Subculture of Childhood in the Information Space: Features of the "Picture of the World"

Karabanov Andrei Postgraduate student, Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions 192238, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, ul. Ul. Fuchika, 15 karub07@mail.ru

The purpose of the study: to analyze the transformation of the subculture of childhood in the information space and to identify the main features of the "picture of the world" of its typical representative.

Research objectives:- to conduct a historiographical analysis of domestic and foreign studies of the problems of subcultures, including the subculture of childhood;

- to identify the distinctive features of the subculture of childhood and to identify its difference from the phenomena of children's and dominant culture;

- to formulate the functional apparatus of the subculture of childhood in the conditions of total informatization, describing the main changes;

- to analyze the methodology of the study of subcultural phenomena at the present stage;

- to make a verbal portrait of a typical representative of the subculture of childhood in the information society, defining the main features of his "picture of the world".

Subject of research: features of the "worldview" of the subculture of childhood in the information space.

Research methods: - cultural methodology: diachronic method, comparative-historical method, structural-functional method;

- using an axiological approach.

The term "subculture" in the field of foreign studies at the beginning of the XX century initially appears in the interdisciplinary field – at the junction of sociology and ethnography, which studied archaic ethnic groups or marginal social groups ^{[1, p. 30]}. The Chicago Scientific Sociological School became a pioneer in the study of youth subcultural formations ^{[2, p. 71]}. In Russian science, this phenomenon became the subject of discourse only in the late 1980s (about 50-60 years later than in the West). Initially, youth subcultures were spoken of as deviant behavioral forms, but later A.P. Fine, I.A. Nevsky, L.A. Radzikhovsky this view was subjected to repeated critical rethinking ^{[3, pp. 252-253]}.

Studies of subcultures developed, their effectiveness grew, new views and theories appeared. Gradually, the researchers came to understand that in order to conduct an effective detailed analysis, it is necessary to divide the phenomenon of subcultures into several components, each of which must be separately investigated. According to the author of this work, this is (minimum) three parts: professional subcultures, youth subcultures and childhood subculture, which should be subjected to separate study, both within the framework of the historiography of the problem and within the framework of holistic research of various fields of scientific knowledge.

In turn, the peculiarities of the subculture of childhood and the "picture of the world" of its typical representative suggest to the author of this work that an internal division is necessary for the analysis of this phenomenon, even for the implementation of the historiographical part of the study.

In modern Russian science, there are several main areas of research on the "subculture of childhood". Representatives of the psychological and pedagogical field of scientific knowledge, for example, N.V. Gorbunova and E.V. Vesetiu, synonymizing the concepts of "subculture of childhood" and "child subculture", distinguish from this phenomenon: socializing, psychotherapeutic, cultural preservation and prognostic functions ^{[4, pp. 298-299]}.

Representatives of the socio-cultural paradigm, for example, E.N. Suvorkina, who also considers the term "children's subculture" similar to the concept of "childhood subculture", identifies several other possible variations of the autonomous reality of childhood along with this model, relying on various research works: "childhood space", "childhood ecumene" and "subethnos" ^{[5, c. 2-9]} (at the same time, each of the models has its own individualized distinctive social, cultural and structural features). In the later works of Suvorkina E.N., the concept of "children's ersatz world" appears - a world constructed by an individual child or a group of children, including various branches of culture, a multicomponent reworked system of the world, the subject of which was previously the child himself ^{[6, p. 148]}.

Domestic and foreign researchers considering the subculture of childhood in the context of the information space are already representatives of a new (different) direction. For example, O.I. Garipova, again synonymizing the concepts of "subculture of childhood" and "children's subculture", notes significant changes caused by the process of digitalization of society. Also, the above-mentioned researcher expects that the emergence of optimal methods of regulating the digital reality of the subculture of childhood from the adult world is possible ^{[7, p. 13-17]}.

Scientists from neighboring countries working on this issue (for example, E.V.Knyazeva) note: the growth of the children's online market, the loss of traditional skills, competencies and values by children, the decisive role of children in establishing relationships with the information and telecommunications web, etc. ^{[8, pp. 29-31]}.

The American humanities pays special attention to the existence of a direct relationship between the development of computer technology and social networks and the withering moral and ethical foundations of the "worldview" of the subculture of childhood. Steve Gennaro and Blair Miller, who are engaged in research on similar issues in Canada, note that the Internet itself is becoming a habitat for children, according to their research, there is a significant increase in unhindered access of children and youth to social networks and smartphones (over 20% in three years from 2015 to 2018) and the use of the Internet by the child–adolescent community on a permanent basis (also more than 21% for the same period of time) ^{[9, p. 31]}.

