DDB Mudra Group Releases Youth Report 2013

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CREDITS
Curated by

Samyak Chakrabarty
Chief Youth Marketer
DDB Mudra Group

Editorial Team

Design Team

Harsha Malaney
Vaspaan Dastoor
Aakansha Kedia
Priyanka Krishnan
Aniket Sharma

Unaiza Merchant
Ankush Kale

Neeharika Jaiswal
Simran Hemrajani
Trishla Kothari
Maitri Shah

Sneha Pawar
Divya Unnikrishnan
Devanshi Shah
Anish Gupta

Youth Advisory Board

Karishma Dedhia
Samiha Umbralkar
Suraj Namboodiri
Gargi Gupta

Saurabh Kambil
Rahul Maniar
Inshia Slatewala
Tanzila Merchant

Pratik Gandhi
Roshni Mogal
Sushant Kamble
Nildeep Mondal
Andrew Jacquet
Rohan Cooper
Nihar Palwe

P ra ta p B o s e

Chief Operating Officer, DDB Mudra Group
Dear Industry Colleagues,
As India is set to become the youngest
country by 2020, it becomes inevitable
for brands, right from beers to banks, to
neglect this vital and powerful segment
of our nation - the Youth.

key thought processes and
conversations that lead to form brand
preferences. It focuses on some of
those bevioural aspects of the youth
that remain constant.

A unique aspect of this report is that
while it is ‘about the youth’, it is also
The biggest challenge faced by brands ‘by the youth’. The content has been
collated, structured and designed by a
today lies in the sheer diversity and fast
panel of forty urban 17-25 year olds
paced transformation that takes place
from across Indian metros. This was a
within this age group. Data that is
conscious decision made by us, so as
important, or in today’s term ‘trending’, to ensure the information is raw and
one day, becomes stale and outdated
relevant, and not ﬁltered in any way.
the very next day, even before it is
DDB Mudra Group’s role has been
compiled. This makes it complex to
primarily to curate the data collected
pinpoint what would be the best way to and make this project come alive.
engage with the youth.
Hope you enjoy reading this, as much
At DDB Mudra Group therefore, 'Youth'
as we've enjoyed putting it together
is a mindset and not necessarily only
for you!
deﬁned by age, geography, economic
and social class. This inaugural Youth
Report will give you an insight into the

Samyak Chakrabarty

Chief Youth Marketer, DDB Mudra Group
It all began 6 months ago when I lost a
major business pitch. The client expected us to suggest strategies which
would make their brand ‘cool’ and help
them ‘amplify’ their presence on social.
My argument was that neither a million
likes on Facebook nor ‘sexy creatives’
can translate into sustainable talk
value. Marketers wrongly assume that
quick fixes like celebrity endorsements,
popular lingo, bright colors, fancy design and bombarding social media will
do the trick.
After reading most other reports on
youth behavior, we realized that everyone is just scratching the surface. As
Pratap rightly said, data expires before
even it reaches print. Hence we decided to take a more academic approach which looks at youth beyond
adjectives such as ‘screenagers’, ‘diginatives’ and ‘Gen Y’. We wanted to
present an understanding which is
more permanent and can aid in build-

ing long term brand strategy. The first
and most valuable learning was that
‘Youth’ cannot be defined or boxed into
traditional SECs. I was surprised to see
a 21 year old in Dharavi with the latest
iPhone he bought after moonlighting at
a call centre and another of the same
age living in a Bandra highrise using
Nokia Asha. This set the context for a
break-through in how brands can look
at youth, we arrived at 5 “fluid mindset
archetypes”,an understanding of how a
18-25 year old shapes his/her brand
preferences irrespective of where
he/she lives and earns.
Using this approach our next discovery
was how trend setters become who
they are and how an otherwise unstructured medium – Word of Mouth
can be artificially regulated to ensure
the message effectively trickles down.
The power of “Offline social networks”
is immense and untapped.

The

5

Big
One of the greatest challenges to access the minds of India’s urban young is
to be able to cut through the social, economic and cultural diversities as they
often end up creating confusion. We
were amazed to find students who did
not appear to be able to afford it using
an Apple iPhone VS an obvious SEC A
using the cheapest available handset.
While perhaps it would conventionally
be prudent to assume that (for a 30+
year old) a luxury purchase with a price
tag of INR 30,000 to INR 50,000 would
be a product meant for only the higher
income brackets but such an understanding often fails when it comes to
the Under 25 year olds.

After an exhaustive analysis of complex
spending patterns and brand preference
matrixes, we conclude that it is in fact
impossible to give an exact definition to
‘urban youth’ other than the age. While
adjectives such as ‘Gen Y’, ‘Diginatives’
and ‘Screenagers’ sound exciting, they
are nothing but modern age jargons
used to disguise a lack of a definitive
understanding. Given the increase in
number of influencing factors and
choices – preferences / buying behavior
will always be variable and inconsistent.

One thing which can be said though is
that those born post 1988 are extremely
moody people. At one level they are very
sure of what they want to do in the long
run, but on another there is immense
amount of confusion and parallel
thought flow.
Again it is the number of options available and continuous bombardment of
information through new media to
blame. 9 out 10 decisions are made
based on the prevailing environment
and frame of mind.

Therefore, the route we took is to understand these different and frequent mood
swings to be able to get a better insight
into what factors actually play a pivotal
role in shaping preferences and actual
buying decisions.

Such an approach takes us back to the
basic fundamentals into the workings of
a human mind because it is only that
which remains constant. Tools like
Facebook behavior or current buying
trends will only give a superficial understanding and such information will expire before you even begin to implement
any strategies based on those!

1

What is about to follow in this section
are 5 mindsets (read: mood) which exist
in every Young Indian born post 1988
living in metro cities. Each gets triggered
based on the type of decision and plays
a critical role in influencing choice. What
is most interesting though is that while
these five exist in all, their intensity
varies in different people according to
the product category. This causes people to develop a certain kind of attitude
towards different product categories
which remains constant. So therefore
while A could have a ‘Passionista mindset’ towards Food & Beverages but can
look at gadgets from a ‘Kite mindset’.

This would then also make it easy to
identify influencers amongst peer
groups for brands. For example, someone who is known to have a dominant
‘Label mindset’ would be an influencer
for fashion and lifestyle related purchases. To understand this model better, try a simple exercise after the end of
this part - pick any one brand/product
of your choice (preferably a gadget or an
automobile) and look at it from the perspective of each of these five – you will
notice how youngsters perceive the
same product so differently.

The Passionista

The key words here are ‘instinct’ and
‘emotion’. Someone who transforms
into a Passionista while making decisions would base judgment purely on
feelings often also defying strong logic.
Perhaps this would explain why a guy
who can’t afford something still manages to work hard and gathers resources enough to acquire it. The
driving factor here is essentially the love
or even sometimes obsession for something. Utility takes a back seat. Such a
mindset can be related to products like
mobile phones, automobiles, food and
entertainment. For example we found a
large number of college students who
saved up on about a month’s pocket allowance to be able to buy a 3 day Sunburn Goa ticket in 2012. The strong
craze for Electronic Dance Music fueled
this austerity by which even their middle
class parents were appalled. It has been

found that people who frequently think
from their heart are most loyal to specific brands and will continue their engagement with it despite newer
attractive (and maybe more affordable)
propositions.
This would explain why most youngsters stuck to their good old mobile
service providers despite MNP (Mobile
number portability) becoming a reality,
the churn was way lower than expected
from this age group. Infact this is also
the reason why we think the Apple
iPhone will continue to remain the most
aspirational mobile handset for a very
long time. It’s cousins in this space
would have to something very ground
breaking at a product as well as a brand
level to try and dilute the love youngsters have for it.

2

3

The Racehorse
It’s always about being the first in everything he/she does. Such as state of
mind is active in people who are generally very motivated, aggressive and
competitive in nature. They would buy
the latest pair of shades only with the
intent of being the first one in their
group to posses it or study exceptionally
hard with the sole intent of achieving the
highest rank. Brands / products that
transport them into the top rung are a
huge favorite. Words like ‘exclusivity’,
‘winning’ and ‘limited edition’ are arousing. This also means that many a times
one’s own true desire / choice is suppressed for something that would enable them to cross the finish line first!
Categories like Education, Mobile Handsets, Nightclubs, and Computers etc
must thank this aspect of the buying behavior of certain individuals for creating
initial traction. A racehorse mindset

proves to be the fiercest and demanding
of all consumers as he/she is continuously looking for something new. They
are also extremely powerful influencers
for they are recognized in their peer
groups for being an early adopter across
most product categories. For example,
one would notice that SUVs are extremely popular amongst youngsters in
comparison to luxury sedans of the
same price band. This is because the
overall aura of this automobile type is
fast, strong and dynamic which are also
qualities of a racehorse mindset.
This effect then trickles down the pyramid and other youngsters also start
choosing options like Mahindra XUV,
Renault Duster and Honda CRV over a
Volkswagen Vento, Chevrolet Cruz and
Honda City.

This is perhaps the most superficial side
of a youngster. All decisions are completely based on the badge value of a
product. Unlike someone who thinks
likes a racehorse, here it’s not about
being the first but rather being the
‘coolest’. Making a statement is essential and therefore only those
brands/products will be chosen who enable them to be noticed and be talked
about.

Surprisingly while one would assume
that this would be relevant to largely
women and fashion products – we noticed that even men think like labels
when it comes to computer games, perfumes, cars, alcoholic beverages etc.
Interestingly, a lot of students prefer ac-

The Label

cepting placement offers from companies that have a big brand name even at
the cost of compromising on salary.
And this is not in consideration of future
prospects, but primarily because it’s a
good logo on the business card which
will be shared amongst friends at the
graduation party.
Another finding indicates that 6 out of
10 purchases in such cases are ‘fake’.
One of our respondents stated during a
discussion, “Both the real and fake jeans
are made in China, then why unnecessarily pay a premium as long as the logo
is there!” This also gives an insight that
in general young people are extremely
functional and practical.

The Shiny Disco Ball
If someone thinks like a Shiny Disco
Ball, He / She is an optimist and will be
open to try different things just for the
experience. Being highly exploratory in
nature, they will not critically analyze a
product / brand and will buy it if the decision makes them happy. While one
could draw similarities to being a Passionista, however choices are not based
on love or an emotional connect with the
brand – here feelings are more internal.
Communication that is cheerful and
lively will attract those who generally
wear this frame of mind.

We find that in general, most youngsters
prefer to remain in this state of mind
when it comes to day to day decisions
like recreation and entertainment. In fact
it is also often used as tool to escape
stressful matters. The popular phrase
“YOLO – You live only once” has become a way of living for most college
goers at least for the first two years.
However, this way of thinking is more
applicable to decisions pertaining to living life rather than brands / products at
large.

4

The Kite

5

When someone does not think like a
Passionista, Label, Racehorse or a Shiny
Disco Ball – he thinks like a ‘Kite’. Those
in this state of mind prefer to follow others when it comes to buying decisions.
Each peer group has a trend setter for
different products and the rest become
kites hence would form a majority in
number for any product.
This is either because of their lack of
knowledge about a certain brand/product category or they prefer to be plain
lazy. Kites play an important role in
making something into a mass public
phenomena. However since they do not
display qualities of loyalty or consistency, they can also be the reason for a

brand to completely lose its youth connect. One of the primary reasons why
Blackberry which at one point was the
most popular handset in campuses is
not as much in conversation these days
is because the influencers for it started
reducing and kites therefore started
moving to the new thing that was being
talked about.

You would find that majority of youngsters think in this manner when it comes
to choices like Mobile Handsets, Books,
Restaurants, Travel etc where it is essential to make an informed decision (in
this case, information which an opinion
leader has gathered!).

7

Beauty

Money
LOVE

FaithSex
Substance
As already discussed in the previous section, urban young Indians
do not have a singular decision
making formulae. In order to better
understand their different perspectives to varied situations, we have
filtered the insights into six main
frames which are -Beauty-MoneySexuality-Love- Faith- Substance.
This section is an exploration of
the 6 entities that most acutely influence the actions, choices and
aspirations of urban young India. If
looked collectively, it will reveal
how interrelated they are and the
lives of those born post 1988 are
completely controlled by them.

BEAUTY
“It is amazing how complete is the
delusion that beauty is goodness.”
- Leo Tolstoy

11

The Branded and The Beautiful
The India of small, bustling marketplaces is being slowly, but surely phased
out in an attempt to accommodate the
concept of a ‘Global India’. With the geniuses behind branding cracking the
code to increasing desirability of products with small yet significant symbols
of affiliation, brand consciousness has
taken the front stage. It also makes for
interesting conversations where the
youth love to discuss and flaunt everything they own including sneakers, to increased storage capacities on their MP3
players.

“Haven’t you seen an LV bag? The
whole point of it is to show off the LV
logo. That’s why I’d pay twenty thousand rupees for it. Bags in that size and
colour are all over the place, but what
I’m not going to get off the road is the
logo.” said 23 year old Sonali Patnaik, a
fashion student from New Delhi.

