Social activity of youth cohorts in the structure of the modern social and political process

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Social activity of youth cohorts in the structure of the modern social and political process

Svetlana Nikolaevna Shelepova - lecturer of the “The Khabarovsk pedagogical college”, the aspirant of the chair of social work and sociology” of “The Far-Eastern State University of communications” (Khabarovsk).

E-mail: ledysveta@gmail.com

In the article the author demonstrates the main results of the research of social activity of the youth cohorts. He shows the peculiarities of the youth cohorts social activity in the structure of the modern social and political process.

Key words: youth, youth cohort, social activity, social and political process.

Youth involvement in social-political processes is one of important problems in nowadays life. Modern teens, being identified by political positions and having an indifferent attitude to them, promote reproduction of corresponding ideas and values, the realization of certain socio-political interests, and form their own relation to political institutes operating in the society. In modern conditions traditional mechanisms of youth social activity formation lose the dominating significance that reflects the degree of youth participation in political life and defines the features of its political awareness.

The revealing of an active basis of youth interests to politics was promoted by the analysis of the answers to the question: "How often do you participate in public activity at present time?" The research "youth cohorts in the system of social and structural relations: sociological analysis", Khabarovsk, 2007 - 2008 (n=832). The total combination was composed by the youth in the age of 14 - 30. The author used the quota selection method and he presented the main youth groups according to their age, education, social status, employment. The supervisor is - Doctor of Philosophy, professor Smirnov B.V., Far Eastern State Transport University.. The display of a passive youth position in public activity can be vividly viewed on Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. The youth participation regularity in social life (% to the number of the interviewed)

Analyzing the character and ways of assumption or resistance of active or passive social strategy, E.L. Omelchenko points out, that activity is associated by the youth with opportunity of self-organization, self-presentation, peep group approval, some “society” [8]. Passivity or apathy may not have a negative tinge. For some part of youth non-participation in public life is a principle. Therefore the context of youth activity-passivity is different and demands individual involvement into some cultural group.

It was natural for us to know if young people have interest and need to take part in social work of organizations which act as institutes of youth self-organization, assisting to youth involvement in social life.

Social association it a voluntary, self-controlled, non-profit formation, set up by the initiative citizens who united to consolidate their interests for general aims and interests realization [9]. Youth participation in the social work of organizations favors the individual transformation from the object of government and society impact into the active independent entity of social activity.

What kind of social activity directions are in demand among the youth today? (Figure 2).

Fig. 2. The necessity to unite social organizations (% to the number of the interviewed)

According to the social organizations directions, the following opinions of young people were received: youth professional unions (17%), leisure time associations (15,8%), creative unions (10,5%). 23.3% of the interviewed have difficulties to choose the direction of youth associations activity. It allows us to distinguish a deficient level of their social activity.

In Khabarovsk territory there registered 2076 non-profit organizations, 943 are social associations, 163 are religious organizations among them. For the last decade a number of non-profit organizations increased more than twice [10]. Here the problem of extension of non-profit organizations impact on managing decision-making is being solved by involving business representatives into colleagues and professional groups or other structures where the questions concerning rights and interests of citizens and organizations are considered.

There is a site “Non-profit organizations” [10] on the official informational internet portal in Khabarovsk territory. The created informational resource is aimed at further collaboration between them, civil activity increase in prior social-economic directions of the territory development. The opening of the site provides the opportunity to present in public the activity of non-profit organizations, the significant events held by their initiative and by the territory government support.

The specific feature of a modern society movement is a volunteering organization membership. Meanwhile, according to our results, a personal freedom of choice to be a member of an organization is in fact a freedom of non-participation in any of them that represents an obstacle itself in relations of governmental and social structures with youth (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. The youth involvement into social associations activity (% to the number of the interviewed)

As to the research results, social associations according to youth preferences range the following way: informal student associations (5,5%), youth associations (4,6%), self-government students institutions (3,0%), political parties (2,0%). It is necessary to point out that according to the age-factor, the number of members in social associations is decreasing greatly, political parties and movements are not attractive for the youth, volunteering is practically excluded.

In the youth 14 - 18 age group of social associations members there were 20,0 % of the interviewed, in the 18-20 age group - 15,5%, in the 21 - 23 age group - 17,5%, in the 24 - 26 age group the number decreases to 5,0 %, in the 27 - 30age group - up to 8,2%. The student youth is more involved in public structures. The means of self-realization and will-expressing is students' self-government, the activity of which is represented by insignificant percentage: 1,9% of the youth cohort representatives are at the age of 14 - 18 years old; 1,6% of the youth are at the age of 21 - 23 years old. Young people at the age of 18 - 20 (4,1%) take an active part in students' trade unions activity, young people at the age of 24 - 26 (5,0%) are active in students' self-management operation.

