Itβs 2024β¦ βlow them tings there
People, especially kids, will adopt whatβs deemed to be fashionable. Thankfully, the βchavβ to βroadmanβ arc appears to be on its last legs in England.
Growing up in south London in the noughties was incredibly fun. Your mates were always out after school on bikes or playing football. Weβd knock on each other’s doors β and the odd strangerβs door β grab sweets, share a can of booze, and generally create harmless mischief until dinnertime.
There was a significant downside to wanting to be out all the time, however. Hoodlums wereΒ everywhere. Every postcode had a pathetic gang affiliation, and anyone who was a cousin of a member, a mate, or a mate of a mate claimed to be a member too.
For one, firework night doesnβt involve almost being blown up anymore, which is nice.
The roadman stuff has just largely gone out of fashion. There are folk who are, if youβll excuse the phrase, really βabout that lifeβ, but the constant posturing from teens has died right off. Thereβs no validation to be gleaned from wearing cheap tracksuits, hovering outside shops, and harassing other kids for their shit. You look like a bellend.
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byu/mreal420 from discussion
inukdrill
If you offered a choice between instant notoriety in their neighbourhood, or 100K followers on Instagram/YouTube, 90% of kids will jump on the latter before you can say the word βchat.β
The change is undeniable. All of the areas that once reeked of danger for me are now empty bar the odd dogwalker, or have actual children in the playgrounds. I guess itβs no different to the βmods and rockersβ subculture clash that came decades before, but the βchavβ fad is easily up there with the dumbest eras of the last century in England.
While social media β todayβs main teen battleground for validation – has significant vices of its own, Iβm confident as a parent that Iβll be able to monitor and protect my daughter in her formative years. If thatβs all there is to worry about, Iβll gladly take it.
Looking back and exchanging stories with my family members, I donβt even know how we were let out of the house tbh.
Lastly⦠to the former members of TZ who are either inside, or working the shelves at Tesco, I wish you well.