This need to sport brands gets manifested into conversations within young
social circles significantly. Indulging in
a purchase that is outside of that which
has gained social acceptance disqualifies you from the ‘in’ group right away.
One may go to a government run insti-

tution to study but if he/she is carrying
a high end phone from a desirable
brand, he becomes a part of a social circle he would never have otherwise been
a part of. This choice that is out of the
ordinary elevates one’s social status,
and modifies the portrayal of one’s
being.
The wide spectrum of brands plays a
large role in this behavioral pattern of
the youth. For instance, in the sporting
sphere, there exists separate brands
that provide trekking gear, fitness gear
and there’s also one dedicated strictly to
passionate athletes. About ten years
ago, one would have bought a pair of
shoes that served all three purposes.
Similarly, there are brands that provide
‘casual’ Indian clothes and brands that
provide ‘formal’ Indian clothes. Individuals have invariably identified the hierarchy of brands in the market and have
attributed the best qualities to the most
popular and invariably, the most expensive ones. Importance placed on product quality has been slashed, with the
tag becoming a more central aspect.
The localization of the world market in
urban spaces has reduced the proximity

between the consumer and the brand. If
one’s cousin flies down from London
wearing a jacket of a certain brand, it is
no longer aspirational for him/her. Since
they’re now readily available and within
reach of the youth, these goods don’t
have to be specially flown in from
abroad, piggybacking on yet another relative who may be visiting. This extends
to online shopping just as well with ecommerce websites retailing brands
that aren’t yet within our immediate
reach.
Lastly, the soaring sales of certain
brands can be attributed to the kind of
‘image’ they are selling. If a brand is
selling the image of rock-star through
its clothes, their primary market would
be people involved in music and bands.
In essence, brands have started narrowing down their target audiences to make
room for niche product offerings that
this audience is prone to purchasing.
Wearing a certain brand speaks oodles
about one’s personality, so the youth
find expressing themselves through this
variety of brands they sport, a convenient and appealing means of expression.

13

Judge A Book By Its Cover
A continual exposure to the west has
made the Indian youth identify with, and
relate to western ideas of beauty. An
emerging social hierarchy has been
based entirely on looks, with the most
‘good looking’ lot at the top. Having said
that, the expectations from those at the
top of the pyramid are extremely high
too. As one traverses down the pyramid,
sadly, there are higher chances of
him/her getting written off as being average in terms of performance.

Adding to this list of unfortunate findings is the fact that even failure is perceived on the basis of a person’s looks.
‘Ordinary’ individuals are excused from
erring, while someone who otherwise
sports an outstanding personality and
coupled with good looks has to bear the
brunt of an exaggerated failure.
Good looks work as both a boon and a
bane for the urban Indian youth. Individuals are socially conditioned into believing this to be true and thus, instilling
such a sense of judgement amongst the
youth. While the ‘ordinary’ are not ostracized per se, for either an excess of a
few pounds here and there, or for showing up with ugly shoes, this works very

contrastingly for a person blessed with
good looks. He/she is constantly
placed under the scanner to a greater
extent if he/she deviates from a socially
constructed idea of perfection.

The very last repercussion of judgment
based on a social appearance is the
stereotypes that emerge as a result of
this mindset, that tend to get passed on
from generation to generation, thus embedding these thoughts into our very
fabric.

15

Gym = Style > Health
The last decade has been witness to a
steep rise in number of enrollments at
fitness centres, and these mostly constitute youngsters aged between 16 and
28 years. These youngsters are quite
health conscious with steadfast dedication towards working out. Less stressful
jobs and encouraging home environments allow the youth to allot a few
hours every week towards maintaining
their bodies.

A certain personality and image has developed around said fitness centres,
pushing more and more youngsters to
procure a membership so that they can
be ‘in on’ what’s cool too. A rapid increase in the involvement of the youth in
health clubs illustrates that the youth
are becoming more conscious of their
physical appearance. To reinforce this,
gyms also advertise themselves by distributing pamphlets replete with images
of able bodied men and women flashing
broad smiles.
While it may be ‘healthier’ for an overweight person to lose weight, the motive
behind this person joining the gym
would be to fit into clothes from her
favourite brands. Gyms are growing in
popularity because being fit implies
being more desirable. “I need to put on
some weight. That’s why I use the gym.

I think I look too lanky. I don’t like looking younger than I am. It means no girl
my age will be interested in me.” says
Adriel George of Bandra, Mumbai.
“I’d love to carry off a bikini.” boasts 25
year old Yashada, who is a lawyer and a
regular at her local gym.

“I alter all my tuition timings so that I get
the instructor I want, but I never miss
gym, not a single day a week.” said H.
Choksey, a twelfth grade student from
Mumbai.
This rapidly expanding movement of
early interest in health has had other
repercussions as well. Different kinds of
recreational activities have begun to
surface to cater to the youth segment.
On an average, there exists a yoga or
kickboxing instructor within a 2km radius of any locality. The option of a jog
in one's neighborhood park is grossly
simple as compared to a professional
coming home to train you.
The popularity of gyms has also extended to new real estate plans which
are now forced to allocate space for
health centers within societies. The involvement in a health club of some sort
now renders anyone and everyone a fitness expert. This topic now is a com-

mon feature in most conversations and
quick tips about staying fit are commonplace in social gatherings.

The most recent development in this aspect is that about 12% of the youth are
now seriously considering becoming
health instructors. Chartered accountants, assistant directors and even people from hospitality have now grasped
the potential of the health industry and
see a prospective career in it. It is no
longer uncommon to spot a collegemate who studied in your class and has
now settled into a convenient routine of
freelancing as a yoga/meditation
teacher/ 'consultant' in the evenings, or
an economics major teaching salsa at a
studio.
The interest in health has birthed a
whole new segment in the food sector
as well. The steady advancement of the
organic foods industry goes hand in
hand with the boom in the health industry. From nutritional supplements to
natural tonics, herbal oils to green tea,
everything finds a niche in the youngster’s kitchen. The reach of an organic
diet has now spread to cafes and
restaurants that have a whole section
dedicated to healthy food.

17

Facebook Kya Kahega?
Social networking was conceived as a
means to enhance already existing social relationships, to help connect with
people one already knew and to find associations that were lost in the age of
landline-phones and postal services.

Urban society approached this new
platform of connectivity with a lot of enthusiasm, which was most notable
amongst the youth. However, this may
have resulted in a nation full of youngsters who exhibit immense confidence
via their virtual personalities, but not in
reality. The youth has also understood
the magnitude of the effect of a 'social'
profile on the general perception of
him/her, therefore, he/she chooses what
he/she would like to perceived about
him/her. The array of options to customize have rendered the youth free to
upload selective information, conceal
and exaggerate, manipulate and magnify.

“I do commercial work for Bollywood
films all the time. Your run-of-the-mill
item numbers are not uncommon to me.
But there's no way in hell I would upload
that as my own work because I would
really like to showcase my independent

work online, I don’t want anyone to categorize me as a 'Bollywood' producer”',
says Jason D'Souza of Bangalore, a
successful 28 year old music producer.

Virtual access to information has
merged it with all other kinds of information deduced from real life. Social
networks are the new guide-book for the
youth segment - they have begun to
stand for the ‘truth’. One doesn’t need to
explicitly mention their relationship status when a mere profile image can reveal much more than needed.
Sadly, their identities are very closely
associated to their virtual portrayals of
themselves, and these could be drastically different from their real selves,
which again leads to constant misrepresentations of individuals where a person could be perceived to be very
popular based on the likes their profile
picture gets, while in real life, they may
be extremely introverted and friendless
for all practical purposes.

Similarly, if one observes that another
has several friends, they are automatically considered to be social butterfly.
Goes without saying that this friend list

could constitute family, coworkers and
other people one may not have interacted with, but the credibility lent by a
single number is enormous.
An online profile also gauges one's intellect. If a person shares interesting,
knowledgeable information, they are
viewed as the intelligentsia, and people
even go on to assume their educational
backgrounds based on such analyses.

Additionally, redundant information regarding whereabouts of an individual
who one may not be in touch with are
also at display, unlike in the past when
one is only in touch with one’s closest
friends.

MONEY
“Anyone who lives
within their means
suffers from a lack
of imagination.”
- Oscar Wilde

21

Roti, Kapda Aur Macbook
Today’s college graduates and working
professionals in India possess a very
unique, motley set of needs and wants.
Three square meals, eight to ten pairs of
clothes and a comfortable home are essentials that are taken for granted by
this young population, while their list of
needs really begin at a much higher
level. For instance, internet enabled
smart phones are now a bare necessity,
a vital, basic need. The very definition of
bare essentials has now expanded to
accommodate several other objects of
desire that have been promoted from
being wants to being just needs.

Much credit goes to the media for having generated and portrayed these objects, thus elevating their significance in
our lives. The very fundamentals have
been altered because of this change in
perspective.

Therefore, in place of a regular degree
from a government college, one needs
an education abroad to widen his
prospects. In place of a regular pair of
jeans, one needs a fashionable, well-tailored pair from an expensive store to
look good enough.
The needs of an individual stem from

what helps him survive and what makes
him secure. Since a social image is a direct reflection of this individual, he/she
moulds himself/herself in a manner that
aligns his/her true self to their social
self. The hierarchy of needs has now
widened to make room for ‘wants’ just
as well, granting both needs and wants
equal priority.

The paradox here comes into being
when one notices that this inclination to
indulge renders the young individual unable to save and barely able to survive
towards the end of the month, when his
salary is virtually negative. “I can't eat
out for the rest of the month because I
bought a brand new video game and flat
screen television for my room. It's alright, I can eat at home too. Sacrificing
a few hamburgers here and there is not
a big deal.”, said Rahil Kakar, 25 year old
PR Executive from Calcutta, when he
was asked about how many times a
week he likes to eat out in spite of having a hired cook at home.
Having said that, the fact of the matter
remains that youngsters today spend
their money more liberally, contrasting
very starkly with the way their parents

handle the same. The soaring independence in young people today can be explained by the security that they enjoy
from their careers. The obligation to
save and provide for a future family isn’t
felt. Even young married couples
splurge money that’s earned jointly on
these newly defined ‘needs’, with an additional privilege of spending more than
they could have by themselves. It is estimated that 100% of married women
will enroll themselves in the workforce
within the next 20 years, while the figure
stands at 35% at present.

With soaring buying power, and the freedom to spend and consume, the youth
has oversimplified their basic needs,
rendering them commonplace so much
so that simply ‘Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan'
are just not enough.

23

The Substitute Life
In a country which has enjoyed a reputation world over for having survived the
recession because of its meticulous
saving habits, the youth are truly trying
to defy this very image. The fundamentals of saving have drastically changed
across generations. The ratio of expenditure to savings is drastically different
from before; a generous amount having
been apportioned towards expenditure.

The desire for the final benefit from the
end product is far stronger than it used
to be. For instance, one may pick a
cheaper bar to visit, but the desire for a
beer is the driving force behind this, not
the need to call on the services of a bar.
Evidently, expenditures and today’s
‘needs’ have a direct correlation. The
youth adopt short-term saving plans to
maneuvers around their escalated
needs.

Basically, the motive behind saving
money has changed because youngsters don’t mind putting in eighty-hour
weeks to earn bucketfuls of money just
so they can blow it up on grooming
themselves or indulging on expensive
meals. The security and stability the
youth receives from their family is be-

lieved to have spurred this change in
spending habits. Working parents and
increased desirability of products in the
market have been largely responsible in
shaping the youth's spending patterns.

A fluctuation has been noticed in the
graph of the youth's willingness to
spend over the last decade. The value of
money is perfectly understood and the
value of its various barters is understood just as well. What makes this
transaction smooth is that the youth
take immense pride in their ability to
plan and execute. The youth tries to balance their desires by pruning and prioritizing, with their expenses that are
accordingly rationed.
“Cutting down a little is not a problem.”
says Shaili Mehta, a young graduate
from an East Coast University who loves
to dress well and own the best shoes.

Compromise has become a way of life
for the young urban spender: he/she
aims at living life king size, until the very
last penny is spent. The last ten days of
the month maybe spent in utter poverty,
but the first twenty will be spent really
living it up.

In conclusion, the youth of today share
a very objective relationship with money
– while possessing a lot of it will ensure
a smooth, good life, not having enough
is not a situation that they can’t cope
with.

25

The Rise of The Cult
With countless educational institutions
churning out a sea of professionals
every year, the job scene in India has
taken a massive beating. It is not uncommon for a banker to run out of
banks to apply to, to no avail, and for a
science graduate to not find a reputable
teaching or research profession. As a
result, the youth has begun exploring
career options within what we previously perceived to be hobbies. For example, professions like hair styling,
tattooing, performing live (as musicians
or stand-up comedians) have gained
considerable momentum in the last
decade, more so amongst the urban
youth.

Even the parents of this generation of
the young are very supportive and view
such options fairly objectively. This may
have risen from the simplification in
family structures. Nuclear families are
more independent, and open to unconventionality, thus accommodating and
supportive of their child's interest in unusual career choices. Even though they
belong to a generation which placed a
lot of importance on lucrative professions such as engineering or medicine,
they seem to easily grasp the need for

deviant professions too. It can be safely
estimated that the number of people
choosing unconventional professions
will rise from a fourth to more than half
of the urban youth.

While deviant professions were awarded
a cult status previously, today it’s quite
run of the mill, and even sensible to
branch out into niche options. Cult professions are halfway through to assuming the title of 'mainstream'. Initially,
even the society disregarded these professions. However, the truth of the matter remains that several full-fledged
professions have emerged from these
very hobbies.

Not only is it more practical to opt for an
alternative (albeit unusual) moneymaking option, such talent is actually
celebrated and sought after. From good
haircuts to immaculate artwork on one’s
skin, ‘cult’ professions are both encouraged and considered plausible career
options now. Apart from being lucrative
options, these also allow one to live a
life outside of their work since they’re
not restricted by 9-5 corporate jobs. Cult
professions fit perfectly into the slowly
emerging desire for freelance work. Ten

years from now, the corporate structure
indicates that at least 60% per cent of all
work will be outsourced to freelancers.

“I hope to open up my own hair institute
in a few years”, said 25 year old Pratiksha Jain of Juhu, Mumbai who after
working for small hair studios around
the city, has invested in a small set up in
her own home. Similarly, Ruchika Vyas
of Mumbai, who studied fashion journalism in a leading institute in London
and came back to successfully style independent feature films, is now simultaneously running a cookie-business. “It
gets difficult but I’m passionate about
both, my choice of major (fashion journalism) and my hobby- why not invest
my time and potential in both?”
Deviant professions have become an
expression of individuality. Many a successful hair-stylist and baker have
proved that they do not need to fall into
conventional career brackets to taste
success.

27

Grow Me The Money - Now!
“Saving” and cautious spending have
been an integral part of the Indian way
of life. Unlike a few decades ago, there
is always a beeline of wealth management companies offering a plethora of
propositions to multiply ones earnings.
Each one trying to outshine the other,
just like cola companies! One would
then assume that if born in such a time,
the young too would be an important
target market for financial service
providers as they are for mobile handsets, beers, fashion and gizmos.

However in reality, words like ‘Mutual
Funds’, ‘Equities’ and ‘Financial management’ are in the same category as
‘attendance and ‘exams’ - scary! This is
not to say in the least that they do not
understand the value of money; on the
contrary, they understand it best. This is
because they are completely aware
about their needs and wants and understand the magnitude of work that would
be required to fulfill the same.

Nevertheless, their cynicism towards
‘conventional’ saving has much to do
with their short term goals and their
urge to constantly stay in motion and
not stagnate. The youth of today are
hampered by a kind of short-sightedness- an ‘investment’ which requires
them to commit themselves for three or

more years seems bizarre to them. “I
don’t even know if I’ll be here and what
I’ll be doing in one year year from now.”
said Hridaye Nagpal, a young filmmaker
from Delhi, when asked about his views
on long-term fixed deposit schemes.
When a group of fresh MBA graduates in
Mumbai were asked if they do any kind
of research before they make their investments, they responded with an array
of answers:
“I think they’re all the same. All these
private sector banks are out to steal
from you.”
“‘I only trust government schemes; at
least they won’t suddenly close shop
and run off with my money.”
“I do some research about who gives the
best interest rate. But the paper work to
shift from my current bank is too cumbersome.”

Youngsters are in fact up for saving and
doubling their money; but they could not
be bothered to do it themselves. Just as
one gave their ‘Diwali money’ to their
parents to ‘put away safely’, young professionals and college students are
more enthusiastic about trusting a family member or a known broker to handle

their money than dabble in it themselves. “All I had to do was give my broker about five documents; now he calls
me every month and tells me how much
of a percentage I’ve earned on my initial
capital” said Tanay Pais, a graphic designer from Bangalore.

The re-articulation of the word ‘saving’
has much to do with the perspective the
youth adopts to banking schemes. Their
‘saving’ has to do with short term goals
like purchasing a car or taking a long
bachelor’s trip. They are not concerned
with a pension or a retirement plan; the
‘carpe diem’ principle governs the minds
of the youth today so ‘twenty years’
from now is the least of their concerns.
Therefore, what they are looking for really are two key things (a) A product
which reduces the load of their burden
at the same time uses technology to
keep them updated about their money
and (b) information which is provided in
a very relatable and simple style.

SEX
“Sex without love is
a meaningless experience, but as far
as meaningless
experiences go its
pretty damn good.”
- Woody Allen

31

Let’s Do It This Way
Sex has always been misconstrued to
be the most unclean, unholy act by
every rule defining body to date. The
only knowledge that one could gather
would be through hearsay, sex awareness drives in educational institutions
that for all practical purposes commands people to abstain from it, and if
all else fails, parents.

The youth today have the powerful resources at their very fingertips, assimilating information from the internet,
movies, TV shows and even ad films.
Sex has been overtly glamourized resulting with the youth believing only
what they see. Deodorant commercials
exemplify this thought by overplaying
the sex quotient that one gains by simply spraying the deo, a fact that has scientific backing, but who’s asking. Even
condom commercials make the act of
sex seem extremely mysterious and enticing, while the truth of the matter is
that the feeling is all but a natural
human instinct.
The portrayal of sexual relationships
and the politics of intimacy in ‘reel’ life
have trickled into social interactions as
well. As a result, these ad films inadver-

tently end up justifying several kinds of
behavior and choices, such as womanizing and redefining beauty to mean size
zero. Our opinions of sex are undergoing
a radical change, with conflict of ideas
presented to us by our religion on one
hand, and advertising on the other. With
video content consumption on the rise,
youngsters are increasingly aping and
reenacting that which they see on
screen.
The positive influence, however, has
come in from the same medium. With
films and other manifestations and expressions dealing with sex in artistic,
graceful ways, the inquisitive youth has
been exposed and enlightened. The act
is not thought of as a wrongdoing or
anti-religion in any way, anymore,
amongst the youth. On the flip side, sex
is also constantly overplayed and is
thought of as a near inimitable act that
requires perfection of both the mind and
the body.
In conclusion, the youth seeks the story
that media has created around sex. Sex
is glamourized to such a level that the
real act may never live up to the fantasy
in their mind.

33

Spread The Love
For a country only recently released
from the burden of the criminal treatment of homosexuality, the youth is surprisingly
influenced
by
this
socio-political move. The perception of
the LGBT community has transformed
completely over the last five years. Because it was regarded a criminal offence, any indication on the part of an
individual which suggested an alternate
sexuality was countered with severe
stigmatization. At times, the extreme attitudes would result in physical abuse of
the individual. Religious beliefs and
norms of conformity dictated therein
further fuelled this attitude and they
used it as the basis for justifying their
behavior.

When the Decriminalization of Homosexuality Act was passed, it ushered a
new era of awareness and feminist
thought in the country. The youth began
to understand and accept alternate sexuality and opposed homophobia, a characteristic feature subscribed to by the
previous generation. Their common belief lay in respecting personal preferences and not using them as a factor
indicating an individual’s self worth. The
youth’s distaste for communal conflicts
equaled their distaste for homophobia
and regarded it to be vicious and point-

less.With an increasing number of youth
involved in political and social activism,
the rights of the LGBT community
gained prominence. Many chose to crusade for the cause and started identifying and subsequently opposing the line
that separates ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’.
Samira Major (27 years), an Editor from
Kolkata, says, “Just because it is unusual, does not mean it is abnormal”.
The supporters of LGBT rights choose to
express their support by participating in
the parades to a tune of about 40% of
the total participation. They are actively
involved in spreading awareness for the
cause and make time for events fighting
for the cause over weekends. From
making posters and public graffiti to
participating in online forums, the youth
is supporting rights for the LGBT community. There are stores stocking up on
merchandise such as the symbolic rainbow as a mark of support for the LGBT
community rights.
The youth encourage their apprehensive
gay or bisexual friends to shut out their
fears and ‘come out’ with their parents
and social circles. The youth do not discriminate between a ‘straight’ and an
‘alternate’ when they choose their social

circles. Sexual orientation of a person is
not a factor that influences the youth to
befriend or shun an individual. An acceptance of alternate sexualities has
broadened the scope for the definition
of what was traditionally considered
‘normal’.

