The Death of a Subculture

As children, we look up to teenagers and adults. Inspired by them, we promise ourselves that when we grow up, we will be just like them. But most likely, we were not thinking about a standard, average university student. In our heads, there was an image of an extraordinary person, standing out and distinguishing themselves from the rest. In my childhood, my role models were glamorous girls imitating actresses from American TV series, meanwhile some of my friends preferred ones that dressed emo, punk, goth and others. 

Growing up, I noticed that I rarely see these people who stand out around me; sometimes - on the Internet.. This phenomenon seemed paradoxical to me, especially in light of two factors: 1. People in 2025 have become much more tolerant and open-minded compared to 20 years ago. 2. Globalization has recently gained a completely different momentum; some countries that had just begun their independence journey had started various fashion brands for instance, which affected the possible manifestations of self-expression of young people. But despite all this, subcultures have disappeared.

Why is that? Firstly, a subculture is not just an appearance, but also the beliefs and worldview of this image. The image has become a symbol of a person’s ideology. With the development of social media and networks, information about subcultures has become more accessible and understandable than ever. Influencers have begun to borrow images and transform themselves in one day, creating trends in their different  styles. However, such popularity contradicts the ideologies of most subcultures, which are always focused on opposing capitalism and whatever is mainstream. Different aesthetics and trends have led to a paradoxical situation: to claim, you need to be... like everyone else.

In addition, subcultures used to be something local and authentic. A significant "barrier" to creating a community was the acceptance of ideology, which in recent times: to become part of a subculture, you had to understand and accept its philosophy. This source of one subculture dominates over another throughout history. Today, thanks to mobility and the advancement of social networks, aesthetics change every month. Under the influence of this rapid change of trends, uniqueness, which used to be an important part of the subculture, has lost its meaning.

Lastly, despite the external diversity, people have become much more tolerant and patient with manifestations of easy freedom, which is still one of the factors in the disappearance of the subculture. Due to the acceptance of a variety of forms of self-expression and norms, social pressure on a person has decreased. Previously, to express a protest or draw attention to problems, you had to be original and agitate for the crowd. Today, there is no such accessory, because society is much more receptive and open.

Unfortunately, we cannot return to 2007, when subcultures were alive and real, as well as we will never be the ‘cool’ adult we dreamed of being while being a child.