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America's youth represent a distinct group with their own unique popular culture-a culture within which Hip-Hop recurrently permeates.
Despite adult attitudes (both positive and negative) about youth culture, we know we must have a working knowledge of this culture that engulfs and contextualizes our young people's lives if we are to effectively communicate with them. It is important to understand the information that they process. The rules of social marketing are pertinent and suggest that effective communication begins with knowing your target audience.
Collectively, youth in America represent a powerful movement that transcends race, ethnicity, gender, and social or economic status. America's youth are a walking depiction of their worldview that is externally manifested through clothing, art, attitude, style, movement, music, video, television, film, language, and the World Wide Web.
Youth are big business, and everyone is struggling for their attention: advertisers; large and small businesses; media conglomerates; the sports, fashion, and entertainment industries; faith communities; health arenas; schools; community-- based organizations; families; and even local, state, and federal governments.
Many of America's youth need adult assistance, nurturing, supervision, and resources because they are at-risk for making negative and harmful behavioral choices. Those entities that will succeed in reaching these young people with their messages or products are those who are the most culturally competent in youth popular culture and who use this knowledge and experience as a foundation for their education and information dissemination outreach strategies.
The need for cultural competence in understanding and appreciating racial and ethnic diversity is well recognized in corporate, community, and governmental arenas. The influx of international racial and ethnic groups over the past 20 years has made it necessary for America to develop communication efforts that are targeted, authentic, culturally sensitive, and designed to speak appropriately to cultural nuances.
Yet, America has not voiced the same urgency in understanding the culture of youth. It is time that we understood that culture is not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality. Programs targeting youth must demonstrate a sensitivity to and an understanding of young people and their design for living and interpreting their environment.
By examining youth culture, we can form a guide for predicting behavioral choices and for determining the strategies necessary to change and influence those choices.