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Youth and Society: Exploring the Social Dynamics of Youth Experience
Building on the strengths of the highly respected first edition, Youth and Society provides a comprehensive overview of the key issues, research, and theoretical developments in the sociology of youth. A new part, "Theorizing Youth", introduces the many and sometimes conflicting
conceptualizations of youth and key theories. Other new chapters explore issues of youth and technology. Enhanced pedagogical features include highlight boxes, additional readings, and expanded chapter exercises, to make the text even more reader friendly.
conceptualizations of youth and key theories. Other new chapters explore issues of youth and technology. Enhanced pedagogical features include highlight boxes, additional readings, and expanded chapter exercises, to make the text even more reader friendly.
- GenresSociologyNonfiction
296 pages, Paperback
First published June 3, 2004
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 10, 2017
Read for SOCI 377
This book was awful. The only plus side to the book at all is that it acknowledges that the society we live in today is different from the 'baby boomers' generation, and that economically speaking it isn't as easy to survive as it was before. You can't just say 'go and get a job' anymore, or move out when you turn 18. It does also acknowledge the additional hardships put on radicalized people, in particular the Indigenous cultures, because of how Canada treated them when the explorers showed up. It demonstrates more obviously and directly the legacy of suffering that many stereotypes ignore.
Other than that, though, the chapter on gender focuses specifically on males and females, no talk and barely a mention of trans, and no mention at all of anything other. Only a couple paragraphs on same-sex things. And while there were lots of charts, there weren't really a lot of statistics and I found I didn't really learn a lot from reading this book. It was so vague about everything. It talked in such broad strokes it was hard to tell for a lot of the material what the authors were really trying to say about it.
This book was awful. The only plus side to the book at all is that it acknowledges that the society we live in today is different from the 'baby boomers' generation, and that economically speaking it isn't as easy to survive as it was before. You can't just say 'go and get a job' anymore, or move out when you turn 18. It does also acknowledge the additional hardships put on radicalized people, in particular the Indigenous cultures, because of how Canada treated them when the explorers showed up. It demonstrates more obviously and directly the legacy of suffering that many stereotypes ignore.
Other than that, though, the chapter on gender focuses specifically on males and females, no talk and barely a mention of trans, and no mention at all of anything other. Only a couple paragraphs on same-sex things. And while there were lots of charts, there weren't really a lot of statistics and I found I didn't really learn a lot from reading this book. It was so vague about everything. It talked in such broad strokes it was hard to tell for a lot of the material what the authors were really trying to say about it.
September 30, 2025
I read this for my SOCI 377 course on Youth, Identity & Culture, and while it definitely served its purpose in an academic context, it wasn’t exactly a compelling read beyond that.
The most valuable concept I took from this book was the idea of youth as a social process — that youth isn’t just a biological life stage, but something shaped and reshaped by cultural, economic, and political forces. That definition has stuck with me and became a helpful framework for analyzing how youth navigate systems of power.
That said, most of the book felt like a dense summary of concepts I’ve encountered in other, more engaging works. It didn’t offer the kind of fresh insight or narrative structure that makes a sociological text memorable or thought-provoking on its own. I wouldn’t recommend it outside of a classroom setting unless you’re doing research that specifically requires it.
The most valuable concept I took from this book was the idea of youth as a social process — that youth isn’t just a biological life stage, but something shaped and reshaped by cultural, economic, and political forces. That definition has stuck with me and became a helpful framework for analyzing how youth navigate systems of power.
That said, most of the book felt like a dense summary of concepts I’ve encountered in other, more engaging works. It didn’t offer the kind of fresh insight or narrative structure that makes a sociological text memorable or thought-provoking on its own. I wouldn’t recommend it outside of a classroom setting unless you’re doing research that specifically requires it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews