Target audience is youth. Encyclopedia of Marketing. Characteristics of the target audience

Introduction

1. Theoretical and methodological aspects of the study of leadership in the youth environment

2. The specifics of the emergence of youth leadership

2.2 Formation of youth leadership at the regional level (on the example of the urban district of the city of Yelets)

2.3 The qualities of a youth leader from the perspective of a sociological study

3. System and technologies for training youth leaders

3.1 Features of the implementation of the system of training youth leaders in the public life of the city of Yelets

3.2 Youth Leadership Project

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Relevance. Among the many problems facing researchers of social phenomena, the issue of the formation and development of youth leadership is an important one, and to be more precise, the formation and development of the youth leadership system as a resource for the development of civil society. When solving this issue, one should take into account the very nature of youth leadership in the conditions of modern civil society, its goals, objectives, conditions of occurrence and consequences of existence.

If we talk about the relevance of this problem, then youth leadership was and is important aspect development of civil society as a whole. The changes that began in the country back in the period of the 80s, which subsequently led to a change in the social system, greatly changed the living conditions of the population. Russia is making an attempt to take the path of civilizational development, to form some new rules and foundations, as well as to fully form a civil society and the rule of law. The institutions of the legislative, executive and judicial powers are being transformed. influenced the formation of the personality of modern youth. As a result, the problem of creating new system youth leadership, since the USSR system was no longer suitable in any way. Those transformations that took place during and after the collapse of the USSR opened up wider development paths for society, although, frankly speaking, there were many negative ones. Among all the negative trends for young people, positive ones also appeared, for example, ideological freedom appeared, that is, paths were opened directed to the spiritual, economic and political spheres, in other words, the freedom to choose one’s own life path which is not unimportant for the formation of leadership qualities of a person.

Object of study - youth leadership.

Subject of study- the specifics of the creation and functioning of the youth leadership system.

The hypothesis of this study is that political processes that occurred in the country during the collapse of the USSR radically changed the idea of ​​youth leadership in general. life situations in times of crisis, young people were required to show leadership qualities to a greater extent than it was before.

aim high school graduation qualifying work is the creation of a system for training youth leaders as a resource for the development of civil society.

Tasks works:

1. Analyze the theoretical aspect of the study of leadership in the youth environment.

2. Consider the problems of the emergence, development and functioning of youth leadership.

3. Develop a draft system for training youth leaders.

The degree of development of the problem. In preparing the conceptual part of the work, the results of youth leadership research were used by authors such as: Adrov V.M. (Education and the problem of leadership), Williams K. (Youth in post-communist Russia and Eastern Europe), Ilyinsky I.M. (“Youth and youth policy”, “Youth of Russia: trends, prospects”), Lisovsky V.G (Spiritual world and value orientations of the youth of Russia), Shpakova R. (Types of leadership in the sociology of M. Weber). The theoretical provisions of these authors made it possible to reveal the concept of youth leadership, describe its functions and mechanisms of formation, reveal social entity phenomenon of youth leadership as a social phenomenon.

The following methods were used in the final qualification work:

Descriptive-narrative - a type of scientific method, which is a system of procedures for collecting, primary analysis and presentation of data and their characteristics. The descriptive method has application in all disciplines of the social, humanitarian and natural science cycles. The extremely wide use of the descriptive method within the boundaries of scientific research is due to the multi-stage methodology of modern scientific knowledge, in the hierarchy of which the descriptive method occupies primary positions (after observation). In my work, I used the descriptive-narrative method everywhere to tell the essence of any phenomena in the research work.

The method of analysis is a dialectical method of approach to the study of economic processes in their formation and development. Like other research methods, the analysis method has its own characteristics: it uses a system of indicators that describes the research as extensively as possible throughout the entire process, there is also a detailed study of the causes of these changes, and, not least, an explanation of these causes and search the relationship between them. I used this method in the first chapter, where I discussed different kinds leadership, as well as in the second chapter, where I analyzed the problems of forming a youth leadership system.

The method of synthesis is essentially a combination or combination of different elements of the object or phenomenon being studied into one whole system. This method of synthesis is opposite to the method of analysis, but nevertheless they have a strong connection with each other. Methods of analysis and synthesis are constantly used by a person in everyday life, since the basis of our behavior is the analytical and synthetic activity of the brain. By using this method I have put together the various conclusions in the chapters, summed up the work in the conclusion.

Also, the methods of deduction and induction were used in the work, based on obtaining a general conclusion based on its particular features, or, conversely, from the general to the particular. I applied these methods in structuring the work and addressing some of the questions regarding the entire study.

In this work there is a social project called "I am a leader." In it, I proposed the idea of ​​creating a system of youth leaders with the help of specially staged events.

The work consists of 3 chapters. The first chapter is called Theoretical aspects study of leadership in the youth environment. It describes the methods by which the study of this problem was carried out, and also considers leadership as a concept, its goals, types, functions, who such a "leader" is. The second chapter is titled "Studying the Emergence of Youth Leadership". This chapter discusses in detail the problems of forming a system of youth leadership, the formation of youth leadership at the local level (on the example of the city of Yelets), and also presents the results of a sociological study on the topic "Leader Qualities". The third chapter is called "Planning a system for training youth leaders." It examines in detail the feasibility of introducing a system for training youth leaders in the public life of the city of Yelets, and also presents a project called "I am a leader."

Theoretical significance graduation qualification work is predetermined by the objective need for a comprehensive analysis of youth leadership and the creation of a system for training youth leaders.

1. Theoretical aspects of the study of leadership in the youth environment

1.1 Methodology for analysis of leadership in the youth environment.

“Leadership is a mysterious, elusive quality. Its existence is easy to recognize, difficult to describe, even more difficult to use in practice, and it is no longer possible to create this quality in others, ”wrote D. Campbell. In fact, no other topic related to the organizational and social behavior of people has aroused and continues to arouse such great interest among sociologists, psychologists, philosophers and other specialists in the field of humanitarian knowledge. And this is not surprising: the behavior of leaders, their decisions affect the fate of many millions of people, which makes the problem of understanding and explaining the phenamine of leadership a truly global, philosophical character. On the other hand, all people are elements of various organizations - members labor collectives, clubs, councils, commissions, etc. Whether participating in the direction of an organization or obeying the decisions of leaders, people experience the influence of leaders.

AT modern conditions The political and economic state of society and labor collectives depends more than ever on the decisions taken by leaders. The problem of leadership in Russia is especially relevant, when the success of liberal reforms, the prospects for the development of the economy, more than ever before in the history of the country, depend on the level of competence, training, personal qualities and morale of leaders at all levels - from the president to the young promising leader of a small group .

There are many ways to study the phenomenon of leadership, in particular youth leadership. The ones used in this work are described below.

