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Serious side to your average Thai teen

Published on Sep 18, 2002 The Nation

Thai teens are not only spending more time chatting on the phone, watching soap opera and game shows, craving brand-name goods and worshipping Britney Spears and Julia Roberts. According to a new study, they are also very much concerned with social issues and their responsibilities in life.

The top five most serious issues are drugs, the economy, the environment, traffic problems and the loss of Thai identity.

The findings are part of a study by the Thailand Marketing Research Society (TMRS) that attempts to understand what characterises teenagers nowadays. The study, "Understanding Thai Teens," analysed the opinions of 1,200 youths 13-18 years old in major cities nationwide between July 20 and August 5. It was presented yesterday at a conference at the Imperial Queen's Park hotel before 300 people.

"Thai teens are not getting worse [in their behaviour] like many believe. The study shows that Thai teens are well aware of what's good and bad. The way they perceive things is quite all right," said Dr Rawewan Prakobpol, a study fellow and vice president of TMRS.

The study found that most of the 1,200 respondents had serious concerns about damage to the environment from pollution and garbage. Other common worries for teens are traffic congestion in cities, violation of traffic regulations and loss of their Thai identity from foreign influences.

Regarding attitudes towards roles and responsibilities, the study found that Thai teens believe in sexual equality, agree that children should be responsible for taking care of their parents, and say that the people who understand them best are their parents.

While schools and parents are fighting hard against premarital sex among late teens and young adults, the majority of the respondents in the study were strongly opposed to sex before marriage.

"Virginity is very important. Women should wait until they're married," according to the study.

To understand Thai teens clearly, the researchers put them into four categories. Of 1,200 respondents, 28 per cent are those who were labelled Liberal, 27 per cent are Individualists, 25 per cent Follower/mainstream, and 20 per cent are Image seekers.

Liberal teens welcome differences in people, feel free to be open about sexual issues and are adventurous. Individualists are not influenced by expensive goods, brands, Western values or advertising. Those in the Follower/mainstream category will avoid taking a leading role and seek acceptance by their friends. Image seekers will be influenced by their peers and advertising and emphasise the value of people's family backgrounds.

Though the characterisation of Thai teens was clearly defined, teens are still in a transitional period in their lives.

"Some findings conflict just because they [the respondents] are still searching for their identity and something they want to adhere to," said Dr Kreaovan Limapichat, TMRS adviser and veteran market researcher.

According to the study, teens spend about three hours a day talking to friends during the week and about five hours watching TV on weekends. They spend 1.7 hours a day on homework mid-week but less at weekends.

Another trend is for Thai teens to make money working at temp jobs. About 27 per cent of the respondents work part-time and earn an average of Bt2,422 a month, while 25 per cent make Bt1,025 a month working as sales agents. They spend an average of Bt1,870 per month, says the study.