As a society, we are doing our best to be more understanding
and open-minded to people different from our own cultural
background. There were various hate groups in the past,
such as the skinheads, who would go after minority groups
and execute extreme forms of racism, homophobia etc., but
things are changing quite rapidly. Even though they’re not
officially defined as a “subculture”, people that stand behind
theirs or others rights and openly talk about being “different”
are called activists. Whether it’s standing for a way of living
(like zero-waste life), or the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ com-
munity, it’s all about having the courage to protect your own
point of view on a particular topic.
The development of technology led to the creation of multi-
ple groups of people, known as “social media influencers”.
With social media on the horizon, it’s easier than ever to be
heard. There are the YouTubers, who would entertain or
educate people from all over the world and even create their
own ideologies.Then we have the Instagramers, who have a
big opportunity to influence society. There are sport and
health influencers, that tempt many people to follow their
exercise and/or eating program in order to have a healthier
lifestyle. The ability to convince people to follow you with the
right arrangement of a picture, a strong caption or a thumb-
nail is a true art of our generation.
There are the hipsters, who were always “there before it was
cool”. Their philosophy is mainly motivated by their desire to
keep a certain passion in a small circle. It is all about the
niche experience and staying away from anything ‘mains-
tream’.
Of course, if we are talking about young people, we can’t skip
the rebels in our society. The ones that will always find the
flaws in “the system” and will always have a strong argument
to validate and explain their point. These are the people that
would use any form of art or public scene to “wake up” others
and draw exposure to their beliefs and morals.
By Raya Chicheva