Descriptive method - a type of scientific method, which is a system of procedures for collecting, primary analysis and presentation of data and their characteristics. The descriptive method has application in all disciplines of the social, humanitarian and natural science cycles. The extremely wide use of the descriptive method within the boundaries of scientific research is due to the multi-stage methodology of modern scientific knowledge, in the hierarchy of which the descriptive method occupies primary positions (after observation).

The descriptive method traditionally has several procedural characteristics, the proper use of which guarantees the result of this method:

1. The most important and first thing to do using this method is to collect complete information about the object or phenomenon being studied, that is, its signs, features, characteristics that distinguish it from others and setting a course for studying this phenomenon or object.

3. The collected material is processed by types, categories and groups of information.

4. There is a deeper analysis of already structured information.

Dictionaries are often created based on this method.

Usually, this method is a preparatory stage, since its essence is an in-depth collection of information. Also, this method has already established, considered already traditional, norms of application:

1. A strict substantive design of the selected object or phenomenon is required.

2. It is also not unimportant to observe the sequence in the description of subject-specific features, parameters and characteristics (qualitative, quantitative) of the material that are consistent with the research task.

3. It is also very important to maintain order during the secondary processing of the collected information on the problem under study.

Although this research method is independent, and it is not uncommon that it is the reason for the success of the work as a whole, it is most often used to prepare basic information where other methods are already used. In other words, this method can be a supplier of information for all further research work. Sometimes it happens that the material collected using this method can be the foundation for research in unrelated topics. This method is not well-established, but changes with the course of history. Over time, this method has expanded both in terms of the scope of the area in which it can be applied, and in terms of the tools that can be used in its implementation.

The method of analysis is a dialectical method of approach to the study of economic processes in their formation and development. Like other research methods, the analysis method has its own characteristics: it uses a system of indicators that describes the research as extensively as possible throughout the entire process, there is also a detailed study of the causes of these changes, and, not least, an explanation of these causes and search the relationship between them.

Like on your own existing method, the analysis includes the following elements:

Goals and objectives of the analysis;

Objects of analysis;

Scorecards, with the help of which each object of analysis will be investigated;

Description of methods for studying the objects under study;

Data sources for analysis;

Instructions on the organization of the analysis;

Instructions for formatting the results of the analysis;

Consumers of analysis results.

The method of synthesis (from the Greek - connection) - in essence, is a combination or combination of different elements of the object or phenomenon being studied into one whole system. It turns out that the method of synthesis is opposite to the method of analysis, but still they have a strong connection with each other.

Methods of analysis and synthesis are constantly used by a person in everyday life, since the basis of our behavior is the analytical and synthetic activity of the brain.

The method of synthesis, if considered as a cognitive operation, has several different forms. Any process of education, including research, is based on the tandem of methods of synthesis and analysis. Any empirical research data of any object or phenomenon go through the process of synthesis during their theoretical generalization. In theoretical scientific knowledge, the synthesis method appears in the form of an interconnection of theories related to the same subject area; as a union of competing, in certain aspects, opposite theories; in the form of constructing deductive theories, etc. The dialectical method of ascent from the abstract to the concrete as a way of constructing theoretical knowledge about complex developing objects is also one of the forms of the synthesis method: the resulting concrete knowledge about the object under study is a synthesis, the unity of its diverse abstract definitions .

There is also a social project in the work.

To date, scientists cannot say exactly when social design as an activity arose. One of the first social projects can be considered a project of the philosopher Plato called "The State".

The scientific literature gives 2 points of view on this issue:

Social design is called social because it is about solving social problems and tasks;

Social design deals with the development of social phenomena, processes, systems, organisms. (Antonyuk G.A. Social design and management of social development. - Minsk, 1986. - 259p.)

When implementing the project, it is necessary to take into account the following features:

The social project has its own external environment in which it arises, develops and lives;

-; the project, like any system, consists of elements that are connected by certain links;

The elements of a project may change throughout the course of the project. life cycle.

The project belongs to the class of open systems for a number of reasons:

Any project needs information, timely exchange of information makes the project viable;

Input parameters can be set in an implicit form and can be perceived by the project as a system ambiguously;

At the output of the project, the desired and expected results can be obtained with varying degrees of probability;

The processes within the project as a system are not constant, their direction, speed and intensity can change in accordance with the interests of achieving the goal.

1.2 Features of leadership as a phenomenon of civil society.

What is meant by the term "leadership"?

People and organizations that have succeeded more than others. For example, an industry leader;

A leader who is responsible for the business he leads;

Leadership as a life strategy, that is, a set of choices and decisions of a person based on initiative and responsibility.

All three of these understandings of leadership are closely related.

If we understand "leadership" from the point of view of philosophy, then:

in relation to power, leadership implies a continuous rather than sporadic exercise of power, usually associated with personal characteristics leader subject.

There are many other definitions of the concept of "leadership":

Leadership is the ability of one person to captivate many with a cause or idea.

· Leadership is the readiness to bear responsibility not only for oneself, but for a whole group of people.

· Leadership is an active striving for success.

Leadership is the ability to organize interaction with people in such a way that each of them sincerely wants to achieve the goal set by the leader.

· Leadership is a strength of character + the will to win + a wonderful gift of persuasion.

· Leadership is the ability to equally positively interact with those who are weaker in spirit, with equal and strong ones.

Thus, the following famous people spoke about leadership:

An army of rams led by a lion will always triumph over an army of lions led by a ram. (Napoleon Bonaparte)

With a good leader who doesn't say much, when his job is done and his goal is achieved, people will say, "We did it ourselves." (Lao Tzu)

The desire for leadership is a manifestation of the creative instinct of a person. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

When you become a captain, keep the sailor in you. (Vladimir Vysotsky)

Leadership is a very broad concept, it can be applied in almost all areas of life. Here are examples of the use of the concept of "leadership" in everyday life:

· In politics. Every successful politician is the leader of a certain group of people; the larger the group, the more successful the politician.

· In entrepreneurship. At the head of every successful business is a leader - a person who set a goal and managed to captivate his subordinates with it.

· In sports. Each sporting event is nothing more than a race for leadership in the form of a gold medal, cup or diploma.

In family relationships. The question "who is the head of the family?" - there is a question about leadership.

In other situations, mostly of an extreme nature. In unforeseen situations, a leader spontaneously emerges in any group of people, since only the organizing principle (leadership) can eventually lead to control over the situation.

Leader (from the English leader - leader, leader) - a person who takes on the role of head, leader of any social group, political party organizations, society as a whole.

We can also say about a leader that this is a person who, for various reasons and circumstances, is endowed with a certain amount of authority in order to formulate and express the interests and goals of other people, to mobilize them for certain actions. The leader is the first, the main one, whom they follow, who they look up to, who determines the behavior of others, that is, in an ideal situation, he is a reflection of the society that he represents.

The leader can also be in a pair - the one who leads the other, whose behavior determines the behavior of the follower.

The leader in the team is the one who leads the team, the one whose authority in the group is greater than that of others, to whom this group most of all trusts. He usually appears in a situation where society needs a leader. It can be concluded that the leader is a group role created primarily by the needs of others. The leader is not something external and alien to the group: the group needs a leader, it is looking for someone to appoint to this role, to whom to give this status.

There are a number of qualities that will help a person become or be chosen as a leader, such as courage, energy, and the ability to impress.

The group seeks and recognizes as a leader only those who initially have some social status. Not every high-status person will become a leader, but a low-status one will never become one and will not be recognized as a leader. Among high-status people, the leader can most often be the one who meets certain expectations of the group, gives it what it wants. Although among the leaders there are those who know how to speak beautifully, they do not always follow their word.

The very status of a leader, his skills and abilities are usually referred to as leadership resources, that is, what can be learned from leaders.

Based on this, we can say that political leadership is a process of interaction between people, during which authoritative people endowed with real power exercise a legitimate influence on society (or part of it), which voluntarily gives them some of their political powers and rights.

If you turn to modern political science, then there are a number of definitions for the concept of "political leadership":

This is the power that is exercised by one or more individuals with the aim of inducing members of society to action;

This is a relationship between people in the process of common activity, during which one side ensures the dominance of its will over others;

It is a permanent legitimate influence of powerful persons on society, organization or group;

· this is special kind entrepreneurship carried out in the political market, in which political entrepreneurs in a competitive struggle exchange their programs, solutions to social problems and the proposed ways of their implementation for leadership positions;

It is a symbol of community and an example of the political behavior of a group, capable of realizing its interests with the help of power.

The ability to lead implies that a person has the following qualities:

intelligence,

intuition,

the ability of an argonizer,

Willingness to take responsibility

The ability to please the public

· Oratory skills.

The philosopher from Italy Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) in his work "The Sovereign" very clearly wrote the basic requirements for a person who wishes to become a political leader: he must be able to avoid hatred and inspire confidence; regardless of real actions, he should be presented to the people as an example of nobility and virtue; he must be ready, if necessary, to act quickly and cruelly, depending on the situation, he must change his management style - to be either cunning, like a fox, or strong, like a lion.

In modern political science, there are the following types of leaders:

1) standard-bearer leader, who is distinguished by a special vision of reality, an attractive ideal, a dream that can inspire the masses;

2) a leader-servant, who in his activities is guided by the needs and requirements of his adherents and voters and acts on their behalf;

3) a leader-merchant who is able to present his ideas attractively, competently convince citizens of the superiority of his ideas over the ideas of others;

4) fireman leader , which focuses on the most pressing, burning problems and whose actions depend on the specific situation.

Usually these types of leaders in real life are not found in their pure form: specific leaders often have a combination of 2 or more types.

Now it is worth noting who the “youth leader” is.

You can be a leader at any age, both at 15 and at 65 years old. But both of them have many differences. These differences are not only in the circles of people they know themselves and in general the age circle of communication, but also in the stability of the worldview, the policy of their behavior in any particular social group.

A youth leader is a person who defends the interests of people in the same age category to which it belongs. The value orientations of young people are significantly different from the life principles of the older generation. Young people tend to relax, have fun, their main goal is often to receive a charge of positive energy with which they are able to “infect” their entire environment. Such a person is most capable of representing and defending the interests of the younger generation. At its core, this should be a bright personality, having the ability to attract others to him, fluent in speech, in order to be able to communicate with his peers and people of the older generation. Most often, such individuals are more informative about ongoing events than their environment, which helps them solve important issues.

For the majority of already mature leaders, the result is most often important, in contrast to their young colleagues, who concentrate on the very process of achieving the goals.

Proof of this are youth congresses, forums, meetings. Although their purpose is clearly visible, to a large extent these goals are very symbolic.

It turns out that young people are people who are at the stage of formation of their own individuality, so it is fundamentally important for them to be able to communicate with people like them. Through this, they can determine the traits that distinguish a particular person from the crowd, which means they form a personality in themselves that compares favorably with the rest. The modern availability of information and the possibility of comparison in every possible way contributes to this. Absurdity and dissimilarity with everyone else in the youth society is only welcome, and therefore it is not uncommon for extraordinary individuals who have already earned authority among most people and can defend their point of view to act as leaders. Although such extraordinary personalities are condemned by more mature citizens, they are considered non-professionals.

Recognition - whoever achieves it gets the opportunity to direct people in a certain direction, which can lead to incredible results. Such a person has good intuition and can rally the whole group of people to achieve a common goal. And the goal may be the opportunity for young people to gather in an informal setting. This is the goal of most organizations, namely to be able to organize events.

Summing up, we can conclude that a youth leader is a person chosen by young people of about the same age as them, who has a certain charisma, oratory skills, and authority among these youth.

2. Exploring the emergence of youth leadership

2.1 Problems of formation of the youth leadership system

Russia is not the first time in the last century is experiencing a time of large-scale social upheaval and change. Despite his own experience, the historical experience of other countries, Russian society on a difficult and dangerous path of total social change.

The changes that began in the country back in the period of the 80s, which later led to a change in the social system, greatly changed the living conditions of the population.

The vast majority of the population was deceived by their own state: the financial situation of a huge part of the population worsened; privatization turned out to be an anti-people action; increased social stratification; national conflicts began; crime went up, and the level of culture, education, health care and science began to fall - in such a social environment, the political and moral principles of the new society began to take shape. Russia is making an attempt to embark on the path of civilizational development, to form some new rules and foundations market economy, as well as to fully form a civil society and the rule of law. The privatization of state and collective property and its transition to private ownership is on the rise. The institutions of the legislative, executive and judicial powers are being transformed. The process of forming a multi-party system is being launched. The need for a decisive renewal and the passage of the old rules already built in society, which led to a growing backlog of society from the modern level of other countries, is being realized. In the economic and socio-cultural plans, renewal means, first of all, the broadest introduction of private property, market relations, which was limited state system, tuned in the mainstream of socialism, both in ideology and in practice. This indicates that the system of socialization of society as a whole is undergoing a fundamental change: the sphere of interpersonal relations, which were defined as "socialist", is sharply reduced, and the sphere of commodity-money relations is increasing. In value terms, this is accompanied by the expansion of entrepreneurial, pragmatic areas that receive commensurate assistance from reform circles.

Such changes necessarily entail the undermining of already existing moral values ​​and norms, which is expressed both in the "decline of morals" and in the growth of criminal, selfish, corrupt relations.

The growing division of the country's population into classes intensifies the contradiction between different types of sociality. Such a division, on the one hand, is necessary for the formation of market relations. On the other hand, the uncontrolled process of separation leads both to a sharp stratification of the country's population into rich and poor, and to a rapid increase in quantitative disproportions - between a relatively small percentage of the number of super-rich and an actively growing number of impoverished strata - with a small middle class.

This problem is not only economic and moral, but also sociocultural, since the consequence of such stratification is not only quantitative disproportion, but also the subsequent hereditary nature of mass poverty - against the backdrop of the growing well-being of the few strata who have inherited their privileges and for whom the reforms provide favorable conditions for further promotion. A sharp difference in incomes is accompanied by a breakdown in the social security system, which immediately affects the formation of healthcare and paid education. The discontent is stronger than the impoverished segments of the population, who "have nothing to lose" and who feel "robbed to the skin" and victims of deceit, will certainly harm the stability in society. The advantages of the elite, which strives to get rich at any cost in the shortest possible time, are felt as illegal, acquired through the appropriation of public property, and not accumulated through self-restraint and the initiative expansion of social production.

The negative effect is to undermine the incentives of those segments of the population who no longer find a single chance for themselves to get out of the quagmire of poverty. Relying on a small group of enterprising private traders as a social foundation for carrying out reforms and providing them with good assistance will certainly undermine the entire modernization system. A significant proportion of the population develops a sense of detachment from the rest of society, which reduces the range of activity in society and violates its human potential. The very wide openness of the population facilitates the process of obtaining the achievements of other countries, especially highly developed ones. But the downside is that too much openness leads to undermining one's own cultural heritage due to too much transfer of elements of foreign cultures. Such illiterate copying of a foreign culture turns into spiritual and social discord, which in turn gives rise to a reaction of rejection. This inevitably leads to the growth of contradictions between social and class groups, the center and the provinces. At the end of the 20th century, Russia is experiencing revolutionary movements that go hand in hand with the destruction of many positive achievements and successes of past generations. Lost values ​​are not filled with anything, this leads to an increase in negative reactions in society. Our interaction with the eastern regions has been going on for several hundred years, it has already become an essential component of our socio-cultural and geopolitical structure. On the other hand, we were constantly in contact with Western civilizations, thereby combining both principles of completely different cultures, giving rise to many sharp contradictions. It was in these contradictions that the Russia that we see it today appeared.

It is these socio-cultural conditions that we now have in the Russian Federation.

In the processes described above, young people were singled out, which is due to the following factors:

Youth is the most mobile segment of society;

Youth ranks high enough specific gravity in the total population of the country. As of January 1, 2002, there were 36 million young citizens living in Russia, or one in four of its inhabitants.

Those transformations that took place during and after the collapse of the USSR opened up wider development paths for society, although, frankly speaking, there were many negative ones. Among all the negative trends for young people, positive ones have appeared, namely:

Ideological freedom appeared, that is, the paths were opened, directed to the spiritual, economic and political spheres, in other words, the freedom to choose one's life path appeared;

Although young people had some difficulties during the collapse of the USSR, a significant part of young people look to the future calmly, but without much hope (33%), with hope and optimism (40%). In other words, the society at that moment had a psychologically stable generation, which was aimed at stable development and creation. According to self-assessment obtained in the course of sociological research, about 54% of young people consider themselves the driving force behind fundamental changes in society.

Studies conducted during that period showed that young people gave a positive assessment of the trend of change towards a market economy. Young people are much better and easier to adapt to new conditions in the economy. About 35% of the total number of young people (32 million people aged 15-29) have already opened own business, more than 30% of the respondents would like to do business. Young people value economic freedom very highly. personality traits such as enterprise, pragmatism, ability to take risks, etc. . A young person must psychologically prepare for uncertainty, for possible multiple changes in his specialty, that is, to be a universal worker who can perfectly show himself in non-standard situations (creativity, activity, non-standard thinking, etc.). Today, in such a social, economic, cultural and political situation, there is a kind of natural selection, that is, a part of the leaders is selected from the general mass of people. This is how the personality of a leader is formed. The requirements for an employee in the current situation in Russia are constantly changing, this is especially noticeable in the economic sphere. There is a need to constantly learn or relearn, this requires quick thinking, psychological stability from the individual. Western culture imposes economic freedom, independence and independence of the individual from the rest of society, including parents. All of the above makes a person with leadership qualities a very necessary person in society. The conclusion suggests itself: the upbringing of a person should be aimed at the formation of an individuality in him, capable of fighting with the outside world, interacting with it, it is very important to devote time to developing entrepreneurial spirit and non-standard thinking in stressful situations.

From the ABCs of Marketing

It is well known that, when starting work on positioning a new brand, a marketer must, firstly, clearly represent the main group of its customers (target group or core target), its socio-demographic parameters, attitudes, habits and needs associated with the consumption of the proposed product. . Secondly, to have an idea about competitors or about which brand (brands) is compared or will be compared directly or indirectly with your product by consumers (meaning comparison in terms of price, packaging, functional and image characteristics, satisfaction of needs, communication). Thirdly, to assume or, even better, to know firmly the answers to the questions why an interested consumer will certainly choose your brand, and how his image can take a special position in the minds of consumers. Therefore, let's start dancing from the stove, that is, from the target audience.

Youth as CA

Youth is a target audience with a pronounced age specificity. This is a group of consumers/customers, homogeneous in one respect and heterogeneous in another.

The task of brand positioning in this case is complicated by the fact that behind the definition of youth as age group“from 15 or 18 to 25 years old” hides several essentially different subcultures or two or three target audiences.

It is generally accepted that teenagers think, speak and behave differently than young people in their 20s and older. Being almost the same age, they are different, firstly, because they were socialized at different times. That is, the heterogeneity of the youth audience is determined, at least in part, by the circumstances of the time.

The point is that the primary and partly secondary socialization, which characterizes the acquisition by a person of certain knowledge, habits, skills and properties, patterns of behavior that must be taken into account when positioning a youth brand, falls precisely on the period of childhood, adolescence, adolescence and subsequent adulthood. And the conditions of the environment of socialization sometimes change very quickly.

Secondly, young people are heterogeneous, because their different subgroups have different social status, material opportunities, life goals, needs and interests, values ​​and plans. Take, for example, students and workers, primary and graduate students, rural and urban young people of the same age.

Without developing this idea further, I will only say that each individual is the bearer of the subculture of his subgroup to one degree or another, since he is socialized in a particular environment. social environment, regional and local community, the country as a whole, that is, the result depends on the circumstances of the place: if you want, the place of residence, in the broad sense of the word.

Add to this the age-old gender differences, plus the faster maturation of girls, and the whole picture becomes even more complicated.

