Youth, Society and Identity Changes

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Youth, Society and Identity Changes

• Dr. Nicos Peristianis

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? Leisure time ? always there, as we know it
today

• E.g. ?ncient Greece
• Not working characteristic of free men
  citizens
• Leisure time

? women ? slaves hard work production

• Cultivating ones spirit
• Necessary in constituting a free individual
• Performance of citizen duties

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Traditional Societies (e.g. Cyprus some decades
ago)

• Leisure and work undifferentiated
• Came together through nature and religion

necessities of agricultural life
Sacred time rituals/ festivities
e.g. - Leisure and games related to holidays
(e.g. Easter holidays,etc)
e.g. -Harvest time Endless work -Seasons
with bad weather compulsory leisure
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Industrial society

• It is in this stage of development that leisure
  is created
• ?arx and Durkheim ? Leisure time results from
  the possibility of producing
  more while working less
• First stage Emphasis on work/production
  Basic principle Time is money
• (Capitalism need to accumulate)
• Time not circular/static/related to nature
• But linear/calculable/related
  to the logic
• of the industrial system.

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• Relaxation/leisure time non work (negative
  definition)
• ? a right of the upper classes of society (a
  luxury good)
• ? Workers - endless work
• - 20th century struggle for reduction of
  work and for increase of leisure time ? 8hr
  workdays
• Second stage The 60s ( After World War II)
• (Affluent society)
• Youth Revolution ? new working class -
  vehicle of
  changes.
• Criticism of the establishment - hard
  work
• Establishment responsible for - austere
  planning
• lack of freedom, wars etc -
  utilitarian rationalism
• - conformism

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• New values - self-knowledge
• - emphasis on emotions (? dry reason)
• - hedonism
• ? critique of work as the central value
• emphasis on free time ?? self knowledge and self
  discovery
• 
  
  

Other movements followed - feminism
(questioning
of the roles of Men and Women)
- peace
- environmental
etc.
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• Post Industrial society
• Development from industrial to ? post-industrial
  economy
• i.e ? to services (instead of agriculture and
  industry)
• Oil crisis post 74 unemployment a new reality
  

• New sub- cultures based on more leisure time e.g
  punks
• Strengthening of workers rights re. leisure ? ?
  importance
• - weekends
  - holidays
• - pension
• e.g. Movie Saturday Night Fever
• The creation of youth identity (through
  dancing) in free time
• 90s the collapse of Communism/end of
  ideologies (?)
• Trends for low interest in ?
  politics/religion enhanced
• More emphasis on ? individual

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Libovetski concerns about the new values of
hedonismPost-modern period ? emphasis on the
desires of the individual and their legitimation
individualism
pursuit of freedom of expression for people who
live in contemporary societies of intense social
coercion individual Reactions struggle
for uniqueness/identity collective
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• e.g. - Feminist movement
• - Sexual liberation
• - Recognition of local/ethnic minorities
• - New movements ? e.g. rights of children/rights
  of old

? driving force fostering of the unique
identity of each person Positive side of
individualism
Negative side - Indifference to social
inequality - lack of trust in the
future (no faith either in progress
or revolution BUT desire for preserving
eternal youth Prevalence of hedonism
- no taboos self adoration -
idols (relation to self, body, - grand
self-image others, the world) - a grand
historical design
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?afezoli A More Positive attitude towards new
values

• Disagrees with the dominant opinions
  The end of collective ideologies
• Glorification of individualism
• Rather behind the various manifestations of
  daily life that may seem
  individualistic New individual and collective
  solidarity networks are formed
• Why? Permanent / continuous
  collective will/volition
• Reason for the maintenance of social
  life.
• (Necessity)

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BUT now achieved not through economics/political
order but through the sphere of private
life.
Hedonism main axis of organization of social
relationships/ institutions in the post-modern
era.

• Reactivation of archaic phenomena
• e.g. - celebrations
• - entertainment
• - all kinds of exaggeration / excess e.g.
  use of alcohol
• sexuality

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The New Aesthetic Moral

• - Social fabric not political or economic life
  but daily social life

This is well maintained and reproduced

through sensational experiences
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A Synthetic approach

• Individualism 2 meanings
• 1) Negative selfishness / individualism /
  narcissism
• 2) Positive autonomy / independence / freedom
• Relationship between individual society
  oppression through
• - external social controls e.g.
  family, school
• - internalized self-controls
• Oppressed desires / behaviours can be given more
  free expression
• during free time.
• This does not necessarily mean the rejection of
  social values / institutions
• BUT greater discomfort is experienced because of
  the increased institutionalized
• constraints / controls

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?Search of expanded margins of individual freedom
and expression through leisure time. Consequentl
y, behaviours that previously meant - lack of
discipline - disobedience -
laziness etc.
Are now treated with
tolerance Nombert Elias Controlled release of
excitement i.e laxity of social controls,
allowing individual self-expression without
endangering the whole of society with such
laxity. How is this possible? The structure of
peoples personality in our times has been
transformed.
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Additional Aspect

• Post-modern times
• Individualism new identity
• - self-determination through leisure (?work)
• or - multiple selves/ roles/
  identities
• Identity of leisure central

Cyprus coexistence of 3 worlds (a)
traditional leisure time religion/nature (b)
modern leisure time work (c) post-modern
leisure time schooling