More youths with liberal views emerging: survey

SINGAPORE: Some 400 businessmen and marketing professionals learnt what makes Singaporean youths tick at MediaCorp’s inaugural Youth Shout Day.

The findings of a survey of more than 1,000 youths between the ages of 12 and 29 were presented.

The survey was commissioned by MediaCorp and conducted by TNS, a market insights and consultancy firm.

39 per cent of those surveyed said they conform to societal norms.

Many in this group aspire to own a property and car and get a good job that pays well.

Another 28 per cent surveyed say they believe in the freedom of expression, rights of others and are open to learning about and working with other cultures and races.

The majority of youths surveyed are frequent users of online media, with 81 per cent of them saying they feel that they are always connected to the internet.

Participants also heard from students from polytechnics and junior colleges, who shared their views on topics close to their hearts, such as volunteerism and online gaming.

"We want to be deeply engaged with the youths, to understand them better, to give them a forum to express their views, and ultimately) we want to create content that’s relevant to the youths today," said Moses Lye, the head of youth engagement in MediaCorp.

"In the near future, MediaCorp (will be) developing digital initiatives, that would create content in the digital space, around the areas of music, games and social engagement."

One of the participants, Canon Singapore’s director of marketing, Mr Edwin Teoh, 43, felt that the event took a "dramatic and different approach" to reach out to youths.

He said: "I think for the youths of today, they are a bit more sophisticated. From a marketing perspective, it is no longer good for us to just push our advertising messages to them, but we need to engage them in a more subtle way. It’s really about the brand experience that they have with us. I think that’s how we will look at crafting our messages for them in future."

— CNA/xq