With traditional milestones of success gone and suboptimal living conditions for most, Asian Gen Z is living with a deep sense of numbness and disillusionment. When the world is out of your control, the best way to fight back is to survive and thrive on your own terms or embrace the chaos.
Awakened to new uncertainties post-pandemic, young people in Asia are charting a new global order. To better understand this new world and the cultural codes that drive Asia’s Gen Z, Virtue, Vice Media’s global creative agency, conducted a major research project leveraging insights from Vice Media’s global community of 40,000 young people across Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, India and Japan, as well as its network of journalists and content creators.
Speaking about the research and its implications for advertisers in Asia, Hui-Wen Tou, Head of Strategy, Asia Pacific, Virtue said, “It’s an exciting time for young people in Asia – quirkiness and irreverence are generating new hope and optimism and driving positive efforts towards change, all while having fun. Brands must rethink their strategies and elevate quirkiness as the superpower of this new generation, embracing mischief and harnessing the soft power of joy, humour and entertainment to drive change by challenging the status quo.”
Campaign Asia Pacific conducted an early look at the study and came up with several key findings.
Being weird is now a virtue
In a world that is chaotic, rather than being paralyzed, overwhelmed or destroyed by chaos, young people are embracing the wonderful, strange and absurd. The appeal of the outlandish and unconventional has never been greater. More than eight in ten young people in Asia Pacific say that “weird is normal,” while six in ten say that “normal is weird.”
Harnessing the power of the weird and the absurd through art, technology, fashion and culture, amplified by social media, Asian Gen Z is navigating a new world order where the courage to embrace uniqueness is celebrated and breaking traditional norms is seen as essential to individual freedom. This generation embraces strangeness, eccentricity and quirkiness as the ultimate mark of authenticity.
Young provocateurs with the most outlandish ideas are stirring up the mainstream: in Kitakyushu, Japan, a traditional coming-of-age ceremony showcases theatrical costumes with fur coats and rainbow-dyed hair, while in China, art depicting a grotesque superhero riding a chariot made from a human pelvis is making waves in mainstream culture.
#weirdgirlaesthetic is a wild, maximalist style that knows no rules and has racked up over 8.2 million views on TikTok. In South Korea, Gen Z is giving Jesus the pop idol treatment on his birthday and creating new Christmas traditions in quirky ways, setting up photo booths, taking out bus ads and printing merch.
Fetishes are now becoming mainstream: Japan’s Zentai community (where people wear skin-tight bodysuits that cover the entire body, including the head) is embraced by people from all walks of life as a form of stress relief and self-actualization, while informal conversations about foot fetishes in India suggest a culture that accepts the proclivities as normal.
This strange trend has also taken over the internet: #dreamcore (4 billion TikTok views) uses elements of our childhood to create a surreal, unsettling mood, while #sludge content (23 million TikTok views) is a multi-frame video that brings together unrelated footage in response to society’s never-ending thirst for stimulation.
Brands should think about how they can navigate the chaos and create entirely new, strange worlds. The strange and surreal fuel this generation’s desire for the unique and the unusual.
Softness is power
In 2023, feminism has been rewritten and Asian youth have cast aside the stereotypes of what a modern feminist should be. This year is all about leaning into femininity and using softness to your advantage.
From what they wear to what they eat for dinner, women are abandoning traditional notions of power and control in favor of uninhibited authenticity. In fashion, #balletcore and #coquette have taken TikTok by storm, with ultra-feminine style becoming a way for women to unapologetically have fun and be themselves, a shift away from the androgynous style of “girlboss.” Prioritizing self-care over the hustle and bustle of 996 culture, women have embraced #snailgirl and #girldinner without shaming the reality of the female experience.
This furthers the evolution of feminism, where women do not need to adopt masculine forms of power, but rather that embracing girlhood is a strength.
Brands can capitalize on this cultural code by promoting hyper-femininity as the new definition of modern, progressive Asian womanhood, highlighting the strengths of hyper-feminine women and helping them realise that softness can be their superpower.
Disrespectful Resistance
Waking up to a new precarity in the post-pandemic world, Asia’s Gen Z is abandoning its optimism, realizing that the world won’t be saved by grandiose rhetoric and lofty goals. Eschewing a grandiose display of hopeful altruism that feels neither true nor sustainable, they are protesting the way the world is through a unique kind of irreverent resistance that’s unashamedly practical.
Disillusioned with reality yet loyal to their purpose, Gen Z isn’t ready to give up. They’re abandoning pretentious idealism for unashamed realism. Six in 10 young people in Asia Pacific say having a sense of purpose in life is essential to their well-being, but they’re also arming themselves with creativity to respond to the big problems around them with a playful, rebellious attitude — a more liberating and authentic response than an unnecessarily stilted and performative one.
Brands can leverage this cultural code by recognizing that this generation isn’t receptive to big talk and lofty ideals. Instead, they focus on the small, real-world impact that individuals can have to create a better world for themselves and the communities around them.
Empathy Technology
Asian technology has leapt beyond reality to imagine a better future, vastly improving the quality of life in just a generation.
New technologies that enhance humanity and foster empathy are helping us better connect with ourselves and others through bots, avatars and personalized apps. 31% of young people in Asia agree that AI will provide therapy for them within 10 years, and 62% agree that AI will manage their social media within 10 years.
With technology seamlessly integrated into our lives, a new generation of young people is exploring how technology and humanity can coexist harmoniously. The ultimate goal is not to explore alternative universes, but to find ways to feel more alive in our current reality, to sense and experience the world around us in richer, more immersive ways than ever before.
In a traditionally emotionally repressed environment, young people in Asia are turning to technology to reach deeper into themselves, unpack complex emotions and previously undiscussed themes, and discover a richer sense of self. Digital natives are closing themselves off from connection and turning to experimental technologies and experiences.
Brands should consider how they can enhance technology that restores humanity and explore technologies that allow us to experience the world in a deeper and richer way.
Power has shifted to the fandom.
In an increasingly divided world, fandom has replaced traditional social structures and transcended geographies and demographics. Fandom’s creativity, resourcefulness, passion, and dedication are a force to be reckoned with. What has changed is that power has shifted from celebrities to fans. Fans today determine the success or failure of celebrities, and their cultural influence reaches far beyond the celebrity world.
Gen Z sees fandom as a big part of their identity and self-worth, and this transcends their favorite celebrities or organizations. The power of fandom can be attributed to the deep connections these communities have with one another and the role it plays in creating a sense of self and belonging.
93% of young people in Asia Pacific say fandom is a form of escapism, a way to have fun, block out the noise and escape bad news, while 66% say fandom helps them make connections, find friends and gives them a sense of belonging.
Fans make or break celebrities. They drive the success of their stars by organizing listening and hashtag parties and investing heavily in albums and merchandise. But fans also stand on their own beyond celebrities, championing their own causes and pushing their own initiatives: Fandom has donated to schools, and a Thai tuk-tuk business has survived during the pandemic thanks to crowdfunded birthday signs from fans.
This shift in power can also be devastating for celebrities. Fans today are political and active, ready to take a stand whenever necessary, even if it means standing up to the bad behavior of their favorite celebrities.
Brands should celebrate the creativity of their fans and create demand by making their products and experiences rare. If fan culture is internal, brands should think about how to give fans access to the brand.
