Mei-Mei Song

To Be Young! Conference, Turku, Finland June 6 h -8 th , 2012
Mei-Mei Song
Graduate Institute of Futures Studies
Tamkang University, Taiwan

Stereotyped images of future jobs
What’s missing: hopes
What’s missing: fears
“Picture-perfect” images of family
Media-driven images of the future
Almighty images of technology
Disconnected images of the future
Personal – local – global
Personal – local

Litany
Strawberries
Tech-savvy
Instant gratification/short attention span/multitask
Systems
Societal change
Worldview
Myths

Much widened access to higher education
Instant access to the global world through the a
variety of venues
Freedom and democracy in political and social
arenas
Overall affluence in the society

A halt in economic growth
Rapid collapse of the environment
The re-organization of the world’s economic and
political orders
Widening gaps in wealth distribution
Plummeting birth rates/ageing population
Changes brought upon by fast-developing
technology
Position in globalization
The accelerating speed of change
Confucius society

How do younger generations see the future and
why?
How do younger generations see themselves in
relation to the society and why?
How do they perceive the changes taking place
today and how the changes affect their views of
the future?

10 one-on-one semi-structured in-depth
interviews
Aged 21 to 25
Have lived in Taipei
Gender:
male: 4, female: 6
Occupation:
full-time university students:6
full-time employees /college graduates / < 1year of
work experience: 4

Family/Parents (personal, local)
School/Teachers (personal, local)
Life experience (local)
Friends (personal)
Media
Personal, local, global
Local: government?

Television news channel↓
Newspaper
Internet
Facebook
Blogs
Heard from others

Not often/Sometimes
Not sure how
Daydreaming
Lack of money
Escape from reality
Pushing oneself to move forward
Near graduation

Insignificance
Screw
Silence
Irrelevance
“It doesn’t affect me and I can’t affect it.”
Too open, too cold, too much technology

Inability to change the society
“I can’t change it.”
“I’m just a student.”
Cloud
Innocence
A bunny in the jungle
Absorbance
Sponge

Young Taiwanese
Litany
Systems
Worldview
Myths

Change of pace
Immediacy
In a hurry
Technology
Convenience but…
Loss of personal space
Family value ↓
Parents overworking

Self-centered
Loss of trust among people
Loss of simple life
Abundance in society, but…
Happiness ↓
Technology for entertainment
Warmth ↓
Technology dependent
Feeling of isolation even together

Freedom of speech↑
Obedience to parents ↓
Prosperity ↑

About life
About work
About education

About life
Working hard vs. time with family
Living with parents
Obedience
Longing for warmth
About work
About education

About life
About work
Public service (iron bowl)
Stability
The job I like?
Money-making
Prestigious
No time off
About education

About life
About work
About education
Practical
Engineering, business management, law, medicine,
etc.
Linear thinking about education
Career choice

Young Taiwanese
Litany
Systems
Worldview
Myths

Thank you for your attention!
song@mail.tku.edu.tw