Socio-Cultural Reproduction of a Generation through the Eventfulness of Childhood

Abstract

One of the most important characteristics of generations in the modern humanities is the indication of the recreation of traditional cultural values while producing new cultural practices. The article accumulates data of a sociological study of young people (2018, an online survey of 774 respondents aged 18—21) born at the junction of two conventional generations. As one of the criteria of socio-cultural reproduction, the article suggests using the age of the debut and consolidation of various events related to the field of culture into permanent practice. Based on quantitative data (the age of starting, average age, percentage of coverage or exclusion from the event), the authors prove that traditional practices (reading, organizing additional education, visiting libraries, theater, etc.) are consolidated at an earlier age (preschool and primary school). In the article, new socio-cultural practices are designated as not normative, typical, and ubiquitous for children, but already quite mass events in comparison with the historical and social situation of the 20th century. These are innovative practices (including the practice of mastering the information and communication technologies and the Internet), independent actions of young actors in the field of consumer culture, and some manipulations with the body (tattooing, piercing, etc.) that, according to the study, manifest themselves in adolescence and youth. The article identifies a stable group of young people (from complete urban families of the middle economic level) who undergo the traditional eventfulness and are therefore close to the generation of their parents. The authors substantiate the necessity of working to support the socio-cultural reproduction in adolescence.