social, it can get competetive, but its away to unite other greeks from different orgs. Sometimes being with your bros and strolling gives you a break from reality of being an undergraduate college student, it's a break that doesn't involve alcohol.

Here's a link if you'd like a closer look at strolling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ciBNuqk0WI

[dro86-blog]

Portrayals of teen sex have become more common and accepted in the two decades since the first wave of GenMe'ers were teens.

- Twenge GenMe Prude Meets Crude 

This quote answers the question "Are casual sexual experiences becoming normalized?" 

Twenge describes that television shows before the Millenials were already depicting casual sex. As the years progressed, sex on tv became more casual. Shows like the O.C. portray teen sex as a commonplace and relatively casual. Many youth cultures are influenced by television and what they see. A 2004 study of almost 2,00 teens showed that those who watch tv with a lot of sexual content are likely to engage in intercourse as those who watch less. 

[dro86-blog]

Graffiti art is a subculture of hip-hop. Its relationship to mainstream is through hip-hop music. Many people do not like graffiti, they see it as gang related and view it in a negative way. Most graffiti today is art and can be found everywhere in the world. Some places respect the art while others view it as a crime. Graffiti artists cannot associated with just one specific race or class, they are a diverse subculture that express themselves in a unique way of art.

[victoriathomaslove-blog]

Who are youth?

This table represents the top utilized websites by today’s youth. The internet site Facebook was ranked among the highest for both males and females. Author J.Stein noted that today’s youth have developed an excessive need for approval. This is evident in that many youth enact constant exposure of themselves on sites such as Facebook, which provide a forum in which instant feedback can be obtained. 

[dro86-blog]

i found this interesting because it is an older statistic. I wonder what the favorite websites now. it would be interesting to see if the Facebook user percentage went down in the past 5 years or went down and the same for the rest.

[dro86-blog]

The Internet has democratized opportunity for many young people, giving them access and information that once belonged mostly to the wealthy.

The Next Great Generation (TIME Magazine) 

[dro86-blog]

Most of them do want to take on all of these adult obligations, and most of them will have done so by the time they reach age 30. It is just that, in their late teens and early twenties, they ponder these obligations and think, “Yes, but not yet.” Adulthood and its obligations offer security and stability, but they also represent a closing of doors—the end of independence, the end of spontaneity, the end of a sense of wide-open possibilities.

-Emerging Adulthood (pg. 6) 

[dro86-blog]

This info-graphic covers many aspects of the Millennial generation described by Joel Stein. In his article he talked about how narcissistic the Millennial generation can be. The info-graphic states that “4/5 Millennials think that they deserve to be recognized for their work"  and “9/10 think they deserve their dream job"

[dro86-blog]