One Foot in the Rave: Aging Ravers’ Transitions to Adulthood and Their Participation in Rave Culture

Abstract

Challenging adolescence limited life-course theory, this article presents the results of an online survey in 2016 that aimed to establish if, how and to what extent ageing ravers continue to participate in rave culture. The survey collected data from members of the original rave generation. We explored the ravers’ transitions to adulthood, and how these influenced their participation in club culture. We found that our ravers continued to participate in rave culture; their persistence is related to the frequency of their engagement at a younger age. Adopting interdisciplinarity, we apply theories from both life course research and youth culture studies and argue that the persistence of leisure practices, such as raving, can be understood in the same way as persistence of drug use: frequent behavior in adolescence determines persistence in older adulthood. Consequently, we are able to recognize patterns of leisure beyond adolescence, thus making leisure choices more predictable.