Growing Up in Soweto: Using Diaries in the Study of South African Adolescents

Abstract

ABSTRACT The diaries of 14 Soweto teenagers were used for a first-hand insight into their life worlds. The investigation was based on the recent publication Give us a Break. Diaries of a Group Soweto Children (Mtshali, 1988), a publication made up of diaries kept during July-October 1982 by seven boys and seven girls, aged 12 to 14, who attended Pace Commercial College in Soweto. A content analysis revealed that these diaries consisted of three types of messages: (a) reports of daily events, (b) commentaries on those daily events, and (c) comments on more general life events. Further categorization distinguished accounts referring to the self, the other, or the relation between the self and the other. All the diary notes were analyzed along these lines, the smallest unit being the clause. The results indicate that the diaries reflect a rationally experienced outside world, filled with violent events. The first part of the outcome could be expected at this age (12–14 years), as early adolescents usually describe ‘bald facts’ in an ‘unmoved’ way. The second part was not in accordance with general expectation; violence is usually not a central topic of interest at this age. The difference is discussed in the context of the living conditions in Soweto.