The attitude of the west towards homosexuality and the recent development
with regard to gay marriages have
proved to be a trigger point for the youth
to reflect on the irrational inequality that
the country maintained five years ago.
Homosexuals find representation in
popular TV which find an enormous audience base in our country. Their openness about their sexuality has also
furthered the youth’s mindset to accept
and respect personal preferences.
From the generation of the past condemning homosexuality, a few celebrities have come forward and accepted
their alternate sexualities publicly. Finding solace in the progress being made,
traditional norms are being challenged
vehemently, shackles are being broken
and a path is being paved to lead the
world into a more tolerant, more respectful and a more dignified society.

35

The S Word

Not very long ago, the ‘s’ word was uttered only in private conversations and
away from the prying eyes of that pesky
neighbor aunty out of fear of social ostracization. An intimate scene on a theatre screen or lewd imagery on posters
was prone to garner a giggle, a hushed
whisper, or even the occasional telepathic eye contact. For all practical purposes, sex didn’t exist.

Today the tables have turned with the
youth being bolder and upfront than
ever. Irrespective of having indulged in
the act or not, youngsters have seamlessly included sex into their everyday
conversations. Further, the inclination
towards a sexual relationship is now far
more than was noticed among the Indian youth even ten years ago.

The Indian society’s unwritten rules of
courtship required a person to first court
a new person, then marry them and finally, have sex. Youngsters today completely disregard this process, and for
good reason. They’re not religious and
think with a scientific bent of mind.
One of the primary factors for the conservative treatment of sex ten years ago

was the big ‘V’ word - Virginity. ‘Virginity’ is not celebrated anymore like most
religious communities of yesteryear did;
the more ‘experience’ one gathers, the
more satisfied they are. The idea of ‘purity’ does not figure in this equation at
all.

“Having sex before marriage is certainly
not a ‘sin’! That’s just ridiculous!”, said
Shivangi Gupta, a 24 year old copywriter
from Mumbai. “I understand that there’s
right and wrong. Where does sinning
come into the picture?”. The gradual
distancing away from religion and the
viewing of such concepts in a completely objective manner is also reflected in conversations that the youth
dabble in.
It was a rather embarrassing deal for
someone in his/her early twenties to be
seen purchasing a pack of condoms or
a contraceptive pill ten years ago. The
packaging was always opaque, and instantly tucked far from sight. That’s
barely the case today where condoms
are freely available even in modern format outlets at billing counters for easy
access. Even the English language was
equipped with euphemisms replacing

the word itself such as ‘the big nasty’ or
‘the deed’.

The young urban mind perceives sex to
be independent of any political or social
implication. It is looked upon as a personal choice that one has the right to
make and is almost wrong to be judged
for. Morality doesn’t feature in this absolutely simple equation. Sex is now almost as spontaneous a decision as is
deciding to go out for a drink. In fact, sex
is a stepping stone towards commitment. Once compatibility at all levels is
checked, commitment is given a
thought. Hence, sex is one of the few initial moves and commitment becomes
the ‘last act’.
A rising number of youngsters have now
admitted that they first gauge sexual
compatibility with their partners and
then take the plunge.

“Of course sex is important. Why would
I want to be with someone who doesn’t
make me happy in bed as well? If our
chemistry in the bedroom does not excite us, there’s no point of progressing it
into an emotional relationship.” says
Andrew Fernandes, a young independ-

37

The S Word

ent film maker from Kolkata. From dividing their considerations into the first,
second and final sexual acts, the youth
has split their attention to two categories – the casual relationships and
the serious relationships.

While the latter can have both emotions
and sex, the former only involves sex.
The very phrase ‘no strings attached’
definitely finds relevance amongst the
youth of India today. It is commendable
that the youth of today is able to make
friendships work sans having to deal
with any awkwardness created by an act
of sex. Being sexually active with someone in no way connotes that one is emotionally bound to them.

Even the idea of gender has been re-articulated in contemporary Indian society, and is viewed of as a social
construct. More aware, literate youths
now see a blurring of lines between
what is regarded ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’. Multiple sexual partners are not
dismissed as being reserved to the
promiscuity of men – women are only a
marginal number away from the number
of sexually active men. Co-educational
schools and colleges have encouraged

a platonic relationship between men
and women, making that social space
comfortable and the people, accessible.

LOVE
“Where there is
love there is life.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

41

Family Back At Numero Uno
The twentieth century definition of a
family constituted the inclusion of one’s
extended family to create one, large joint
family. Urbanization orchestrated the
disintegration of that unit into nuclear
families. With the times, the fundamental fabric of family changed too. Indian
parents no longer engaged in straightening out their children the old fashioned way, with a beating or two. A
different kind of relationship is now encouraged between parent and child
which is that of friendship.

The options to go abroad for further
studies and the ease of applying for educational loans has lifted the pressure
on the academic expectations of the
parents of this generation. The ‘cut-off’
for admission into an Indian college exceeds that of a mediocre college abroad
by miles. Parents who have encountered
the functioning of our government run
educational system give serious
thought to sending their children away
for further education. This means they
don’t necessarily need to be top of their
class, or stressed out thanks to the excessive competitiveness, to ensure a
graduate or postgraduate degree. This
allows for the child to be comfortable

about talking to his/her parents about
school, and therefore he/she is naturally
more transparent with their folks, and
doesn’t hesitate to speak the truth.

There exists a unique, trusted transparency between the youth and their
parents, who can now consult their parents with matters concerning even love,
sex, and other general frustrations that
come may come along the way. The
possibilities are enormous with ranging
from discussions based on stock markets to decriminalized homosexuality.
The mindset of the youth has now
evolved to comfortably drinking with
one’s dad and sharing a priced Cuban
cigar together. There are no places that
one can visit with one’s friends but not
with parents. The home environment is
no longer burdened with fear.

“My parents disapprove of me drinking
every weekend; they hate it that I smoke.
But they would never think of throwing
me out of the house for it! I mean we
have arguments and all, but these are
very small things in light of our relationship. I can tell my dad when I’m feeling
an urge.” said Kunal Saha, a young en-

trepreneur from New Delhi. A commitment to one’s parents for a lunch date is
as important for a child as meeting
his/her partner for lunch. Parents are no
longer the ‘old hags’ one needs to ‘endure’ at home, they too qualify as vital
friends who are completely in sync with
their children’s lives.

43

Happily Ever After Or Not
Urban spaces have nourished strong,
opinionated and most importantly, independent young minds. The youth has
made its peace with the fact that there
every relationship could come with an
expiry date, and one may not end up
with their happily-ever-after. The options are limitless and prospective dates
are distributed in a youngster’s social
circles. This could be regarded one of
the factors that played a role in the
youth finding it rather easy to move on.