There is an opinion that not only the boundaries between subcultures are conditional and mobile, but every five years all young people are already different than their older brothers and sisters.
Despite this, different subgroups of young people have much in common, first of all, the pattern of behavior. It is the peculiarities of behavior that make it possible to speak of young people as a homogeneous group. What is meant? First of all, due to age-related qualities, young people do not like to stay at home, in one place, they communicate a lot (hang out), because they want to get new impressions and sensations and, which should be emphasized, make new acquaintances. In such a model, features of already unchildish behavior are clearly visible: without regard to parents, and often even to spite them.

Indeed, 18-20 years - early years the most important phase of the human life cycle - the search for a marriage partner. Therefore, the features of adult behavior are emphasized by young people as proof that girls have already become brides, and boys have become grooms.

The most advanced youth subgroup, in my opinion, are students, young people aged 18-20 small years with an average and lower income, leading an active lifestyle, interested in everything new. This is exactly how the target audience of the youth sub-brand Baltika-Cooler was described.

The model of behavior described above exists among young people, regardless of their individual attitude to beer. But it is the consumption of beer and alcohol that is part of the adult behavioral pattern accepted in our society, since the law prohibits the sale of these products to minors. Therefore, beer marketers, not without reason, believe that every young person, when buying beer, subconsciously demonstrates his adulthood, regardless of the formal motivation for such behavior (the motives may include the desire to shock others - peers and/or elders, fashion, etc.). P.).

A marketer, generally speaking, is not interested in the etiology of a change in the behavior of young people, in particular, the transition from a youthful model to an adult one: he takes this fact for granted. It is much more important for him that the purchase of beer by a young man can be interpreted as an action that has some hidden, secret meaning. Such an interpretation is based on the theoretically substantiated notion that the purchase of a certain brand of beer in the appropriate place and time is an accompanying element of the procedure for satisfying the basic needs of an individual.

The basic need of young people (18-20 years old) for this drink is communication, self-identification of the individual as an accomplished person and gaining recognition in the reference group.

Participants in the Baltic focus groups described it like this: “To be accepted in the company! To do this, you need to be interesting to your peers, which means to be aware of everything new, to know fashion trends.

While working on the Cooler project, we considered that a new Baltic sub-brand in the hands of a young person should be perceived by his peers as a kind of signal: "I am mine." As a kind of "pass to the company" (show-off - at the stage of entering the party) and as an identifier (already your own in the party).

Naming

The name is the first thing consumers learn about a new brand. The name is the first element of any product-consumer contact, and the name development process is the initial stage of brand development. According to Arseniy Soldau, president of the branding agency Soldis, naming is “the formation of a brand's linguistic designation, which is part of the complex for building a holistic brand image. It includes visual and auditory embodiment, designed to reflect the image and legend of the brand, defining the specifics later life product. The motif of the name has a strong influence on the subsequent materialization of both the brand itself and the creative concept of the advertising campaign, since naming is the most important appeal to the consumer's consciousness, a key and environment-forming link in the wide associative field of the brand.

Starting to develop the name of a youth brand, marketers should be aware that the development of a good name is a complex, laborious, lengthy process that requires great professionalism of the performers, special knowledge, a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the new brand.

The process, of course, begins with the stage of identifying and evaluating the psychological characteristics, value orientations and norms of a potential buyer of a product, its needs and requirements. The number of names discussed at this stage can reach up to several hundred (at least it happens when choosing a name for a beer brand). Summarizing the recommendations of naming experts, we can say that good names should:

• convey the essence of the product;
• emphasize the uniqueness of the product;
• capture the consumer's attention;
• sound to match the brand image;
• be easy to remember;
• create an audiovisual image in the memory of the consumer;
• inspire confidence, evoke positive emotions.

Marketing experience shows that in practice some of these requirements are used "by default", and in discussions about the name of the product, marketers are guided by two main criteria:

• adequacy of the perception of the name (in this case, both visual and auditory perception, as well as mental, emotional and motivational preferences of consumers are taken into account);
• compliance of the name with the expectations of the buyer (an analysis is being made of whether a product with this name will help increase the personal self-esteem of the consumer, whether it will increase the status of the brand owner in the eyes of the reference group, etc.).

So, applicants for the brand name are casting. From among the finalists, two or three names are selected that best meet all of the above criteria. These names are checked by a patent examiner for identity and "purity" - similarity with already existing titles. No wonder they say in Japan that the name is destiny. Note in this regard that although the name is the most important element of branding, it affects the success of brands in the market only in conjunction with visually, clear positioning and communication strategy. Of course, all world, and domestic, practice proves that a memorable, bright brand name, which evokes positive associations with the buyer, allows you to develop and implement successful advertising campaigns launching new brands. However, there are no methods that reveal the dependence of the brand's success on the name, allowing programming success. But you can complicate the life of a brand with an unsuccessful choice of a name.

I would like to emphasize the special importance of naming for youth brands. And that's why. Young people have their own "bird" language, which is constantly changing. Every year new expressions appear, often serving as a source of inspiration for marketing communication campaigns. Therefore, the name of the brand should be understandable to the youth mass, and it will have to be found by going between the extremes of vulgarism, lisping and mentoring. Flirting with the target audience, trying to use rapidly changing youth slang and shocking words in naming and communication, is a rather risky tactic that can turn into strategic miscalculations in the long run for both the brand itself and the category as a whole. For example, the market share of the infamous youth brand Klinskoye, whose advertising generated a storm of anti-beer rhetoric, does not increase despite the constant launch of new products by Sun Interbrew (Klinskoye Arriva in 2004, Klinskoye Ultra in 2005). and "Klinskoye Wow" in 2006).

An advertising concept is built on the names of brands and their derivatives. Examples are the concepts of such major youth beer brands as "Koler", "Sokol" and "T" (see figure). However, discussion of advertising concepts is outside the scope of this article.

Let's get back to Cooler. I remember how difficult it was for the decision to abandon the number - for the first time in the history of Baltika. The name of the new brand was born not at all suddenly. We struggled with it for almost a year. The name "Cooler", like other names-finalists, after checking for legal purity, was tested in focus groups. Potential young consumers have the following associations associated with the name "Cooler":

• cool, good, fashionable;
• fresh, cool;
• computer (personal computers come with a processor-cooling fan called a cooler);
• party, company.

Older people perceived this word in a completely different way. The name of the brand "Baltika Cooler" - a modern, trendy-sounding brand name - was initially met with hostility by the members of the company's board and strongly rejected by them as evoking an association with profanity. I remember these statements well, but, as Goethe said, "I do not have the courage to reproduce them ...". The reasons for the rejection of this name, in my opinion, were both inertia, and fear of everything unusual, and habit.