Scientists who consider methodological aspects of research of subcultural formations in the space of socio-humanitarian knowledge act as a separate block. It is noted that in the subcultural conceptual field, youth cultural sub-formations were studied most effectively and intensively in historical retrospect. At first, the world science of the XIX-XX centuries reflected on the problem of the conflict of generations and the role of youth in the political and cultural segment. Then, youth subcultures were considered directly through opposition with forms of dominant/orthodox cultural attitudes ^{[1, pp. 30-32]}.

Other studies in this area have also been aimed at examining the process of separating subculture from the general culture through the conflict of norms, values and ideologies. Certain emphasis was placed on the study of the external appearance of a subcultivated personality as an instrument of nonverbal communication, the openness of the subculture community, the analysis of individual subcultural sub-formations without defining the common features of a typical representative of certain subcultures ^{[10, p. 1-6]}. The modern stage of the development of youth subcultures, childhood subcultures and even corporate cultures allows us to determine the general features of the "worldview" of representatives of various disparate fragmented sub-formations, although the latter are closed – encrypted communities.

Concluding the analogies between the subculture of childhood and youth subcultures, it is worth noting that despite the variety of approaches in which various definitions of phenomena are formulated, attention should be paid to the dogmatic view of the problem, which does not allow to develop an adequate position and objectively assess this phenomenon. To develop the correct methodology, it is necessary to use an axiological approach combining various methods ^{[11, pp. 239-240]}. After all, the youth subculture, as well as the subculture of childhood in the information space, is an ambiguous and multidimensional phenomenon, which determines the existence of many approaches, the application of which to their study was possible and probable:

- cognitive approach (subculture as a system of cognitive theoretical constructs);

- system-dynamic (a complex system undergoing various transformations);

- synergetic (consideration of these phenomena as chaotically unfolding interaction processes);

- informational approach (subculture as a combination of social and informational phenomena);

- genetic (subculture as a system of spiritual values identified with a set of genes);

- hierarchical (subcultures as hierarchical organized systems);

- ecological (communities as integral formations in a vast socio-cultural environment);

- epidemiological campaign (the process of formation of phenomena – infection) ^{[12, pp. 180-181]}.

The author of this work agrees with scientists who categorically assert that the study of youth subculture must inevitably be based on field research ^{[13, p. 130]}. But in the case of the subculture of childhood, the age and "picture of the world" of which representatives often make it difficult to collect field data, it is necessary to regularly analyze the extensive database of empirical data accumulated by the socio-humanitarian research community during the study of this problem.

Along with the evolution of childhood to the state of "developed", the structure of research on cultural sub-formations of the child-adolescent community also changed: from considering them through the prism of a complex system of neuropsychic development of children to an interdisciplinary sphere at the junction of cultural studies, sociology, etc. These sub-formations themselves have evolved. In the information space, they no longer possess distinctive external markers, as it was previously in the situation with real subcultural communities. Representatives of the new "interactive culture" do not have a certain appearance and style that we are used to seeing from Goths, punks, representatives of corporate cultures ^{[14, p. 90]}.

The subculture of childhood in the modern world is often perceived as part of the dominant culture, as its microcosm (see Figure 2). For example, S.K. Bondyreva defines subculture as a sovereign integral entity that is part of the dominant culture ^{[15, p. 8]}. The fundamental difference between subculture and orthodox culture concerns the degree of arbitrariness in choosing the first, because the introduction to culture begins without the consent of the child, and entry into the subculture is the result of a decision or several consecutive decisions. Subculture allows a representative of a child-adolescent community to remain himself, and in culture he is forced to give up his true innermost desires and interests, everything is imposed in society by certain standards ^{[16, p. 249-250]}.  Some researchers also propose to consider the phenomena of children's subcultural formations in the context of the basic concept of "socialization" as a hidden, dialogical appeal to the adult world, an original way of mastering the adult social world ^{[17, p. 48]}. But in fact, the subculture of childhood has long passed into the category of independent education, functioning according to its own laws that differ from the laws of the existence of dominant forms of culture, because back in the 70s, one of the most famous subculture researchers Dick Hebdige wrote that the specificity of subcultures "undermines" normality, and these associations of like-minded people themselves deny dominant cultural standards ^{[18, p.68]}. Existing in parallel with the world of adult culture, the subculture of childhood in the information and real space successfully copes with communication barriers due to slang, preserves the security of its own ecumene with the help of VPN encryption, similar to the cultural protection functionality of dominant forms of culture. This world in the information space is the dream of American cinema, it would allow a child to exist in it without having to return to reality if he could solve the problem of having physiological needs. Some researchers talk about the emergence of a new generation of digital people, "born on the Web", who have other ways of mastering the world, knowing themselves. This generation is developing a new special culture of communication, its representatives prefer to communicate exclusively in a virtual environment ^{[19, p. 25]}.