One no longer plans his future with the
vision of finding a partner at the crux of
it. “I know my girlfriends will come and
go. But I know very clearly where I want
to be five years from now. That plan is
not going to change because of a girl.
She can be a part of it, of course, but the
plan will remain the same”.' remarked
Vikram Singh of Bangalore, a working
professional looking at pursuing an
MBA next year.

The security offered by the home environment and from the prospects of a
flourishing career makes the youth accept the heart-ache with a pinch of salt.
Break-ups are not as melodramatic as
they used to be and are rather dignified,

clean, and sans drama. Almost 80% percent of the youth believe that leaving a
relationship with a clean snip of the
strings attached is far more respectable
than a half baked decision of parting
ways that inevitably leaves both parties
resentful. “I'll just be more at peace
knowing I did the right thing by not making it ugly.” said Prerna Malaney, a recently graduated pharmacist from
Mumbai. The distinction between fair
and unfair has been made very clear.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon to find
two previously involved individuals
maintaining a respectable friendship.
The 'friend zone' is an amicable space
where platonic relationships thrive, irrespective of a romantic history.
“I can't just not be friends with my ex. He
was my best friend, so I might as well
hold on to that. We both decided to
move on and that already happened, so
why ruin the friendship?” asks Kajol Gianani, a final year C.A. Student from
Delhi.
Further, social group structures remain
sacrosanct even if one or more of its
members have dated within the group

itself. It's never been easier to move on
than it is now for the Indian urban youth.
Love and relationships don’t count for
the core of a youngster’s life anymore.

45

Life With The Live In
The average Indian primarily understands and constructs the meaning of
‘love’ from the interpersonal equations
within the family. Traditionally, the family unit in India is built upon a conservative concept of an arranged marriage.
Falling in love with your partner has
conventionally occurred after marriage.
Alternately, when people fell in love, the
motive was to get married. Therefore,
the concept of love and marriage went
hand-in-hand and were not perceived
independently of the other.

The India of the twenty-first century,
however, represents a different mindset.
For today’s youth, a romantic involvement need not result in a happily ever
after. A relationship does not necessarily imply intent to marry. Today’s youth
are accepting of relationships ending
and new ones beginning. Almost 60% of
the youth of both sexes expressed that
the idea of a ‘Life Partner’ is not the operational notion driving relationships.

The idea of relationships has evolved
tremendously. While love and marriage
were synonymous concepts, the notion
of love resulting in security lasting a lifetime was automatically expected. How-

ever, keeping pace with development
and a faster pace of life have resulted in
an increasing number of individuals who
are not willing to ‘compromise’, and
therefore, won’t marry someone merely
because of a romantic relationship. The
attitude towards a romantic relationship
is that if it hasn’t met the ideals set in
the individual’s mind, it is alright to end
it.

In a way, the youth is equipped to deal
with disappointments and does not
need a relationship to validate their existence in a conformist society. Their
priorities in life involve their careers and
they set their ambitions and goals which
do not depend on their romantic alliances. They derive their sense of stability from their families and the need for
security from a romantic partner is diminished in the process.

Of course, they still brood over questions pertaining to the nature of ‘love’,
but questions such as, ‘What can I do to
change the world’, ‘What is the purpose
of my existence’, ‘How much money will
I have when I’m thirty’ and ‘What share
is rising on the stock market’ preoccupy
their minds much more.

When asked how many of them would
like to get married before thirty, a group
of young Mumbai University post graduate students laughed. The elaborate,
exaggerated Indian weddings tend to
place a lot of pressure on the minds of
the young today, owing to the many rites
and rituals involved, the socializing involved with people attending the wedding and the stressful encounters with
all ceremonies alien to the young. The
idea of being under the scanner and
watching one’s behavior on their wedding day acts as a deterrent for marriage.

Besides, weddings are an expensive affair, with a reasonable wedding ceremony costing between two to five years
of one’s earnings. It’s becoming increasingly common for the youth to
consider alternative ways to make use
of the money. Taking a vacation perhaps, saving for a rainy day or merely
living an indulgent life seems more attractive than splurging on a wedding
day.
This does not imply that marriages are
passé. Marriages still do form the core
of our social fabric. However, the youth

47

Life With The Live In
is no longer in a hurry to get married and
start a family. Unlike the previous generation who married fairly early and
went on to have a stable job and children by the time they hit thirty, today’s
youth dedicates the first thirty years to
themselves.

Conventionally, one would expect
women to show more inclination towards ‘securing’ her happily ever after.
However, when we see the progress that
women have been making, we see
where their need for security gets fulfilled. They are well educated, at par with
men, securing professional degrees and
move on to their careers with gusto and
confidence. Their perceptions about
marriage are the same as men. They do
not entertain notions of a glorious, timeless love story that dictates plot of Bollywood cinema. Instead, they engage in
finding a more practical, convenient and
sustainable kind of love.

Traditional acts of romance including
candle lit dinners, flowers and heart
shaped balloons do not particularly thrill
the young women today. The exaggerated gestures of swooning and idolizing
one’s partner are no longer the flavor.

cont.

Keeping in line with reality, Bollywood
has toned down its sensationalized
concept of love to reduce the melodrama, add more reason and liberty. According to a study, live-in relationships,
punctuate the lives of almost 65% percent of the working youth at some point
or another, but the skepticism towards
marriage hounds almost 78%. ‘Happy
endings’ are out of the scheme of rationality of the Indian youth.
Between being friends and being in a relationship, an additional stage has been
introduced to our relationship vocabulary called, ‘it’s complicated’. This phase
characterizes ambiguity regarding the
nature of the relationship. The twenty
first century has seen this phase gradually morph into a fad. This limbo phase
celebrates and prioritizes the lack of a
definition of a relationship and celebrates uncertainty which gives one the
liberty to experiment and assess, effectively ushering the youth into a new era
of enlightenment where they learn to
take responsibility for their decisions
and make informed choices.

FAITH
“I believe in God, but not as
one thing, not as an old man
in the sky. I believe that what
people call God is something
in all of us.”
- John Lennon

51

Google Search : Enlightenment
The Indian urban youth would smirk at
the idea of a single source of knowledge
or information. The practice of crosschecking information is a frequent one
amongst the youth. While such wasn’t
the case a few decades ago when our
parents would blindly listen to what their
parents had to say, the youth of today
aren’t so trusting. Parents are listened
to, but not completely obeyed.

nant of the youth’s opinions, the first
one being their own instincts. Contrasting the previous generation, youngsters
today wholly depend on their individualities and don’t succumb to following the
‘herd mentality’. Pressure from any side
is met with dignity, be it the pressure
from one’s peers to smoke a cigarette or
the pressure from one’s parents to get
married.