Habit explains a lot in the process of name formation. When in the 1990s, at the stage of filling the market, brewing companies in Russia began to search for a name for their national brands, they did it “without special ceremonies”, but with an eye on competitors. Remember such consonant brand names as, for example, "Solodov" - "Bochkarev", "Bochkarev" - "Golden Barrel", "Three Bogatyrs" - "Three Bears". But first of all, the name should help the new product stand out from the competition. An unusual name that stands out from the crowd is best remembered. Secondly, the name should create its own niche in the market, evoke an emotional response from the consumer and provide the new brand with legal protection. To solve this problem, it is necessary to evaluate the already existing names / brands promoted by competitors.

Evaluation of competitors

When developing all elements of the youth brand marketing mix without exception, including the product itself, its name, price and packaging, Special attention should be given to comparing the positioning of the developed brand with competitors. For Cooler, we analyzed the repertoire of beer brands of Russian youth, identified potential competitors of the “first and second round” for the brand being launched, etc.

It is important to understand that the majority of consumers aged 18-20 have not yet developed a stable attachment to any one brand. As consumers, they can be attributed to the type (segment) of "searchers". However, the proportion of loyal consumers among young people is higher than among all consumers of premium brands. At the same time, the share of 18-25-year-old consumers of the Baltika brand in 2005 was less than that of competing brands. as show marketing research market segmentation, young people are the most active consumers: they drink a little less than a third of all beer sold in Russia.

Let's pay attention to the fact that brewers cannot experiment with the tastes of licensed brands, but they manage to invent new varieties with excellent taste qualities. But new varieties and brands will succeed only if the marketers did not make a mistake with their positioning, skillfully organized promotion and distribution.

Price and design

The price of a youth brand should not bite. Your new product should be accessible to poor young people who are used to the youth brands of other companies. And in order to become a real rival to its competitors, a new brand must be both different and in some way similar to them.

Values ​​and brand image

Buying a youth brand, a young person “acquires values ​​that cannot be measured in a ruble”, first of all, identity with his own kind, which opens up the opportunity for him to communicate with his peers. Professionals say that de facto there is a “transfer of the non-utilitarian value acquired by the consumer associated with the situation of his consumption (at parties, discos, nightclubs and other similar cases) to the brand”. They are seriously discussing how brand A values ​​differ from brand B values. In my opinion, it should be clearly understood that the so-called brand values ​​are, in fact, a myth constructed by marketers, convenient for use in advertising and in building the image of a beer brand. But no more.

Cooler also has such a myth. Its core is the emphasis on the youth character of the brand. In fact, due to its excellent taste, this beer can be drunk everywhere and at any time, and not only in youth companies. The use of a youth brand of beer in situations unplanned by marketers may not correspond to the values ​​of the brand, contradict the intended image. Well, what's wrong with that? In 2006, Kuler became one of Baltika's sales leaders. And this is in the first months after the launch. Baltika still sells well to both young and not so young lovers of this drink. Draw your own conclusions.

As I noted at the beginning of the article, many brand managers do not bother to follow the standard rules for building a brand, while standard tools need to be able to use, and not “pour water”. I well remember how the eminent American marketer Larry Light once told me, a young marketer, that "brands do not die on their own, managers help them do this." Then his diagnosis struck me. Now I think that brand managers really do this by pouring "water" into marketing plans. Their presentations from this become like watered down beer. Probably, like people, brands are sometimes “destroyed by water”.

At the heart of the segments fast food There are three main "whales" that cannot live without each other - communication (marketing), product and technology. And if in other segments Catering sometimes they do not pay close attention, then here the future of the business depends on them, therefore, neglecting them is like death. And communication begins and ends. It begins with the selection of a product, which subsequently must be "wrapped in technology" and ends with promotion communication to pre-selected target audiences.
Now many businessmen are puzzled, and some have already started implementing fast food projects for the youth environment. At first glance, everything is very simple, if you think that young people do not change and what we ate at twenty, they also eat the same. Whereas today's youth are already people from another planet, and before embarking on the implementation of the plan, one should answer a number of questions for oneself. Below I offer questions, the answers to which will allow you to lift the veil of the real life of people from eighteen to twenty-seven years old. What is interesting is that young people of this age do not now have national differences, that is, their preferences are the same for all continents, with the exception of taste preferences inherent in each region separately.
1. What is the basis of the nutrition of today's youth?
2. What average check can they afford?
3. What are the characteristics of the perception of the youth target audience?
4. Why is the burger theme in the favorites now and how else can it be replaced or continued?
5. What do the youth audience associate themselves with and what do they not associate themselves with?
6. Where does this TA spend most of their time?
7. What is the leisure time of the target audience and where do they spend it?
8. What can provide additional income for this target audience?
9. What values ​​are especially inherent in this target audience?

Now I will briefly answer these questions so that those who are thinking about creating such projects do not step on the "rake".
1. The basis of nutrition is the most simple dishes that do not cause great difficulties for consumption. The simpler the better. The less you chew, the better.
2. The average score of this target audience is the lowest of all possible, since this target audience is very dependent on the well-being of their parents and cannot afford more, due to their low financial situation.
3. This target audience prefers short text messages (teasers), reacts vividly to the language of signs, gestures, symbols, color schemes, light messages. He likes the brevity of names, conciseness, their inherent slang. Denies large texts, long messages, traditional communications.
4. At the heart of large-scale "burgerization" is the maximum ease of use of the product. You can eat it with one hand, and hold your smartphone with the other hand and continue to communicate with the world. This does not require traditional cutlery, the food is as digestible as possible, that is, it does not need to be thoroughly chewed and expend additional effort on this. Burgers are nutritious and clear in their ingredients. This topic now and in the future, it can be continued by the increasingly popular noodles, minced chicken products, rice dishes and so on.
5. Youth audiences buy what looks like them. If there is a salesman a generation older than them behind the counter, they will deny it, as it does not fit into their understanding of the world. It is more likely to be rejected than accepted.
6. Basically, this target group spends time communicating with their own kind (educational institutions, companies, working with people like them) or in in social networks, communicating with short text messages in instant messengers.
7. Have fun in places that are in line with new youth trends. Traditional holiday destinations are deniable.
8. Additional income can be provided by the delivery of the product to your home or to any other places. This audience does not like to move, prefers outdoor activities to being in a safe, understandable place.
9. Core values ​​- speed (applies to everything), safety, trend fit.
In the same way, you need to answer questions before implementing projects for everyone else. target audiences.

Characteristics of the target audience

The main target audience is the youth of Saratov aged 18 to 33 years. This choice is due to the fact that it is age that actualizes the process of acquiring new social roles by a person, the formation of his social claims, personal hopes and plans Kambotova Zh.V. Dynamics of life positions of young people in the context of socio-cultural adaptation: a regional aspect. Abstract dis. . cand. With. Sciences. - Maykop, 2008. - S. 16 ..

The main target group is young people aged 19-33 years (including students of 2-5 courses, undergraduates, graduate students, young scientists)

The intermediate target group is represented by teachers, parents.

