Turn Down For What Now?

  As a 21 year old, I am currently sitting in a state of limbo between youth and adulthood. Whilst I am on the point of becoming a 'proper grown up', I still see my playground days as a recent memory and therefore I would have counted myself as pretty intact with the trends of the youth of 2016. Having worked here as a teacher and a camp councillor, as well as staying with families that have children between the ages of 6 and 19, my exposure to the interests, jokes and loves of today's tomorrow has been intense. It's something that's been a big part of my time here and has shocked and amused me enough to justify an article #LetsDoThis. 

  Before I start on the content of this kind of 'case-study', it's worth saying that this isn't just a couple of kids in class that exhibit this stuff. It's universal. I would say a decent 80% of kids between 5 and 15 that I've encountered over here (which is a lot of kids believe me) have showcased some of this stuff that I'm going to talk about. That's what strikes me most. If one snotty kid flips a bottle and dabs when celebrating its landing, it's not just a small entourage that appreciates it - but everyone. The cool kids, the sporty kids, the clever kids, the boys, the girls. It's quite the epidemic.  

  As you walk through a school playground here, I could easily make a bingo card of things you would see or hear - and you'd be guaranteed a quick-fire full house...

  I won't go through all of these, but just the key players. The songs for example (bar one) are just in trend at the moment and they'll pass as all pop music does; although the hysteria/addiction of the kids here for the latest tunes is really something. However the bits I do talk about in a bit more detail have been in it for the long run and their longevity is as impressive as their simplicity and popularity. 

 With simplicity on the tongue, it would seem wrong to start with anything other than the craze that started with an empty, used plastic bottle. The 'Botella Challenge' as it's known here is quite something. It involves nothing more than a plastic bottle with a bit of water in, and the kids attempting to flip it and land it upright. That's it. It's like going back in time in terms of entertainment and I've seen iPad's and PlayStations shoved aside for a battered plastic bottle. It's unbelievable.

It really is as simple as 1,2,3 Flip. Maybe Evian + Volvic
are the new PlayStation + Xbox...

  Wherever I am I'm never 5 minutes away from hearing the constant clattering of plastic against whichever surface is acting as the stadium for the 'sport'. I've heard it in class, at home, in restaurants  and even in church at a family baptism. It's not a hangover-friendly sport to be in the presence of I'll tell you that. The simplicity of the required equipment means kids are never too far from entertainment. As with everything it's been adapted to incorporate free-styling, as show-cased by thousands and thousands of YouTube videos that drive the kids crazy. 

  In the event of a bottle landing, there is almost certainly a celebration that goes with it. This is often either the famous Cristiano Ronaldo 'Siii'/'I love myself' celebration, the make it rain notion accompanied by a chant of 'money money money' or the ultimate king of celebrations. A celebration that acts as a salute to the Gods of the youth. I'm talking about the infamous 'Dab'. 

Meet The Dab and one of its founding fathers
the £88 million worthy Paul Pogba.

  If you don't know about the Dab then I'd question where you've been the last 12 months. Through a number of sportsman in the NBA, NFL and most famously the World's most expensive footballer Paul Pogba, the Dab has cemented it's place as the go-to celebration for anyone who thinks they're the business. Once again, the Dab's simplicity is something to be admired and simply requires putting your face into your elbow whilst simultaneously point both arms diagonally towards the sky.

  Now I knew the Dab was popular and I lived as a part of it's craze on Twitter and other social medias, it's not something I've been oblivious too or anything. But since coming to Argentina it's been the intensity of the kids use of the Dab that has hit me. If anything remotely positive is done by a kid it's likely they'll Dab to celebrate. Whether that's landing a bottle, scoring a goal, answering a question right in class. Dab, Dab, Dab. It's like a new reflex that evolution is ingraining into kids*. Maybe in 20 years time, newborn babies will Dab on their entry to the World. 

  If the Dab is what they'll do, the first words of the future generation are heading away from 'Mama' and 'Dada' and heading towards four other words. Turn. Down. For. What. The words first crafted by the rapper Lil Jon - obviously renowned for his lyrical genius - have taken the children of our generation in a tornado of Trap music insanity. The drop of the song is the machine grinding carnage that you might expect, yet it plays to the ears of the youth like The Beatles did in the 60's.

  I'll never forget the number of times it's played at the discos we hold at the end of the camps, requested over and over again. Each time brings with it a more energy infused choreography as if some slipped the hot chocolate some cocaine and a packet of Lucozade tablets. There's always one or two kids that take it that bit further (see video below), letting the song possess them and falling to the floor, feigning a fit as the drop vibrates around them. You think I'm joking... but it's unbelievable and a ridiculous spectacle.

 

  What amazes me a lot about these things is that these are Argentinean kids with little English yet when it comes down to saying 'Turn Down For What' or singing a pop song they become the Queen with their pronunciation. They are brain-washed and they have no idea, they're just loving the ride. Times go by where I have a conversation with a kid and they speak more in song jingles, catchphrases or sound-bits than actual words. Every small success or failure is greeted with a related chorus of a song or phrase. 

 It's undoubtable that this is a result of YouTube and the incredible influence that the young Vloggers and gamers are having on the young generation. They're the rockstars on the eyes of the kids and they copy and worship their every move. I thought this might just be a UK/USA thing but my experience here in Argentina could not have proved that more wrong. If anything the kids here are even more pumped up and fuelled by the madness. 

  This article has been a bit different, and it's just as UK appropriate as it is for Argentina. Yet it's one for the Mums, Dads, Teachers and others that live with kids and young teenagers. I'm sure we've all looked at these kids doing this stuff and just questioned what World we're all living on. It's never something I was going to write about but the fact I have just highlights how much exposure I have to it in my life right now. I'll leave you with one of the most tragic - yet typical - videos I've ever seen that I walked in on the kids of my family watching the other day, and sums up the 'quilombo' that is the youth of 2k16. 

Thanks for reading. #DAB

(Forgive me if not of the Videos/GIFs worked with this article and subsequently leaving you with just my dull rambling - I know the pics are the best bit)

  

*It's also a lethal weapon used by kids to mug you off, acting to go for a fist pump/handshake and instead dabbing in your face. The little shits.