Consumerist Culture of Young Generations in Malaysia free essay sample

Malaysia is considered an upper-middle income county and will soon become a developed country in the near future. As of the development of economy, the consumption habits in the younger generation shows some very different characteristics from their parents’ generations. The objective of this study is to explore the transmissions of such consumerist cultures among the youths in Malaysia. In this study, our researchers investigate how cultural symbols are conserved through its core values by collecting the young people’s ideas, attitudes, and beliefs about the various cultures of material consumption portrayed or adopted, and how the young generations in Malaysia challenge the patterns of their own culture. Purposeful sampling strategy (Given, 2008) was used to select participants who have been exposed to the consumerist cultures in Malaysia, so as to analyze how their immediate environment affects and relates to them. A qualitative method of research was used, and interviews were conducted with the participants. Participants were identified customers in Bangsar Village, the high-end shopping mall in the very metropolitan city of Kuala Lumpur’s upper class estate regions, and the researchers had face to face interviews with these participants. 2. Current Situation in Malaysia As Malaysia’s markets which cater for consumer demands and habits are rapidly growing, and population and commercial growths are increasing drastically, the consumption habits have also been changing constantly in the purchasing power of the population, especially youth-oriented consumerism (Noor, 1996). Some reasons result in the evolution of consumption habits in Malaysian youths. One reason is the increasing level of wealth, where young people enjoy spending freedom and choice, either through the contemporary luxury of receiving allowances from their parents, or start working by an early age, either as a part-time or full-time employee. Another reason is, more and more young people are receiving higher levels of education, and as a result, they can earn higher salaries when they graduate, and also learn of the different consumption cultures from during their study. One of the most influential effects is the mass media, such as the internet and the television, which has played an important role in shaping the young generation’s consumption attitudes (Noor, 1996). Western consumerist cultures have deeply influenced the beliefs of the Malaysia youths, thus they have become more westernized and this influence is not just happening in Malaysia, but globally as well (Singhapakdi et al, 1999). However, comparing Malaysian to other western cultures such as in that in the United States, Singhapakdi et al (1999) suggests that there is a difference, either in terms of self-congruence, or that of cultural learning. It is believed other countries such as neighboring Singapore and Indonesia, have been adopting the similar western habits and cultures for quite some time. A consumerist’s general view of life can be described as consuming is a good thing, and the more consumption, the better (Dwyer, 2007). Therefore, there are no forms of ethnocentrism detected from the youths interviewed. The population of young Malaysian consumers under 25 years old reached about 43% in the whole of Malaysia in 2003 (Pricewaterhousecoopers, 2004). Therefore, this gigantic group of potential consumers is becoming the target of many marketing and promotional efforts (Koehn, 2007). Merchants and marketing professionals have used various methods and ways to influence and brainwash the younger generations into believing in their goods from the very early stages of life. The research is an effort to give a rudimentary insight on the consumerism activities among Malaysian young people. The Core Values of Consumerist Culture Consumerism is defined as â€Å"believing that happiness is based on what you consume† (Plato Volunteer Class, 2007). The young people who are influenced by today’s consumerist cultures have an obviously different opinion from their parents’ generations’ consumption habits. Some of their parents have faced hardships in life, particularly during childhood and youth, compared to today’s life of young people where many are over-privileged and even spoilt for choices of luxurious goods (Noor, 1996). Parents tend to think more about sustainability, which according to Plato Volunteer Class’s interpretation, is described as â€Å"working to meet the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to eet their needs† (pp. 2). Sustainability is made up of three main factors: social, environment, and economics. Hence, these parents are considered to be quite thrifty; they tend to have the mentality of â€Å"saving money†. Socially, our research found that youths nowadays tend to look to their idols for shared interests and self-images . Environmentally, there is an influx of international cultures around Malaysia, where internationalism, which according to Klein (2002) and Jain (1989), affects today’s minds through globalization and localization strategies. Whereas economically, it is only normal that our current economy is rather well-off, where working adults can afford many of the branded goods and items published portrayed in stalls and advertised in the media. In families where the condition of life is better, parents would like to spend on more luxurious things such as furniture, electronic gadgets, comfortable and classy transportation, and investments in safer and healthier housing estates, citing an importance towards comfort and safety. Marketers who see this will utilize buyer’s sense of importance towards materials, and portray an item as a daily necessity (Klein, 2002). The more there is a need for an item, the better it is to publish it using methods of appeal, such as using actors and famous names to portray the item (Koehn, 2007). However, many analysts suggest this is only a method of advertisement, and many youths nowadays are affected by their idols to buy goods which they in fact do not need, or already have; hence, the younger generation today are likely to be seen as taking for granted the basic needs required, and focusing more on narrow lines of goods (Koehn, 2007). Surprisingly, one interviewee mentioned the need to identify needs instead of wants, and quoted a phrase that was exposed to him, â€Å"when you keep buying things that you do not need, one day you will have to sell off the things you need†. This is the perfect example of over-spending on unnecessary items, until one day when we least expect it, we are faced with financial difficulties, and we are in need of cash; the only way to get cash is to liquidate our possessions and properties that we own (Cairns, 2006). Self-control, Item Pricing and Consumerist Behaviour Young people think they should spend money on anything that they like if the stuff is comfortable to them, citing a type of Hedonist culture within the community. Going shopping and looking for things they liked is a break for them to relax when they are stressed. At least spend a little bit, after spending they will feel happy. One of the interviewed participants, James Liu, mentioned that he is enjoying his consumerist habits. His consumerist style isn’t too luxurious, but he is fond of buying his idols’ albums, posters and magazine. The reason for such consumerist habits is because he is very passionate in supporting idols. The idols are a part of his life, and he feels a connection with them whenever he hears the music, and sees them in the media. He enjoys his consumerist style, although it is quite different with the consumerist habits of his family members who are thrifty, as he finds that his consumerist style brings him happiness and entertainment. This shows that many young, and not to exclude, even older, consumers, enjoy the habit of spending on their interests if it brings them pleasure and productivity, without compromising their financial situation (Cairn, 2006). Hence, they think it is worthy for them to spend their money in that way as they enjoy what they are doing now. Markus is another Malaysian student and part-timer won’t spend too much on luxurious things but branded stuff. He has such consumerist habits because he believes that branded stuffs have high quality and they can be used for a longer time. Since his family members are quite thrifty but most of his friends are heavy consumerists, we found that his consumerist habits swing between being thrifty and luxurious. He tries not to spend so much money on some items but he does buy branded stuffs. However, we found that his parents play a bigger role on affecting his consumerist habits than his friends. Although he will buy branded stuff, he will try hard to control his spending and he tries to follow his parents to make a budget on buying branded stuff. Besides that, in the interview, he had mentioned several times that he won’t follow the trend as he thinks that trend will cause people to spend a lot. This shows that a significant number of youths nowadays enjoy spending money, not just for their needs, but for reasons of self-indulgence as well. One final participant brings into perspective the consumerist cultures around Jie Si, which is of luxury and comfort, but she has her own opinions. Although she sometimes agrees to her family members’ and friends’ willingness to spend on luxurious things, Jie Si’s has started to budget her expenses. She has such change because of her own experience. Her past experience of owning too many unnecessary items has caused her to be careful and good at identifying her needs. Items that are reasonable, and a habit of saving up for that particular item, are how she participates and carries out her styles as a consumer. Furthermore, she finds it has an indirect motivation for her to do something from buying and spending on an item. For example, she will feel like jogging often when she buys a pair of new running shoes. This serves to support Dwyer’s (2007) position on why people feel a sense of satisfaction and urge to spend on things, but only if that interest can be sustained for a long period of time. Many people spend heavily at one moment for things which they need, but only to see that that need is a temporary one, and there are many other alternatives to approach and deal with that need (Dwyer, 2007). Peer influence applies a vicious effect towards consumerist behaviours as well. For example, an interviewee mentioned that he was actually being looked down and laughed at by his friends from school, for not buying the latest set of stationery and textbooks for school. This shows that peer pressure does have a slight effect on forcing someone to spend on things just because they do not want to be left out of the pack (Koehn, 2007). Most of those young people know how to control themselves because they are considered teenagers and not working adults fully supporting their own lives. They see their parents work so hard and give their money to spend for daily expenses which come from their own pockets, so young people try not to spend so much of their parents’ money but spend according to their own savings and salaries. They still try to find discounts and bargained goods if they feel the items desired are overpriced. Because of the large gap between theirs and their parents’ generations’ consumption ideas, some of them rarely get support from their parents on buying things. Young people do manage their budget. They just get pocket money from parents. They save money before getting the new item. They won’t buy it that they can’t afford it. They try their best to earn money to support their habits by taking part time jobs. They want to learn to spend their own money and control their budget. Sometimes they think they should follow their parents’ habits, by not spending so much so often. Since students are studying at same time, they have to pay a lot of money for their school fees. Some of them applied for government education loans, as it helps them settle their school fees problem. That ay they will get to spend on things they urge, without feeling worried or guilty about their financial situation with education. The younger generations think their ideal culture is one that does not follow trend but follow one’s own comfort and sense of worth, while hoping their parents will support and follow their consumerist habits. They also hope their parents spend money on anything that they like. But the reality is their parents spend money on basic needs rather than on the things that they desire. However, in today’s society, the older generations are learning to accept the social and economic changes spreading across the globe. Compared with previous times where people earn very little and there are very few brands available in the market, today’s society is filled with branded goods, and any products which do not have a catchy name or sound to it, will eventually be written off and condemned into the abyss (Sirsi et al, 1996; Alden et al, 1999). When young people spend quite a lot of money on branded stuffs, their parents used to protest against their willingness to buy these expensive stuffs. At same time they know that young generation’s consumerist culture is different from them. Young people try to change their habits. Analysis Consumption behaviour among Malaysian youths shows inconsistent and irregular patterns – they depend on brands and idols to help them identify and relate to an item or material. Some products depend highly on advertisement and marketing forms, while others are influenced and transmitted through peers and trends. There are some who emphasize on the need to feel comfort and satisfaction, where they like to buy branded stuff because they think most of the branded stuffs tend to be of higher quality and are more comfortable to wear. Moreover, branded goods tend to last longer. However, many also follow the consumer habits of their parents and surrounding friends: if they feel it is necessary, I will too. Expert guidance is always preferred to individual reviewing of materials and goods. Youths usually enjoy spending a lot of money on expensive food, branded stuff such as clothes, shoes, computers, phones, and fund other interests such as albums, posters and magazines of their singers or movie star idols. Youths adore their idols because they feel that when they are in a bad mood, the songs can bring them positive energy and feel relaxed and appy. Like their friends, young people buy original version and are against the pirated version, as they think this is the real support to their idols. The consumption habits of today’s youths are affected by the western culture because of the easy access to information from today’s forms of media (Sirsi et al, 1996), which emphasize a lot on the importance of brand. Sirsi et al (1996) also mentioned that intracultural variation (between experts and novices) have an important effect on consumerist habits and beliefs. Also, influences on their consumer habits come from family members and peers as well. Within the family, parents are the sole consumerists, and an example of their buying power and pattern will be transmitted toward their children. However, some youths disagree with their parent’s spending habits, and wishes for more flexibility; hence, they work to earn and spend on their own, that way their parents will have little or none to say about their behaviours and beliefs. Conclusion The results of the survey are helpful in identifying and stratifying the consumerist cultures of Malaysian youths, in addition to increasing our understanding of their consumerist ideas, attitudes and beliefs. The results indicate that the young generation of Malaysia prefer in pursuing pleasure by consuming. It is clear for all to acknowledge the differences seen between the consumption habits of the older and younger generations; the latter are often criticized by their elders for the voluptuous consumptions. Our report shows different sides of the youth’s consumption habits. Although they are very eager to own goods live trendy lifestyles, some of them understand their parents’ labor in raising a family. However, the urge to spend is much stronger, and they tend to foresee what their parents have gone through during their age, and how the satiation was then. Parents tend to be more cautious when they spend, bearing in mind the financial burden they have now, and before. Hence the children try their best to reach goals on a more independent scale, ideally without parents’ help, and sometimes even their knowledge, because they do not want their parents to worry or have a say.