“I'm just a soul who's intentions are good, oh lord please don't let me be misunderstood.”
said The Animals
And this is true of young Vietnamese.
I stepped out into the park conversing with youth (15-24) and this is what i found:
- The youth are misunderstood
- There is a feeling of disappointment and resentment between young and old.
- Both don't understand each others point of view
After five minutes of talking, the conversation almost always turned to how their parents were so hard on them.
On the one hand, they are being pulled towards new ideas from Western, Korean, Japanese influences. Freedom, individuality, expression and sexuality...
On the other hand their parents want them to be obedient, conforming and conservative. Values brought about from a post-war period. Values that deeply conflict with modern ways of thinking.
These are the kind of things youth are saying:
A tom-boy spoke about the her parents resentment towards tattoos:
‘my friends have tattoos but my parents don't let me hang out with them because they believe it is for very bad people. I think that just because you have a tattoo, does not mean you are bad. It's your personality and characteristic that make you who you are’
A shy, studious looking girl spoke about living alone:
‘I am 20 years old and I have been wanting to live in a dormitory with my friends, however my parents think it is terrible to live there. They think it is dangerous, so they do not support me. It makes me sad.’
Students spoke about the immense pressure to study and parents disapproval for anything else.
They were not allowed to do things like: dance, get a part time job and meet friends if it got in the way of studying:
‘I love dancing but my parents don't allow me to do it because they think I need to spend more time studying.i am convincing them that dancing is not wrong by ensuring a good result for studying’
"I face pressure from parents about my studying. I prefer experiencing stuff outside because school offers little knowledge. If parents forbid me, I still keep going on and think that some day they will understand"
"I wanted to get a part time job as an usher but my parents didn't let me. They don't understand that the experience will be useful later when I graduate."
One smart dude spoke about this being linked to the unquestionable respect for elders, rooted in the worship of ancestry:
"the older generation don't think we are a bunch of misfits. We have to respect them however because it is in our culture to respect the elder and the deceased. I don't think it is right, for example, an older person will get paid more that a younger person who works harder and has better talent and skills. It's unfair"
I even met a girl who was so controlled by her parents, she actually spoke like them, disapproving her school peers as misfits.
"I just like wearing an ordinary pullover and jeans when I study at school. I don't like the way that some architect students wear strange clothes to express their unique style . I can express myself by good result of studying, that's the right way to be cool"
So what’s the point of all this?... Well, there is a massive tension between the old and the new generation, which I believe will be a jackpot for the first brand that taps into it:
In summary:
The old generation want their kids to b successful and avoid living a life of struggle and despair that they lived.
The younger generation want to be in the modern and connected world of transforming cultures and mindsets.
Their parents don't understand them. And they don't understand their parents.
It's a massive misunderstanding. Because at the end of the day they both love each other and want happiness. They just both have two contrasting views on how to get to happiness.
What can brands do?
Show youth not as misfits but a young, talented and hardworking lot.
Remind youth of their parents hardships help them understand them.
Find a way of releasing the pressure for both.
