Chapter One: The First Global Generation

Where does this representative of global youth culture live? (Hint: Not in the West.)

I’m cool and awesome. Megan, 11, f, California

I’m not a citizen of France. I am a citizen of the world.

Rene, 11, m,I Am Eleven documentary (2014)

Adults should know the kind of world teenagers nowadays live in. We get exposed to so many different things that my parents would probably want to protect me from. It’s too late. I’ve seen people having sex on TV, I’ve heard my friends doing it with their boyfriends, I’ve seen violence and gunshots from TV, I’m friends with lesbians and bisexuals, my best friend is what my family would call infidel, I’m on various social networking sites, I’ve been bullied and made stupid mistakes. Adults shouldn’t pretend that their children are still living in a world of innocence, for the exposure we get from our environment is far from naïve. They shouldn’t even think about “protecting” us from these things. What they should do is guide us through this insane world and be with us all the time. If they don’t, then the rest of our environment will become our definition for life. Diandra, 15, f, Indonesia

I think I was destined to help people around me feel peaceful. I enjoy listening to my family members and friends if they need to release emotion. And I feel like I reach the best in me when protecting someone or something like animals.

Khue, 16, f, Vietnam

We believe to change society, we need not our words to appeal to politicians, but to use activism to pressure them.40

Joshua Wong, 17, m, Hong Kong student activist

The spread of the “American Dream” among youths has become so widespread that many countless people have been influenced by it in one way or another. Watching American shows, listening to American music, conversing in American slang, has become the norm worldwide. Roohi, 17, f, Singapore

The global culture is kinda more prevalent and stronger in comparison than local culture. Hence that shapes up as a dominant force.  Hassan, 23, m, Pakistan

A society that cuts itself off from the youth severs the lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death. Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General

Contents: Youth Characteristics; Academic Ageism; Get to Know Eva, Abel, Sahar and Yuan; Glocal Hybrid Youth Culture; Global Media Influence, Global Tends Shaping Our Future; How Youth Will Change the Future

                  Youth Characteristics

How do we fo