The subculture of childhood in the information space is completely different from the world of adults on the web. Adults create spaces, platforms, resources for children, in their opinion, guided by the needs of the world of childhood. But the latter goes through the stages from the emergence of a need to the creation of a niche in the information space for its implementation much faster. After all, the world of childhood does not need a representative sample to create something for itself, then a focus group. The world of childhood creates something without fear, and only then finds a use for it. This is a prototype of the new marketing. There is no cost of error – the efficiency of the activity increases. Moreover, the world of childhood has always transformed the resource base of the adult world for itself. But with the advent of such a comprehensive information space, it ceases to be so obvious.

As noted above, many researchers in this field use the concepts of "children's subculture" and "childhood subculture" as synonymous. They actually have certain "intersection zones", but are radically different subsets. The author of this scientific work has created a visual diagram of the relationship of the above subsets using the most famous geometric scheme – Diagrams (circles) Euler (see Fig. 1). The idea is to determine the "zone of intersection" of the subculture of childhood and children's subculture, which are radically different subsets, based on age specifics, as well as tracing the value orientations of representatives of different age groups.

Figure 1. Displaying the relationship between the subsets of "childhood subculture" and "children's subculture".

As already mentioned above, N.V. Gorbunova and E.V. Vesetiu, who are engaged in research on the phenomenon of childhood subculture, distinguish socializing, psychotherapeutic, cultural preservation and prognostic functions ^{[4, p. 299]}. But the subculture of childhood in the information space is somewhat different, mainly in terms of content, a number of functional features. The psychotherapeutic function of the subculture of childhood is achieved through the selection and introduction into the "picture of the world" of a child or teenager of a reference image that can minimize psychological and mental problems and indicate the way to achieve positive dynamics (provided that an inexperienced representative of the child-adolescent community chooses the right image without the help of adults). Under certain circumstances, it is also possible to allocate along with the psychotherapeutic – compensatory function, responsible for compensating for physical defects of the body. The socializing function is to create models that reflect the requirements of the "child" as a "mirror" ^{[20, p. 156]}, but this function is more part of the apparatus of the dominant culture, it is associated with the "subculture of childhood", but is not included in its functional apparatus (see Fig.2). "VPN-encryption" is a "button" function that allows subcultural forms in the information space to preserve themselves, being out of reach for modification and destruction by forms of dominant culture and public control. The subculture of childhood, as a special psychological space, "protects it from the adverse effects of adult culture" ^{[21, p. 77]}. The prognostic function of the subculture of childhood is to anticipate the coming "picture of the world". The subculture of childhood is a kind of simulacrum of the new world of adults, for the emergence of which conditions have not even been created yet, but the world of childhood is already ready to reproduce it. Also, "infoculture of childhood" has linguistic, symbol-creating functions and identification functions, which are especially clearly manifested in the information space. The language–creating function is the creation of a set of linguistic codes that are differentiated depending on platforms and resources in the Internet environment, as well as involvement or non-involvement in a certain game zone. The symbol–making function is the formation of symbolic groups, visualized means of communication between members using certain subcultivated elements of the information field (creation of "emojis", "smiles", "gifs", etc.). The identification function is the comparison of previously unknown objects with already known ones based on certain characteristics, the implementation of comparative analysis, the correlation of themselves as members of the community, with objects, goods and services, hosting, resources, dissolution in a common network space.

Figure 2. Mapping the relationship between the phenomena of "dominant culture" and "subculture of childhood".

In 2013, a group of scientists from the Department of Preschool Pedagogy of A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University conducted a study of value orientations of senior preschool age on the basis of four educational institutions "Problems of preschool childhood in the multicultural space of changing Russia" under a grant from the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation. The quota includes children aged 5.5 to 6.9 years, which corresponds to the considered age range of respondents in their own study. By analyzing the results obtained by a research group in one of the preschool educational institutions, the following conclusions can be drawn about the value foundations of the children's subculture and its "intersection zone" with the subculture of childhood.

