Youth culture in Singapore (Lah!)

On the surface, Singaporean youth are identical to their peers anywhere else in the world – they love to hang out with friends, listen to music, go pub hopping, let their hair down in a disc, create their own identity (distinct from their parents) and ‘be cool’. However, dig a level deeper and one begins to notice significant cultural differences with their global counterparts.

The youth culture in Singapore has historically been fashioned by two essential principles –

The first is an underlying Confucian awe for the authorities. There is a tacit acceptance that the Government knows best. And this awe / acceptance results in a natural ‘apathy’ to most issues. Hence most expressions of dissent and rebellion (that are so crucial for social change) seem to be rather repressed or even absent in Singapore.

The second is an acute realization of their “smallness”. After all, they are surrounded by powerful big-brother neighbors and have very few genuinely home-grown role models to speak of. Notice the almost desperate celebration of every minor victory / difference of the Singaporean. The result of this - they are swayed and buffeted by trends that happen “internationally”. As an illustration, in a recent survey, Singaporean youth preferred Black Eyed Peas as their most favourite music group! Another one - the Sing Fest 2008, a local music festival, featured Alicia Keyes as the lead singer!

In sum, this is a not-so-confident local culture that justifies itself through the garb of economics. You just have to go to the nearest shopping mall to see this in action!

However, there are early signals that these two principles – the repression of individual expression and lack of pride in local culture – are changing. Some of this change is being aided by a government that realizes the need to move from a manufacturing / services economy to a creative innovation economy. Some of this change is being driven by the interconnectedness of the youth to their global brethren (through various digital forums – blogs, sites, social networks …). And most importantly, the change is being driven from within – by a blossoming of confidence - stemming from being the first generation to have only seen an economically prosperous Singapore.

What are these early signals? Firstly, there has been a rather self-effacing and humorous appreciation of Singlish - the uniquely Singaporean version of English. Secondly, there has been a steady increase in the production of creative arts – whether it is movies, television serials or even local rock bands. Thirdly, the government is increasingly indulgent and almost approving of individual expression. As an example, the recent censor clearance to controversial scenes of Money no enough 2 (a Singaporean film) made news headlines in the country.

Hence, there is a small but significant section of the youth population that is testing limits of independence and pushing creative boundaries. They are becoming comfortable being in the spotlight. And they are allowing their curiosity to blossom as artists, designers, bloggers and mavericks …

However, large swathes of this population continue to be happy to belong to a society that prides itself for its Victorian values and law abiding nature. They continue to be success / education / work focused. And most importantly, they continue to be reticent of their own individuality