The received results allow us to characterize a students' movement as "lifeless", the artificially created one with few members and little power. Therefore, in modern conditions it is important to reveal and understand the specificity of students' movement functioning to carry out the search and approbation of the optimal organization models for the purpose of the hidden resource activation.

The described situation allows us to draw the conclusion on passivity of youth interests to the politics, on imitation and simulation of its active participation in political and public organizations activities. According to the results of the carried out research, it is impossible to speak about social activity of the youth: few young people are members of any political party, professional association, youth public organization, students' movement.

In political space of the country certain political forces were fixed. In Khabarovsk territory 13 regional branches of political parties are registered. The total number of the citizens who are their members makes more than 20,000 persons. The most active participation in a public and political life of the territory is taken by the "Uniformed Russia», the «Equitable Russia», the LDPR, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Union of Right Forces, the "Apple", the «Civil force», the «Democratic party of Russia», the «the Agrarian party of Russia», the «Patriots of Russia» [10]. What is the youth attitude to political parties and movements? (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4. Youth support of political parties (% to the number of the interviewed)

It is evident that one fourth of the interviewed doesn't show any interest to political party life. Young people have a favor to parties and moderate movements. One of them is the “Uniformed Russia” which is supported by 61% of the interrogated. This party positions itself as a national party conveying the interests of all population groups. It is important to notice that in most cases political groups support is not a motivation to take part in its activity. Frequently the youth support groups trying to get economical, social or emotional benefits.

The `Uniformed Russia” has got the main part of supporting votes by "youth adults" solidarity. The 14-20 year-olds youth support other parties' activities, one fourth of the interviewed cohorts does not support any political party at all. The 21 - 24 age youth group expressed the variety of political views that can be explained by the polydeterminated choice of political parties. It depends on youth evaluation of personal needs satisfaction and values-goals achievement.

Political preferences of the 24 - 26 age group youth are sharply diametrically opposed: 50% voices are given to the “Uniformed Russia” and the CPRF, 50% of the interviewed are politically indifferent.

In the course of our survey we singled out the tendency of the numerous youth cohorts representatives: the youth's interest to politics and political activity are revealed only when personal social and economical problems as the place of living, a job, a family are solved.

We studied the causes of youth activities in social organizations (Fig. 5). Dominating causes are: a wish to help others (25,0%), self-realization (22,4%), new acquaintances (21,0%), goals achievement 919,7%). It should be noticed that these causes correspond to youth age factor and values orientations. The need to develop one's talents as a cause to take part in social life was not expressed by the interviewed at all.

Fig. 5. The youth causes to participate in social associations (% to the number of the interviewed)

For the 14 - 18 age group a variety of views is typical: 9 from 10 offered causes were taken; for the 24 - 30 age group the only cause to take part in social activity is a feeling of civil liability.

The dominating cause not to participate is the lack of time (49,3%),the lack of interest (25,7%), a useless character of activity (24,2%). See Figure 6.

Fig. 6. The youth motivation not to participate in social associations activities (% to the number of the interviewed)

The youth social activity is involved in a wider context of elder generations relationships in all their realizations.

The answer to the question “What is the attitude of the government to young people in comparison with other order social groups?” let us to reveal the governmental evaluative attitude to the youth (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7. The governmental evaluative attitude to the youth (% to the number of the interviewed)

The results demonstrate that the governmental positive attitude range to the youth is extremely low (8,5% of the respondents). The fact which attracted attention is that 42,2 of the respondents couldn't answer that question. This gives the ground to prove that the part of young people is out of government influence or they are not informed or uninterested in that issue.

The analysis of the results shows that all youth cohorts give a very low evaluation of the governmental attitude to them (from 6,7% to 16,7%).

The estimation of the 24 - 26 age group is contradictory: 50% of the respondents gave the positive evaluation, and 40% of them found it difficult to answer. All that facts demonstrate the low level of government attitude to the youth. Our findings concur with the results of U.V. Berezutsky's research [2].

The results prove that, first of all, young people associate their hopes with their personal efforts. The youth realizes that accomplishment of life aims mainly depends on person's skills, knowledge and determination. The considerable part of the respondents (54,6%) is going to rely on their own strength instead of governmental and public organizations activity. The results confirm L.A. Belyayeva's conclusion: young people who are able to work have the tendency of being independent from paternalism. And there is also a firm belief that the own prosperity depends on them [1]. The tendency of paternalism weakening and subjectivity increase finds its place in personal and social activities, responsibility of self-development, definite social status and material well-being achievement.

The young people at the age of 14 - 18 years old who are oriented to their own strength (68,2%) evaluate the impact of different social and governmental organizations as very low (0,6% - 9,6%).

The 24 - 26 aged youth cohorts demonstrate a paradoxical position in outer factors effects evaluation directed to social life improvement: 35,0% of the interviewed rely on their own abilities, 50,0% depend on governmental or federal authorities support that should be considered typically Russian point of view.

In the 24 - 30 youth age group the wish to be socially independent is expressed (35,0% and 45,8% correspondingly) regardless the influence of political parties, youth organizations, business establishments or foreign countries collaboration. However, according to evaluations of the 24 - 30 age group (50,0%) and the 27 - 30 age group (33,33%) the impact of federal authorities has increased.

It should be mentioned that there is a stable upward tendency of social life improvement as regards to federal authorities work estimation depending on certain age figures: from 9,3% in the 14 - 18 age group to 50,0% in the 24 - 26 age group. This can be explained by a forming feeling of trust towards the President and the Government politics, taking the concrete measures to social stability establishment, values regulations, social and role-based structural stratification.

The overwhelming majority of young people do not experience the impact of local authorities work, the measures aimed to improve social life are estimated as very low: 9,1% - 12,5% and 2,3% - 8,3% correspondingly.

We think that the interpretation of the youth cohorts political outlook should be done with certain caution. The results prove that political activity is a part of life for all interviewed youth cohorts. Meanwhile, there are the reasons to state that modern youth is apart from politics: too few young people belong to political parties, professional associations, ecological or human rights movements or organizations.

The result of the secondary socialization demonstrate that, in general, the youth is not a political subject nowadays that might lead to its estrangement from modern social-political processes.

Finally we established the following peculiarities of youth cohorts social activity in the context of modern social-political process:

- youth participation fragmentariness in social work; personal priorities contribute to disappearing of the “enthusiast public man” type;

- formal involvement in social and political activities: a number of members belonging to political parties and movements is decreasing, patriotism and volunteering are practically excluded;

- estrangement from social and political organizations as a respond to indifferent governmental attitude to the youth, however, positive evaluation of federal authorities work is permanently increasing according to age criterion.

Efficient and adequate youth cohorts involvement into the socio-political sphere will certainly favour the establishment of youth subject-status. According to D.Moskvin and G.Kozlov, new forms and methods of political youth activity can be used: discussion social-political grounds, private informational resources that develop creative, innovational analysis of social-political situation and events; special educational training programs, etc. [7].

modern social activity youth

Literature and the sources

1. L. A. Belyayeva, Social Portrait of Age Cohorts in Post Soviet Russia / L. A. Belyayeva // Sociological Issues. - 2004. - № 10. - P. 31 - 41.

2. Y. V. Berezutsky, Specific Character and Problems of Youth Potential in Khabarovsk Territory: Analytical proceedings of scientific research work / Y. V. Berezutsky. - Khabarovsk, 2008. - [Electronic resource] - http://vostokmedia.com/files/File/ber.doc.

3. Y. V. Berezutsky, Far-Eastern Youth Social Potential: sociological analysis / Y. V. Berezutsky. - Far-Eastern Academy of State Service (FEASS). - Khabarovsk : FEASS, 2005. - 148 p.

4. Concise Dictionary of Sociology / Ed. D. M. Gvishiany, M. I. Lapina. - Moscow : New Book, 1998. - 272 p.

5. G. A. Luks Social Innovational Project-Making in Regional Youth Politics / G. A. Luks. - Samara: “Samarsky University” Publishment, 2003. - 278 p.

6. East Russia Youth: history and present time // The 3d All-Russian Scientific Conference Reports. Part 1 / ed. N. M. Baikov. - Khabarovsk : FEASS, 2007. - 330 p.

7. D. E. Moskvin, Changes in Youth Stereotyped Attitude to Social-Political Activity / D. E. Moskvin, G. V. Kozlov // Without topic. - 2007. - № 1(3). - P. 49 - 56.

8. E. L. Omelchenko, Cultural Youth Scenes in Russia in the early 21st Century: Between Activity and Passivity / E. L. Omelchenko - Electronic resource - http://www.sociocult.ksu.ru/archives/eo_scen.rtf.

9. Russian Encyclopedia of Sociology / Ed. G. V. Osipov, member of Russian Academy of Science. - Moscow : Publishing Group NORMA-INFRA, 1998. - 672 p.

10. Electronic resource - http://www.khabarkrai.ru/information/nko

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