Fashion and Youth Subcultures: Reader’s Aspect

Abstract

Today, more than ever, it is important to talk about the problems and further development of young people, as it is they who are predefined to keep historical responsibility for preservation and development of the national cultural traditions and values, and to integrate, in a civilized and cultural way, the country into the world community. a special role in the socialization of young people is played by reading. However, in the situation of information technologies’ rapid development, commercialization of culture, its fragmentation into many subcultural formations, and radical changes in the communicative behavior of young generation, all institutions of the infrastructure of reading face the uneasy task of rethinking, by necessity, their own functions and activities, and finding new ways to influence young people in order to stimulate their reading activity. Moreover, this work needs to be based on the differentiated approach and use the socio-psychological mechanisms of fashion, as the most dynamic and pervasive cultural phenomenon. Therefore, this article identifies the genesis of youth culture development, considers the relationship between fashion and youth subcultures in the context of reader’s studies, differentiates the concepts of “subculture” and “interpretive community”, and characterizes the most important of them in relation to the reading activities of young people. The article also presents the main results of a study conducted on the basis of the Scientific Library of the South Ural State University in april-May 2017. The results are included in the information block related to the informal characteristics of young people, their belonging to certain subcultures and interpretive communities, the attitude within these groups to reading, and their reading preferences.