New book explores how culture wars are shaping a generation

What does it mean to grow up in a society increasingly divided by political and cultural disagreements, where young people face growing pressure to define and express their identities?

Growing Up in the Culture Wars: Identity and Generational Conflict, co-authored by Dr Jennie Bristow, Reader in Sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University, and Dr Ellie Lee, Honorary Professor of Family and Parenting Research at the University of Kent, explores the pressures facing Generation Z and how wider cultural and political changes are influencing their transition into adulthood.

Published on 23 October 2026, the book draws on sociology and historical research to examine how contemporary culture wars are shaping young people’s relationships with themselves, their peers and the adults around them.

Rather than attributing the challenges facing young people solely to social media or generational attitudes, the authors explore how wider changes in society have contributed to growing uncertainty around identity, adulthood and relationships between generations.

Dr Bristow explained that the undergraduates she currently teaches are the same age as her own children, giving her a personal interest in the challenges facing young people today:

“The context in which Gen Z is coming into adulthood is particularly challenging. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a rapid escalation of cultural fragmentation, meaning that we can’t take shared social norms for granted. This has a hugely destabilising impact on young people, because they are basically being taught that the world in which their parents grew up is over, without being offered any positive sense of the future.”

She added that adults have a responsibility to help young people make sense of these changes by providing historical and sociological context, rather than leaving them to work it out for themselves.

Growing up in a divided world

The book explores political and cultural polarisation, changing expectations around parenting, and the role of universities and education. It also considers how social media can reflect and intensify wider divisions, placing additional pressure on young people to define and present their identities from an early age.

The authors examine differences in the experiences of young men and women, alongside debates about identity labels, including disability and neurodiversity, placing these discussions within a wider social and historical context.

A central theme is the relationship between generations. While public debate often focuses on the differences between younger and older people, the book questions whether these divisions are making it harder for young people to develop confidence, independence and a sense of themselves as they move into adulthood.

Dr Lee explained that changing attitudes towards parenting have also played a significant role in shaping young people’s experiences of growing up.

She said that, traditionally, families and wider communities played a central role in raising children and preparing them for adulthood. However, over recent decades, this has increasingly given way to a culture of ‘parenting’, where parents are encouraged to follow expert advice and prescribed rules about how to raise their children.

Drawing on their previous work together, Parenting Culture Studies, Dr Lee argues that this shift has placed greater pressure on parents to make the ‘right’ decisions, while encouraging them to view children’s developing identities as fragile and in need of protection.

The authors suggest that this can make it harder for families to encourage independence, build confidence and help young people develop the skills and sense of responsibility needed to navigate adulthood.

Rethinking generational relationships

The book builds on decades of research by both authors into generations, parenting culture, education, and social change.

Dr Bristow has written extensively about generational conflict and the experiences of younger generations, including The Corona Generation: Coming of Age in a Crisis, co-written with her teenage daughter during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Lee’s research focuses on sociology, family life, and parenting culture. The two authors have collaborated for several years, including on work exploring how parenting has changed in response to wider social and cultural expectations.

Their latest book brings these areas of expertise together to consider how society can better support young people as they develop their identities and navigate the transition into adulthood.

Dr Bristow hopes the book will encourage readers to move beyond divisive stereotypes about different generations, challenging perceptions that Gen Z are ‘hopelessly damaged goods’ or that Baby Boomers ‘wrecked the world’.

Above all, she explained, the book emphasises the “importance of conversations between the generations: we are all living through the culture wars, and we have to work through these challenges together.”

Dr Lee echoed this, emphasising the importance of making adulthood something young people can look forward to. “The most important thing we all need to do is put our energies into making adulthood and what it entails into an aspiration.”

Dr Lee argued that society needs to move away from placing so much emphasis on the search for personal identity and instead encourage young people to find meaning through relationships, shared experiences, and taking on responsibilities.

Central to this, Dr Lee explained, is recognising that generations are connected rather than divided, with each generation building on the experiences, achievements, and contributions of those who came before.

Copies of Growing Up in the Culture Wars: Identity Affirmation and Generational Conflict are available to purchase from the Canterbury Christ Church University campus bookshop, as well as online through the CCCU Bookshop.

Growing Up in the Culture Wars: Identity and Generational Conflict is published by Polity on 23 October 2026.