Youth identities: what they are, examples and how they are expressed in young people

These are the main types of youth identities in today's Western societies.

It is well known that adolescence is a time of great changes but also a time of searching, among other things, for one's own identity.

Let's take a look at the concept of youth identities to find out exactly what it means and why. to know what exactly it implies and why it has so much importance for the correct development of adolescents at various levels, such as the psychological but also the social.

What are youth identities?

Youth identities refer to each adolescent's search for who he or she really is, both on his or her own and as a member of a society.. But it is not only a process of searching, but also of choice. We must not forget that human beings are social animals and therefore it is fundamental for their development, which occurs when they begin their transition to adulthood, to find their place in the tribe.

These juvenile identities can acquire a high degree of complexity and are not necessarily static. What does this mean? That an adolescent at a given moment may find an identity with which he identifies and feels comfortable, but after a time, which may be short or longer, he may decide that this identity no longer fully represents him and he may embark again on the search for another that satisfies him.

A distinction should be made between two aspects of juvenile identities, since on the one hand, they may refer to personal identity and on the other to group identity.. The first is the one that the person needs in order to know and express who he/she is, for him/herself. It is the image you have of yourself and the one you project to others, the one by which others know you and know who and how you are. It is what makes you unique and special.

Group or social identity, on the other hand, although it also projects characteristics of the person himself, does so in relation to his group of belonging, classifying himself in a specific group characterized by a series of traits, whether physical, behavioral, dress or of any other nature. Sometimes the social identity is chosen by the person him/herself, but sometimes it is others who attribute this label to him/her, even if the individual has not chosen it.even if the individual has not personally chosen it.

Among youth identities, what we saw as personal identity or self-identity is of great importance for the subsequent self-esteem of the adolescent, since it correlates directly. That is to say, if a person has a positive personal identity, this will most likely generate high self-esteem. On the contrary, young people with a negative self-identity will tend to suffer from low self-esteem.

Why they are important and how they affect young people.

We have already seen that with the arrival of adolescence begins the process of choosing between the different youth identities.. But why is this process so important? The search for and choice of identity is of vital importance for the adolescent. We have already anticipated, for example, the relationship that identity has with self-esteem, which is already a sign of the scope of this issue, but it does not stop there.

The very path of exploration is already of great value in itself, since in the search for the youth identity in which the adolescent believes he/she can best fit, he/she will be able to review a whole variety of values and beliefs to find out whether they correspond to his/her own self or not. In other words, he will be able to know himself, he will be able to assign himself a self-concept and will be able to know what his role is in the society in which he lives..

Of course, this process is not always so quick and simple. On many occasions it is slow, uneven and generates in adolescents some identity crises that they experience as something very dramatic, and it is not for nothing. It is distressing to know that something does not fit in you, that you still have not found yourself and what is worse, not knowing what to do to turn the situation around.

Examples of youth identities

We have already seen that youth identities can be attributed to both self-identity and social identity. According to the second categorization, we can find an infinity of groups, colloquially known as urban tribes, where many adolescents find the traits that satisfy the image they are looking for and also the support of a group of belonging composed of peers with whom to share their thoughts and actions.

Urban tribes that serve as examples for the search for youth identities are many.. Let's review some of the most frequent ones.

1. Gamers

Although video games are not something new, what is certain is that in recent years they have become more popular than ever, especially enhanced by the possibilities of online gaming and thanks to the influence of famous youtubers, which many children and teenagers want to emulate from their computers. Therefore, Gamers are one of the most important youth identities of our times..

Anyone with teenage or pre-teen children will be familiar with titles like Fortnite, League of Legends (popularly known as LoL) or Minecraft, either because they play, because they watch games of their favorite streamers through platforms like YouTube or Twitch, or both. The reality is that the world of video games has changed forever and that has boosted one of the youth identades that already existedattracting many more young people than in past generations.

2. Raggers

The term may be misleading for those of a certain age, but the truth is that rappers are lovers of trap music, a modern genre that gathers hordes of followers among the youngest and therefore represents one of the most booming youth identities. It's not just about the music. As is often the case, this urban tribe has its own dress code and even a way of speaking and behaving. and behavior.

They could be compared to rappers, another urban tribe that was particularly popular in the 2000s, which also revolved around a specific musical genre and involved a particular fashion style as well as customs and linguistic expressions that gave them their own identity.

3. Otakus

Another youth identity that has experienced an enormous expansion in recent years is that of the otaku. This is a group of young people in love with Japanese culture. These people regularly consume a multitude of entertainment products from Asia, mainly from Japan.. For example, they usually read manga, watch anime series or play video games from Japanese studios (the famous RPG saga, Final Fantasy, is a good example of this).

They even listen to music by Japanese pop groups, a genre known as J-Pop, or K-Pop, if they come from South Korea instead. Even in the culinary field they prefer Japanese food, so it is not uncommon for them to enjoy eating sushi, ramen or gyozas. Of course, the otaku is one of the youth identities that most influences all aspects of the lives of its members.

4. "Addicted" to social networks

Undoubtedly, one of the tools most used by teenagers are social networks. The intensive use of social networks defines by itself another of the youth identities, which would be the "addicts" to these platforms. Nowadays, Instagram and especially TikTok, among the youngest, are indispensable apps with which they constantly check the latest news on the internet. with which they constantly check their friends' or idols' updates and share their own.

Obsessed with the digital world, young people believe that not being on social networks means giving up the possibility of interacting with their peers, so for them it is almost (and sometimes in fact is) an addiction. Networks are very useful as a form of communication and it is true that they can be enriching in the search for group identities, but, like everything else, they must be used with moderation and responsibility.

Of course, here comes into play the supervision of the adults in charge and the education in this regard that is provided to teenage children so that they do not exercise an abusive or dangerous use of social networks, but it does serve them to find from among the youth identities the one that best suits them.

Bibliographical references:

• Cortés, T.A. (2008). Subculture, counterculture, urban tribes and youth cultures: homogenization or differentiation? Revista argentina de sociología.
• Dayrell, J. (2003). Youth culture and identities. Last decade.
• Reyes, A. (2009). High school as a space for the construction of youth identities. Revista mexicana de investigación educativa.
• Silva, J.C. (2002). Youth and urban tribes: in search of identity. Last decade.