02. Food for Thought: Youth Cultures in Switzerland

Youth Cultures in Switzerland

A Western European Perspective

By Markus Giger

“There are no global youth trends anymore! There is no longer a large global youth culture which governs youth. Individual scenes or subcultures now influence the everyday life of young people”

This article is adapted from a Practical Theology thesis paper by Marcus Giger, Youth Program staff member with Scripture Union Switzerland. It focuses on an analysis of youth culture in Switzerland, examining the question of ‘how do today’s young people function, what interests them and what are the implications for how can we reach out to them?’

As you read this article, reflect on your own context. What are the parallels, similarities and differences between yours and the Swiss or Western European situation?

The full version of the article covers additional issues, including adolescent reading patterns and behaviour, leisure and gender, and finally, the social and ethical issues, fears and concerns of young people in the Swiss context. This extra material can be found at the Catalyst Forum website, where you can also make comments and ask questions.

Young people’s leisure behaviour and interests

Spare time is highly valued by Swiss young people. Spare time means ‘free space’; it creates a balance to the rather dry school and job experience. Rest and relaxation play just as large a role as personal self-realisation. With this in mind, there are three fundamental cornerstones in the multi-coloured leisure-mix of young people:

• self-organised activities
• making use of the activities that the leisure industry provides
• being totally relaxed and ‘doing nothing’

Three areas play an important role: music, media and activities with friends. In youth sociology, youth-cultural scenes play an ever increasing role; these are understood as ‘collective individualisation’. Despite being increasingly shaped by individualism, the young person seeks out for him or her self a symbolically secure territory, which can be called, ‘YOUTH SCENES’.

Students in Northern Ireland. Belonging or being part of the group is important

Swiss Youth Scenes can be described as: inter-regional, cultural networks, where young people with similar cultural interests meet together. The key characteristic of the youth scene is: ‘EVERYONE WANTS TO BE PART OF IT’ – and ‘it’ principally involves three large ‘scenes’: fun-sport, music and computers.

There are no global youth trends anymore! There is no longer a large global youth culture, which governs youth. Individual scenes or subcultures now influence the everyday life of young people. Currently the leading ideology is ‘Freestyle’ or freedom ideology. This is most strongly seen in subcultures such as Hip-Hop, Snowboarding, Skateboarding and Streetball, which tend to be strongly ‘event’ orientated.

Media diversity

Having grown up with unbelievable media diversity, today’s young people interact with the media world with automatic, natural ease. This is not only in the area of entertainment, but also in schooling, vocational training, retrieving information and relationships.

Young people in Switzerland can increasingly rely on a technically better equipped family situation. According to one study, each family with young people living at home possesses an average of 3.7 technical devices from the entertainment sector. Over 80% of households have mobile phones, televisions, computer/laptops, MP3-players and digital cameras. Households with small gadgets for playing MP3-data have increased rapidly – in the last two years from 25% to 80%. The same study also points out that two thirds of Swiss young people now have a computer/laptop in their room.

This all means that non-school based, Christian youth work needs to be prepared to engage with the Internet. Being online will be part of everyday life. Already four fifths of the population use the computer daily or several times a week.

Do young people read books?

Anyone who believes that today’s youth no longer enjoys reading books is wrong. Contrary to many pre-conceived ideas, the number of reading youth has increased in recent years. A survey of German youth lists reading books at place five, directly after listening to music, watching television, meeting up with people and surfing the Internet.

However, this domain, more than any other, is heavily dependent on the level of schooling. High school students make up nearly 50% of regular readers (school books excluded); those with less education make up 30% of non-readers

Does leisure behaviour depend on gender?

The most frequently performed leisure activities in Switzerland such as listening to music, telephoning, meeting with friends and just hanging around, are to a large extent not dependent on gender; they have the same high value with both male and female young people. However scene affiliation reveals gender differences. Female young people predominate in the beach volleyball and fitness scenes, while males predominate in the computer and skateboard scenes. The snowboard and hip-hop scenes are attractive to both sexes.

The two most obvious gender-specific differences in leisure activities can be identified in the areas of media use, reading behaviour and Internet use. Female young people predominantly use the Internet for email contact and information; males are more likely to play online games.

As a basic principle, there are also gender differences in value consciousness and life concepts. For female young people, social connections and standards, as well as comprehensive directions in life like environmental and health consciousness, play a priority role – they are the more value conscious sex. The life philosophy of male young people is competition and contest-oriented. This shapes their lives very differently.

The fears and concerns of young people

Attentive readers of the daily press are confronted by the innumerable ethical and social topics which concern today’s youth. Investigations point out four areas about which young people are justifiably concerned: unemployment, violence, their financial situation and personal well-being.

With a leap in unemployment from 14% to 69% in the past four years in Switzerland, young people have a deep-rooted fear that they will lose their jobs or be unable to find adequate employment. Youth unemployment and the availability of training places are key issues. Young people’s fundamental optimism is strongly impacted by mixed future prospects.

The threat of violence can no longer be excluded from the everyday life of young people. Approximately 22% of young people in Switzerland (within 12 months approximately an eighth) were personally confronted with youth violence. Today every young person must take into consideration the possibility of violence in their immediate surroundings, in school, at work or when pursuing leisure activities.

Young people are also concerned about their financial situation. Although most young people report that they are more or less satisfied with their financial situation, about 16% describe their situation as ‘emphatically bad’, and 33% are looking for a part-time job to pay for their life-style and material requirements. The number of youth in debt and living on credit is noticeably increasing.

Finally, young people often voice fears about personal well-being and health (AIDS and cancer), and environmental issues.

From traditional youth work to youth culture work

If one carefully observes today’s youth in Switzerland (and Western Europe generally), a broad spectrum of a multi-coloured, modern and diverse youth cultures is apparent. The young person’s everyday life is shaped and characterised by different lifestyles and culture scenes. If Scripture Union wants to reach out to these young people with its vision, it is essential to consider these scenes and life styles, integrating them into our programs.

At least in the Swiss situation, our traditional youth work needs to become increasingly youth culture oriented as we engage with contemporary Swiss young people who predominantly operate in ‘youth scenes’.

Great potential lies in the engagement with the youth scenes of young people. The three large scene foci are: fun-sport, music and computers. In terms of self realisation, appropriate activities which are experience-orientated, and provide retreat and relaxation are vital. The (almost) daily use of the computer/ laptop and other devices cries out to us to listen attentively; it challenges us to react to technological innovations so that nothing is left to lie fallow and unused. Let’s be motivated by the fact that young people still read a lot and with pleasure. Most young males are more easily reached through new technologies, but young women are often reached through literature. There are also social and ethical topics which deeply concern young people. We can support them, raise their awareness and help them cope – with a Biblical approach.