The student-participants are the helping target group public organization"New people", representatives of the media.

This segment is divided into three subgroups:

§ Active target group- young people who know about the organization and interact closely with it;

§ knowledgeable target group, having an idea about the organization, but not interacting with it;

§ latent target group, no information about this group.

An important factor in the adaptation of young people to the conditions of life is the reorientation to the microsocial environment, family and friendly informal ties. The dominant values ​​of young people are parents, good faithful friends, stability and order, security in society, knowledge and education, freedom, family, children; love. As for the influence of working conditions on job satisfaction, here the first place is given to obtaining a stable wages, opportunities for professional growth and socio-psychological climate of the organization.

The life positions of young people are also manifested in relation to the sources of their material well-being. Parents are still the main source of income for most students. At the same time, a significant part of the student youth is beginning to realize the need to have their own earnings. In addition, it is worth noting that students earn extra money, mainly in positions far from their specializations.

In general, the individualistic and pragmatic approach of young men and women to the work ahead prevails. Thus, most young people believe that although socially useful, creative meaning is important labor activity but the main thing is income. Every tenth wants to get a job that would be well paid. For every fifth person, work will be of vital interest if it makes it possible to realize, first of all, his interests and plans.

Methods for implementing the PR campaign "Be confident in your future!"

image youth promotion regional

Project timing "Be confident in your future!" - January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013.

Methods for the implementation of this project are:

§ "Stay in touch!"- a series of events aimed at raising the level of awareness of the target audience about the functioning of the New People organization. Terms: from January 10 - February 15, 2013. Planned result: increased awareness of the target audience. "Stay in touch!" includes:

§ Creation of the official website of the Saratov regional youth public organization "New People". Despite the fact that the All-Russian Organization has an official website http://www.newpeople.ru, information on the work regional offices not provided there. Therefore, there is a need to create your own resource - the site. Sections - "New people in faces", "Our leadership", "Contacts", "Our projects", "Announcements", "Our partners", "Photo report", "Opinion", "Forumtime" (the last two sections provide for the possibility of interactive interaction with the target audience).

§ Change of concept information policy and the creation of an official page of the public organization in social networks. On the Internet, the organization is already represented in the Vkontakte social network, in LiveJournal. However, the "Vkontakte" group is closed, and only part of the information is open to users. " Official group movement. If you were invited here, then you are welcome here” - this phrase emphasizes the closeness of the organization and the “chosenness” of its members, which naturally repels the public and sets it negatively towards the organization. In LiveJournal, information is updated extremely rarely - once every 3-4 months, which is unacceptable for a youth organization. This category of the population is actively interested in new information, and in order to meet information needs, it is necessary to revise the filling policy information resources, at least - once a day, new publications should be posted on the sites. As an additional communication channel, you should connect "Twitter".

§ Procession of activists in T-shirts with the organization's symbols (t-shirts, baseball caps, flags, flags) on a day off along the main street (for example, along Kirov Avenue) will draw the attention of the target audience to the activities of the public organization. The procession will be led by cyclists, rollerbladers, jumpers. Deadline: April 13, 2013 Expected result: attracting the attention of the target audience. It is planned to send press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, Vzglyad-info news agency, Fourth Power, SaratovBusinessConsulting”, “Public opinion”, “Our version”).

§ Photo contest "The future is yours!", the purpose is to draw attention to the activities carried out by the organization. Terms: April 2-28, 2013. Sponsor - the United Russia party (no additional measures to attract sponsors are required, since contacts have already been established with the party and the organization's management does not hide this, however, additional "advertising" of cooperation with any party must be avoided , since the organization initially positions itself as non-political).

§ Summing up the results of the photo contest on Theater Square with the opening of the "Winners' Board" (a temporary information stand where everyone can see the winners' works). The prizes will be presented by the head of the organization Pavel Tomilin. Deadline: May 18, 2013. Planned distribution of press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, IA Vzglyad-info) , "The Fourth Power", "SaratovBusinessConsulting", "Public Opinion", "Our Version").

§ Paintball tournament. Anyone can take part in the event. A prerequisite for the formation of teams for the game is that there must be at least one member of the New People organization in the composition, this will contribute to establishing contacts with the target group. The goal is to unite the organization's team, to establish interaction with external groups. Deadline: September 21, 2013. Planned distribution of press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, IA Vzglyad-info) , "The Fourth Power", "SaratovBusinessConsulting", "Public Opinion", "Our Version").

§ Competition for the best poster "Become a leader!" in order to raise awareness of the functioning of the organization. Information about the competition will be posted on the official website of the organization and in social networks. The best posters will be displayed in Saratov universities (this requires a preliminary agreement with the leadership of educational institutions). Terms: October 1-26, 2013 Planned result - increased activity of target groups - showing interest in the activities of the organization, ongoing programs.

§ Graffiti competition "City through the eyes of youth". On the competitive works winners should place the emblem of the Saratov regional youth public organization "New People". The goal is to draw the attention of the target group to the ongoing activities of the organization. Deadline - September 12-17, 2013. Expected result: increased awareness of the functioning of the organization both from the side of the main target audience and intermediate (since graffiti with the organization's logo will remain on the facade of selected buildings). It is planned to send press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, Vzglyad-info news agency, Fourth Power, SaratovBusinessConsulting”, “Public opinion”, “Our version”).

§ Creating a flower bed with the New People logo near the office of the organization. Deadline: April 20, 2013. The goal is to attract public attention to the activities of the organization. The planned result is an increase in the level of awareness of the existence of the New People organization in the city among the residents of the city. It is planned to send press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, Vzglyad-info news agency, Fourth Power, SaratovBusinessConsulting”, “Public opinion”, “Our version”).

§ Series of trainings "Leader - it's you!" with the participation of invited guests - the leadership of the New People organization, as well as a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Olga Batalina (since the organization has established some partnership relations with United Russia, it seems possible to invite a State Duma deputy from the United Russia faction). The goal is to draw attention to ongoing events, increase the loyalty of target groups. Deadlines: October 16-17, 2013. It is planned to send out press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, Vzglyad- info”, “The Fourth Power”, “SaratovBusinessConsulting”, “Public Opinion”, “Our Version”).

§ Competition of social projects. Persons aged 19 to 33 (students, undergraduates, graduate students, young scientists) can take part. The goal is to select best projects for their subsequent implementation as initiatives of the youth organization "New Times in Saratov". Expected result: drawing attention to ongoing events, increasing the loyalty of target groups. Deadlines: November 1-17, 2013. It is planned to send out press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, Vzglyad- info”, “The Fourth Power”, “SaratovBusinessConsulting”, “Public Opinion”, “Our Version”.