1. The largest number of children - 36%: "they like to engage in various activities" (of a variable nature). Representatives of this age group "do not like" when they are distracted from the gameplay, when they find barriers in communication with peers.

2. Also, 36% of respondents are already beginning to form phobias of various kinds: fear of beetles, cockroaches, big cats, dogs.

3. If they were allowed to "do everything", then the majority - 22.7% of children would carry out gaming activities, and in second place (18%) respondents showed a desire to play on the computer.

4. In the process of identifying the hobbies of the survey participants, it turned out that 43.3% of respondents were already interested in books and toys at this age, and 42.4% were interested in the Internet, and 21.9% of children were interested in cell phones.

5. In the responses of children about the desire to study at school, there was a tendency to have a desire "to gain independence."

6. As favorite games, children in a predominant number allocate computer games (43.2%) and only further down the list are games involving real communication ^{[22, pp. 1-6]}.

 The data of the above study demonstrate the tendency of preschoolers to autonomy of their own activities, the use of virtual means of game communication and interest in the global network "Internet", as well as the hypothetical possibility of the formation of various phobias in a large number of respondents when a corresponding traumatic factor appears. These markers indicate the formation of a "picture of the world" with tendencies towards autonomy and virtualization, which fully reflects the basic format of the functioning of subcultural formations in older children and adolescents.

The subculture of childhood is a collective self–expression of the personality of representatives of the child-adolescent community, an integral model of the world of culture, which does not serve as a means of achieving pragmatic goals, unlike adult culture ^{[23, pp. 16-19]}.

Today, the infoculture of childhood is a macrocosm opposed to the world of dominant culture, hiding from its influence, not only expressing an ordinary comprehensive and already familiar children's protest, but also anticipating the emergence of a new informatized world with a complexly fragmented and individualized value core, as well as an updated marketing system. The culturological approach allows us to consider subculture both as a "hotbed of cultural innovations" and as an important stage of updating socio-cultural experience ^{[16, p. 249]}.

 The "picture of the world" of a child is formed under the influence of trends towards autonomy and virtualization, the modern subculture of childhood has two levels: everyday (game, myth-making, nicknames, folklore, humor, etc.), specialized level (social structure, industry of the subculture of childhood), depending on the level at which the child is now, his "the picture of the world" ^{[24, p. 9-10]}. But it should be borne in mind that its value foundations, if they exist, are extremely blurred and fragmentary. The basis of the "value base" is replaced by trends and their cultural footprint, replicated in the future by the subculture of childhood, included in the linguistic-symbolic code. The subculture of childhood is an integral model of the world of culture, the delicate sensitive world of the child, which does not serve to achieve pragmatic goals, unlike adult culture ^{[23, p. 16-19]}. A typical representative of the world of childhood in the information space owns his own linguistic-symbolic code of this world, which prevents him from perceiving the language of a dominant society, imitates trends, which can stop or "slow down" his own development according to the traditional canons of the adult world, the child has no concept of the value of money (since his subculture devalues commodity-money relations and does it quite successfully), children and adolescents are able to produce elements of their culture themselves (which "undermines" the professional system of creating cultural objects), the general cultural background for a typical representative is not important and blurred, the level of "beliefs" is low, but the phenomenon of "blinkering" is absent, there is almost no real communication, it is not important, there is a dependence on the approval of the network community, which reduces the need for the approval of real groups formed for children by the adult world, the manifestation of binary and non–binary gender identity is extinguished, and existing manifestations are rather an element of imitation of the adult world, which is minimal, the subcultivated child seeks to be freed from custody, the whole subculture as a whole and each representative challenges the "proprietary strategies of the "culture of consumption, destroying the dominant culture, absorbing it. In general, there is no typical representative of this subculture, because the information society allows each person to form their own culture and an absolutely individual picture of the world (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Subculture of childhood in the information space: functions, features of community, "picture of the world" of a typical representative.

In the course of the research, the author of this work solved the following tasks: a brief historiographical analysis of the problems of subcultures (in general) and subcultures of childhood (in particular) was made; the functional apparatus of the subculture of childhood in the conditions of total informatization was formulated (which is the scientific novelty of the author of this work); the methodology of research of subcultural phenomena at the modern scientific stage was analyzed; a verbal portrait of a typical representative of the subculture of childhood in the information society and the main features of the community are revealed (which is also a contribution to the consideration of this issue by the author of the scientific article). In the process of solving the problems, the age differentiation of the phenomena of "childhood subculture" and "children's subculture" was made and justified, and scientific works devoted to related issues were demonstrated, in which these concepts are synonymized.