Evolution to postmodern society

Postmodernism is a theoretical perspective in sociology that argues modern societies, such as the UK, have transitioned into a new form called postmodern society.

Driving forces behind postmodern society

• Globalisation
• Expansion of digital media - Particularly social media, promoting greater choices in lifestyle.
• Increased fluidity and hybridity - Reducing the rigid influence of traditional factors like social class, gender, and ethnicity on youth identity.

Postmodern views on youth subcultures

Taste cultures in club and dance scenes

Recent sociological studies describe club or dance subcultures as taste cultures, where participants share preferences in music and style, often coordinated through social media.

Subcultural capital

Thornton (1995) introduced the concept of subcultural capital, referring to the capital that individuals use to gain status within a subculture. For example, some clubbers use social media to define what is 'in' or 'out', establishing themselves as 'authentic' rather than 'mainstream'. This authenticity is often created and maintained by media influences.

Social media plays a key role here, immersing young people in a media-driven reality that shapes identities both constructively and sometimes destructively.

Concept of neo-tribes

Maffesoli (1996) uses the term neo-tribes, which are organised but flexible groupings. These collections of young people do not have fixed membership, so members are loosely attached rather than committed.

They are often centred on specific goals, such as political or social causes, including anti-globalisation movements, Make Poverty History, anarchist groups, hacktivist movements, environmental campaigns, traveller lifestyles, and veganism.

Young people can belong to several neo-tribes at once, blending elements like modern primitives with goth, hipster, or hacktivist subcultures.

Studies supporting neo-tribes

Bennett's study of Newcastle night-life (1999)

• Results - He identified neo-tribes organised around fashion, music, and lifestyle, with people moving freely between groups without strong loyalty to one.
• Conclusions - Bennett supported Maffesoli's view, arguing that 'neo-tribalism' better describes youth experiences than 'subculture', as it captures the fluidity, shifting identities, and mixing of styles (e.g., in hipster culture) without requiring shared values or long-term commitment.

The supermarket of style and hybrid identities

Polhemus's supermarket of style (1994)

Polhemus argues that global media creates a 'supermarket of style', a vast array of cultural elements from which young people can select to build their identities.

Key features:

• Picking and choosing styles - Young people draw from various sources, combining future-oriented and retro elements, rather than committing to one subculture.
• Hybrid identities - This results in postmodern hybrid forms, where subcultural styles are mixed, such as in hipster culture.

Evaluating postmodern theories

Key criticisms of postmodernism

• Persistence of distinctive subcultures - It fails to explain why groups like goths and emos still attract young people with shared, distinct cultures, attitudes, and dress, rather than fluid neo-tribes.
• Behaviour of ordinary youth - Postmodernism overlooks how most young people engage in mainstream activities.
• Commercial and corporate influences - Hollands and Chatterton (2002) argue that youth activities are often shaped by commercial pressures rather than free choice, limiting the fluidity postmodernists describe.
• Exaggeration of choice - Critics say postmodernism overstates young people's freedom, especially when social media enforces conformity or disapproval of certain behaviours. Corporate power, through advertising and media, restricts choice and can have negative effects, like promoting unhealthy products (e.g., fast food or fizzy drinks) as symbols of freedom without acknowledging health risks.
• Cultural appropriation vs. hybridity - Postmodernists are accused of confusing hybridity with cultural appropriation, where powerful groups adopt elements from less powerful ones disrespectfully. For example, white travellers adopting locs distorts their original meaning.
• Overemphasis on individualism - The theory stresses selfish motives like consumption and pleasure, but evidence shows deeper commitments, such as young people joining the Labour Party in 2017 to support Jeremy Corbyn for political reasons.

Alternative perspectives

St John (2003) proposes 'post-rave techno-tribes' to describe groups united by music festivals and social media, focused on dance and pleasure but also committed to issues like human rights, animal rights, environmentalism, and social justice.