Gen Y: Savvy consumers or just dressing the part?
Elaine, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Unless you are a hermit living far from the favored teen hangouts of a mall, cafe or club, you must have noticed that today's young people bear little resemblance to the simple, immaculately turned out youngsters of yesteryear.
Ad agencies certainly have woken up to the facts: Teens are perhaps the biggest and most profitable market for eager clothing and consumer goods companies. They're fashionable, knowledgeable and, most importantly, powerful in making their spending choices.
Today's teenagers not only follow trends, they also dictate them -- just look at how hard celebrities have to work to please their fan base.
In the past decade, boutiques catering to the young and also those young at heart have sprouted up in Jakarta, offering the latest in clothing and accessories.
If we look at the burst of teenage creativity that marks local cinema or the music industry lately, it is difficult not to note that most have been inspired by trends in Western culture.
Piercings and tattoos, although with historical and cultural links to this region, have become mainstream. Skirts are getting shorter and necklines continue to plunge. Morality is not the issue here.
While there will always be people who associate certain unconventional decisions with bad morals, many have also begun to understand that having a piercing or a tattoo does not mean that one is a budding or full-fledged thug. Once the lame stereotypes have been discarded, the concern then revolves around whether the kids are truly aware of the choices that they make.
If a mature young adult decides to have a tattoo after careful consideration, no one should really stand in his or her way because it is only natural that everyone be allowed to express themselves any way they want. But what if a 13 year old wants to start wearing thongs after watching some show on TV?
When 16 year olds proudly parade their cleavage, can we safely assume they exercise their brains as well? While there is certainly no doubt that today's teenagers are more mature than their Gen-X predecessors, are their attitudes equally progressive?
Are they truly educated, powerful individuals or do they just look the part?
In this media-saturated, Internet-driven era where everything is available at the click of a mouse, teenagers have become more savvy and selective with their choices. If there is any overarching trend, it's individuality -- no one wants to look like everyone else in the group.
While this certainly reflects the confidence and self- assuredness that characterize teenagers nowadays, the extent to which this appearance mirrors the inner workings of these kids' minds is ambiguous.
Tiara, a 18-year-old broadcasting student at Jakarta Arts Institute in Central Jakarta, admits she is still somewhat overwhelmed by the look of today's teenagers.
"I often find myself puzzling over how fast these kids grow and become mature. They wear much more revealing clothes, full make-up, sky-high platforms. They're also less concerned with rules of propriety. While it is great that they have become more expressive, I'm guessing that their appearance is motivated more by peer pressure than their own initiative. Part of it is also due to exposure to Western culture, I think," she said.
Tiara is a little different from the typical youngsters that we see in malls. When I approached her for an interview at Cilandak Town Square in South Jakarta, she was wearing jeans and a modest crewneck shirt. Her face was not covered with compact powder or pink eye shadow but she was checking out an accessories stand.
She explained she was there to watch Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai -- because she needs to write an analysis of the movie for one of her classes.
"I don't really hang out at malls or cafes that much. I usually just go out to eat and watch movies. I rarely shop. My monthly expenditure is normally around Rp 200,000. I stay at home a lot."
When asked about her attitude towards sex, Tiara calmly explains she is quite open about it.
"I am personally quite strict about not having sex before marriage but I won't judge others who have committed premarital sex. It's their business. Anyway, it's no longer such a taboo thing to do. I'm guessing that perhaps 10 percent to 20 percent of the students on my campus have already done it."
How about homosexuality?
"I'm OK with the idea but if one of my friends were to tell me that he or she is gay, I would probably maintain some distance for a while. I don't think that I will feel comfortable around a gay friend just because I don't really know much about him or her. I won't refuse to be friends with him or her but I'll still maintain some distance."
Nita, a 16-year-old student at Sekolah Pelita Harapan, has a different lifestyle from Tiara.
"After school, I usually don't go home immediately. Maybe I'll go to malls to have lunch with my friends or just to browse around to see what's new. I shop a lot. Shopping makes me happy. It makes me feel good knowing that I can buy the hippest stuff. Most of my friends share my hobby so we all enjoy spending time together."
When asked about her hobbies, she confidently replied: "I surf the Internet a lot to check out product catalogs or celebrity gossip, just to keep myself updated. I also like to read. I read mostly chic literature just because they're fun and entertaining, not too heavy. Sometimes I play billiards at places like Gardu (Taman Ria Senayan, Central Jakarta), depending on my mood," Nita said.
"I'm pretty open about sex. A lot of people are. It's not a moral issue anymore. My friends and I talk about it, sometimes make jokes about it but it's still quite a distant topic. We see and hear about it everywhere but I personally don't know much about the details. I just know I'm not disgusted by it."
"Homosexuality? I'm quite intrigued by gay figures on TV. They seem funny. I'll be friends with a gay person, it's not a problem but as of right now I'm still not comfortable seeing images of homosexuals kissing. I watched Arisan! (Gathering) the other day and to be honest, I find some of the scenes quite disturbing.
It's one thing watching tender moments between a girl and a guy, but it's a completely different thing witnessing a tender moment between two guys."
It is simply an impossible task for anyone to try to chart the dynamic between one's outward appearance and inner intellect, but at least one can feel relieved knowing that not all of today's teenagers are impressionable and gullible. There will always be those who succumb to peer pressure but then again, not all fashionistas are fashion victims.
My trip to several of the city's top independent boutiques proves the teenage market remains a tough nut to crack. Department stores just don't appeal to them anymore.
The success of these boutiques shows that teenagers nowadays have increasingly grown to value the self. While this philosophy has also become a trend among teenagers, it is nonetheless a start for these youngsters to begin their journey towards finding their own true identity, separate yet integrated within the larger social scheme.