It’s time for our latest drop of Youth Updates where we chat about how drill fits into youth culture (and no, we aren’t talking about power tools…), the power of Disney and the stats around young people being more content in their singleness. Plus, our classic word of the month…
POP CULTURE: This is not a drill.
We invited Jon Sewell, Youth for Christ’s head of Mission (with a lot of expertise in music!) to answer some questions about drill music and we are delighted he accepted!
- What is drill music?
Drill is a new variation of rap music that has come out of London. It is called so, because of the beat and the way they spit their lyrics.
- In what way is this part of youth culture?
The current stats say that 3 million young people are going on YouTube and watching freestyle/rap videos, with drill being the fastest growing style of rap in the UK. Because of this, Youth for Christ has created a new drill stream on the YouTube channel ‘Intro Outro’.
The aim is to get drill artists performing on the channel with the following video being an interview where they share where the lyrics are from, how they became a Christian and why God’s important to them.
- For youth-workers and those living alongside young people, how can they get involved?
By using the Underground videos, it’s in a medium and language young people will get. You can show it to your group and then the following week use the follow up testimony. It’s a relevant way of engaging with young people and will hopefully start God conversations.
In terms of being aware of rap and drill culture, it has been adopted by gangs in Britian and is often a way to communicate a lifestyle that we wouldn’t want for our young people. Things like violence, idolatry and so on.
- Why is it important for Christians to be in this space?
The Bible talks about being in the world and not of it. So, there is a need to be in it and aware of it to speak into it.
(For the full conversation, listen to the podcast!)
Find the first drill video from Underground on Intro Outro here: https://youtu.be/uDMyLTXBfZo
TRENDS: We don’t talk about…
Bruno. ‘We don’t talk about Bruno’ from Disney’s latest animated release, ‘Encanto’, has stormed its way to the top Number 1 spot in the UK charts – the first ever Disney song to do so. In comparison, ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen only made it to number 11!
Written by Lin Manuel Miranda (who also wrote music for Moana and created Hamilton), the music of Encanto has seen unprecedented success. In particular, ‘We don’t talk about Bruno’. Unsurprisingly, it has been a hit with families and kids, but it has also done the rounds on Tik Tok leading to thousands of videos and new trends. Other songs have also stepped up to the TikTok table including ‘Surface Pressure’.
Some young people have lapped up the new Disney content and others groan from having heard their younger siblings play it one too many times, but the chances are that they’ve heard of the music. Encanto has also enraptured folks with its wide diversity and representation of body types and characters meaning many people have been able to relate – whether it be the sister who carries too much family pressure or the one who feels like an outcast or the one who feels they need to be perfect all the time.
Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/60094867
ISSUES: Happy in Singleness this Valentines?
Research suggests that, unlike generations before them, that Gen Z don’t feel pressure to be in a relationship in quite the same way as those who have come before them. Youthsight’s stats state that over a third of 16-24 year olds describe themselves as ‘happily single’ and when asked why, more than half said they wanted to prioritise their own needs.
This research was carried out with those on the mid-older end of the Gen Z spectrum and casts the patterns and habits set before younger teens. Similarly, it has recently been revealed that, for the first time since records began, that there are more woman turning 30 without kids than with them.
It is an interesting change of patterns and expectations that this generation is seeing in those older than them. Young people do certainly seem less ‘relationship’ or ‘future marriage’ focussed, but some could argue that they aren’t less interested in romance or sex but that how this looks in their lives is presented a little differently.
For example, we know that porn and sexting are prevalent in young people and that it’s still a topic many young people want to talk about in relation to faith. So, where the focus is, in terms of these core topics, may be shifting.
Sources:
- https://www.youthsight.com/blog/gen-z-dating-story-pre-and-post-pandemic-trends
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/27/half-women-turn-30-without-children-later-motherhood-becomes/
WORD OF THE MONTH
‘Triggered’ = The original definition is ‘experiencing a strong emotional reaction of fear, shock, anger or worry. Especially because you are made to remember something bad that has happened in the past’, heavily used in relation to past trauma or PTSD but used by young people thus:
A) Often used when a negative situation is relatable
For example, person 1 “My teacher shouted at me in front of everyone and it wasn’t even my fault.” Person 2 “I feel triggered.”
B) Often used when someone gets offended or their feelings are hurt, often used in memes
For example, “Becky was triggered because Dave told her to get off the Xbox and make him a sandwich.”
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