§ Solemn summing up of the results of the competition of social projects in the assembly hall of the Volga Institute named after P.A. Stolpyin. The invited guests are the Minister of Education of the Saratov Region M.A. Epifanova, minister social development L.V. Kolyazin. To hold an event on the premises of the university, a preliminary agreement with the management is required. educational institution. Deadline - December 9, 2013. The goal is to encourage the winners, to draw the attention of the audience to the activities of the organization. It is planned to send press releases to the media (Saratov Regional Newspaper, New Times, Ren-TV, TNT-Saratov, Rossiya-1, Vzglyad-info news agency, Fourth Power, SaratovBusinessConsulting”, “Public opinion”, “Our version”.

Features of the youth audience

In order to show a complete and adequate picture of modern youth, it is worth turning to developmental psychology - this is a branch of psychological science that studies the facts and patterns of the development of a healthy person, the age dynamics of his psyche. Candidate of Psychological Sciences I.V. Shapovalenko divided the general definition of youth into age levels: adolescence (adolescence) and adolescence. Thus, having delved into the psychoanalysis of these subtypes, one can follow the development of the personality and identify the main trends in the change in the person's moral, cultural and social values. Define key landmarks modern means mass media targeting a youth audience.

Adolescence

Adolescence usually correlates with chronological age from 10-11 to 14-15 years. One of the main psychological symptoms in this age period is a sense of adulthood. The basic needs of a teenager are the desire to communicate with peers (“grouping”), the desire for independence and independence, “emancipation” from adults, to the recognition of their rights by other people.

Adolescence in a person is closely connected with the level of socio-economic development of society, with the peculiarities of historical time, with the social position of adolescents in the world of adults and the specific circumstances of the life of this adolescent. Sigmund Freud said that puberty, a surge of sexual energy, shakes the previously established balance between personality structures, and children's conflicts are reborn with renewed vigor. Exaggerated claims, not always adequate ideas about their capabilities lead to numerous conflicts of a teenager with parents and teachers, to protest behavior.

The teenager continues to be a schoolboy, educational activity retains its relevance, but psychologically recedes into the background. The possibility of wide communication with peers determines the attractiveness of occupations and interests. At the age of 14-15, a teenager seeks to show his abilities, to take a certain social position, which meets his need for self-determination. The reaction of enthusiasm, it reflects the features internal structure adolescent personality. Passion for sports, the desire for leadership, gambling, a passion for collecting are more typical for teenage boys. Classes, the motive of which is the desire to attract attention (participation in amateur performances, passion for extravagant clothing, etc.), are more typical for girls. Intellectual and aesthetic hobbies, reflecting a deep interest in any particular subject, phenomenon (literature, music, fine arts, technology, nature, etc.) can be observed in adolescents of both sexes.

Imitation of external signs of adulthood: smoking, drinking alcohol, using cosmetics, exaggerated interest in gender issues, copying the ways of entertainment and courtship, imitating adults in clothes and hair, pursuing beauty standards - this is a superficial idea of ​​\u200b\u200badulthood in a teenager. Behavior stereotypes are intensively assimilated, both in boys and girls.

The problem of infantilism at the teenage stage of socialization is a frequent occurrence. Main characteristics of this type teenager:

1. Irresponsibility, unwillingness to bear responsibility for their actions.

2. Self-affirmation at the expense of others

3. Suggestibility. Uncritical perception of social ideas. It is easy to tune to a certain wave, and public opinion- an attribute of suggestibility.

4. Hypercriticism. Total negativity of any teachings. Tendency to extreme points of view "all or nothing".

By the end of adolescence, a fairly developed self-awareness develops. There is a gradual transition from an assessment borrowed from adults to self-esteem, there is a desire for self-expression, self-affirmation, self-realization, self-education, to the formation of positive qualities and overcoming negative ones.

Knowing the age characteristics helps the media editorial staff to take into account the interests and meet the needs of a young audience. Depending on the age of the publication, the editors determine its content, structure, form, volume. Social and psychological characteristics of readers are also taken into account.

In adolescence, the orientation in cognitive interests dominates. In various publications for teenagers, the process of their differentiation according to the interests of the audience is especially noticeable. This is due to the fact that the children have a need for knowledge, there is an interest in various fields of activity, branches of material or spiritual production - science and technology, literature and art, business, sports.

At this age, teenagers begin to be interested in various aspects of adult life: news from the world of show business, love, sex, fashion, culture, especially pop, rock music. Recently, individual media have become more free to cover "difficult" issues. In addition, publications that copied the adult tabloid press appeared and quickly gained popularity among teenagers.

Youth is like a psychological age.

The border between adolescence and adolescence is rather conventional from 15-16 to 21-25 years. The criterion for achieving maturity in human society is the mastery of culture, a system of knowledge, values, norms, social traditions, readiness for the implementation of various types of labor. Sociological theories of adolescence regard adolescence primarily as a definite stage of socialization, as a transition from dependent childhood to independent and responsible activity of an adult with a decisive determination2 on the part of society.

R. Havighurst during the period of growing up identified the following age-related tasks:

1. Acceptance of one's own appearance, awareness of the characteristics of one's body and the formation of skills to use it effectively (in work, sports, etc.);

2. The assimilation of a male or female role (folding the individual structure of one's gender behavior, one's "image" of the gender role, the internal position of a man or woman; for example, for a girl, this can be the image of a "Turgenev girl", "one's own girl" or "fatal beauties");

3. Establishing new and more mature relationships with peers of both sexes;

4. Gaining emotional independence from parents and other adults;

5. Construction internal system values ​​and ethical consciousness as a guide for behavior;

2. Determination - the definition of an object by conditional parameters, its classifying individual characteristic. wikipedia.org

6. Preparation for professional career, training is aimed at obtaining a profession (at a university or directly at the workplace, and even at school - with a differentiated attitude to different academic subjects, when attending preparatory courses);

7. Preparation for marriage and family life, acquiring knowledge and social readiness to take on the responsibilities associated with partnership and family;

8. Formation of socially responsible behavior, civic engagement (including political, ideological, environmental, etc.).

But along with the elements of adult status, the young man still retains a certain degree of dependence coming from childhood: this is both material dependence and the inertia of parental attitudes associated with leadership and subordination. The ambiguity of the position of youth in the family and society and different levels requirements for it brings this period closer to adolescence, and is reflected in the originality of the psyche. According to D.I. Feldstein, in adolescence, the nature of development is determined by labor and learning as the main activities.

Youth is a time of serious preparation of young men and women for adulthood and the desire to better understand themselves, a complex area of ​​human relations. In publications for this age group, attention is drawn to a large number of rubrics analyzing psychological, moral and moral problems modern society. Young people strive for self-expression, for the manifestation of their individuality. Therefore, magazines for her pay great attention to the lifestyle of modern youth: they give practical recommendations from psychologists, sexologists, makeup artists, designers, cooks, stylists and fashion designers.