It was in 1988 when a single that got the most out of the frustration experienced by a teenage audience was released in the song, “Parents Just Don’t Understand”. It encouraged a sense of rebellion by the youth in America and it spoke to the diverse perspectives which stood on both sides of the gap in the generation. As time shifted, many young adults were angered as issues of the youth culture were on their case. They struggled to express and define their individuality. The movement for anti-establishment desperately wanted to untie itself from the control conveyed by the corporations and state.
The demographic group, Baby Boomers, took a unique place in the history. It was involved with the maturing of children into young adults during the time of post-war and the middle-class solidification. Social upward movement therefore became possible for the young adults who enjoyed increased disposable income and leisure time.
It was then that cultural observers noticed the trends were shifting and they began to express their results in the prominent publications of that time. An American teenager was referred to as a “merchandising frontier”, this comment could not pass unnoticed by the marketing companies who were interested in capitalizing on this new trend. Despite the fact that the term “teenager” had just emerged, various companies such as Root Hires Beer were already starting the peer-to-peer campaigns amongst the youth so as to promote a product.
The growth of the teenage market and the rise of the teen-oriented identity and culture are ongoing. Youth-oriented marketing presents an interesting case to be discussed and it is affecting individuals as they engage in processes to form their identities. The adolescents are always looking for something fascinating.
The branding related with the college admission clearly show cases how that marketing has developed to the promotion of a certain style, as opposed to a way to differentiate products. The perceived value of an item seems not to be as important as the actual item. Social utilities, that now include RSS feeds, a blog, videos, online calendar and a presence on twitter and facebook, have given way to a culture to grow.
Post Secret explores an interesting relation between identity, behavior and narrative. For instance, behavioral psychology might explore how behavior and identity can be portrayed in form of behavioral scripts. Theory of information processing, may also propose that identity is affecting the way those bits of information are recalled and encoded. It might affect behaviors in the future.
Narratives and stories aid in conveying complicated ideas in a relatable format thus making sense out of chaos. The iterations of myths, legends and narratives inform the population about the world’s rules. Although many people have now accepted the scientific explanations in conjunction with these tales, the fact still remains that we all want an explanation for the things that we hardly understand.
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