Apart from minor lifestyle tweaks as a
result of this constant information hogging, the need to explore spreads even
to the work sphere. Young people are no
longer hesitant to take up a temporary
job ‘just to see what it’s like’. Given that
they don’t rely on second hand information, they would rather take the plunge
than learn from experience.

This easy access to information has
made it possible for a young student
traveling to college on a train to read
Buddha’s eight fold path before he
reaches college.It is not necessary to
take leave from work/college, pre-book
tickets, take a long painstaking journey
to the middle of nowhere to find enlightenment at the world’s oldest monastery.
From the Vedas to Roman History, from
the Mayan philosophy to Scientology,
everything is just a click of a button
away.

The internet and friends are the other
primary sources of information for
today’s youth. In fact, the youngsters
prefer to go out alone in the battlefield
and explore, unearth and discover information for themselves, on their own.

The skepticism to trust trickles down to
their degree of being influenced just as
well. Peer pressure’ is the last determi-

The necessity to verify information and
to have a world of data at one’s fingertips has rendered the youth sharper and
more difficult to trick. Stories of being
‘conned’ don’t make the rounds too
often anymore.

Nothing is inaccessible to the urban
youth of the 21st century; one’s smart
phone and ridiculously fast internet plan
enable one’s to scramble through history like a flip book.

53

They Need Us
Politics has always been reserved as a
territory the youth trusted the elders
with. The post-independence hangover
saw the political scenario bursting with
nationalistic slogans, slogans that get
borderline jingoistic after a certain point.
Today’s youth though, are very aware of
the disintegration of our political structures and are very conscious of the fact
that they qualify as voters, and not doing
this duty doesn’t go down too well with
this generation at all. This has given
birth to a new definition of nationalism
which factors in an element of reality,
unlike the illusion that the nation had
succumbed to post independence.

Nationalism characterized by jingoism
is in the process of being phased out.
Factors including rising unemployment
have aided in this altered behavior.
Highly qualified youngsters are still, unfortunately, unsure about a job; this has
allowed them plenty of time to introspect not just their condition, which is
an amalgamation of corruption and bad
governance, among other things, but the
general condition of the country as well.
This could be thought of as the driving
force behind the youth wanting to take

matters in their hands to bring about
tangible changes. Their enthusiasm to
vote is one such method by which they
believe they can contribute.
Optimistic as this may sound, it is in no
way a qualitative improvement in the
political system. The lack of awareness
- for example towards the status of the
‘no vote’ – invalidates the whole idea of
voting. Quantitatively, the youth are
more and more inclined towards voting
and being active citizens so it can be
safely said that 2014 will yield the highest amount of young voters.

“I can’t wait to vote”, claims recently
turned 18 year old Aadamn Mamaji of
Mumbai. “I was just waiting to be eighteen so I was taken seriously. Now my
presence will be felt in society, I will contribute with my vote.”

The sudden sensationalizing of the role
of the youth by certain political parties
alongside the actual reality of it all have
merged together to make the young
urban individual genuinely believe that
he/she is the inherent custodian of society; and that the authorities are not to
be easily trusted and that he/she can

make a difference as a representative of
the youth.
The skepticism that the youth holds
against political organizations has
much to do with the fact that the urban
youth of the twenty first century does
not grace some-one with trust easily.
Nobody’s word is accepted at face
value. Further, the Right to Information
act is known to be widely used by the
youth who are not afraid to create ripples in a seemingly calm political environment.
While most of the youth is still a little bit
apprehensive about ‘starting a revolution’, incidents like the recent Lokpal Bill
illustrate that the coming decade will
see more involvement of the young in
social and political activism.

55

The Success of Spirituality
The youth of today is constantly conditioned by their parents into believing in
a God, and practice the ideals of these
religions by incorporating them into
their daily affairs. They adhere to them,
obediently, for they do not wish to disgruntle their parents in the least. They
partake in ritualistic 'poojas' and attend
mass on Sunday in their best clothes.
They fast in the month of Ramadan and
they visit the Fire temple regularly. The
whole nine yards are traversed in an attempt to seem true to their parents.

Their social lives outside their homes
are characterized by something else
completely. The youth do not allow the
supposed 'principles' of a mythological
text to dictate whether they will be ordering beef or pork for dinner. They do
not allow the twenty days of a religious
month to get in the way of their birthdays or their friends' birthdays which
are rather drunk affairs.
The youth only follow in what their parents believe in, but don’t genuinely believe in it themselves. No passionate
belief in gods has been observed
amongst the urban youth. Alternately,
spirituality has gained gravity in the

identities of the urban youth and the last
thing that they associate with spirituality is conventional religion.

Another repercussion of the lack of faith
the youth exhibits towards religion is
atheism. It is perceived as an unbiased
and ethical way of life. With the coming
to light of several injustices orchestrated through religious practices, like
the exploitation of women and the ills of
the caste system, atheism is synonymous with being well-informed and just.
The shift in the perspective of the youth
towards religion has much to do with a
western influence and their ease with alternative faiths and spirituality.

SUBSTANCE
"When I was a kid I
inhaled frequently.
That was the point."
- Barack Obama

59

Got A Light?

Today’s youth are popularly known to
invest most of their time making and
maintaining friends, and a day in the life
of this segment is glaringly incomplete
without the mention of intoxicants aiding in keeping cliques together.

The ease of adoption of these intoxicants that range from alcohol to cigarettes and even marijuana can be
viewed under the lens of a strong social
conditioning that the youth has been exposed to. This could arise from the fact
that youngsters these days have a very
evident cultural influence from the West,
fuelled by easy access to English TV
shows, and other resources on the internet.

Until recent times, consumption by
youngsters and more particularly
women was perceived very negatively
and rejected by society at large. This
scenario has drastically changed, and
‘chilling with friends’ at popular hangouts has almost become a standard. Of
the many factors that encourage consumption of alcohol, easy access to
substances, increasing average income
of the youth segment, and independence earned at a very young age are

most relevant to the youth. Intoxicants
have, therefore, become very readily
available. Adding to this is also the fact
that of late, there has been a decline in
the significance attached to ‘conventional’ Indian norms, which has allowed
for validation of consumption of these
substances.

As a result, the entertainment industry
has greatly flourished owing to the staggering demand for places such as bars,
clubs and microbreweries with an added
element of hosting shows including
stand-up comedies, short plays and
gigs. Simple birthday celebrations involving taking friends out for dinners or
movies have become extremely passé
with such establishments appearing in
every nook and cranny of the city.
Surprisingly, today’s parents have also
become very tolerant of the youth and
allow them to dabble in such activities.

Natasha Rathod, a 22 year old travel
photographer from Mumbai said that,
“My parents know I smoke, I mean they
don’t LIKE it, but they know. I can smoke
at home and as long as I don’t influence
my little brother, they don’t really give

me much flak for it. Of course there is a
general remark or two about being
healthy, but apart from that, nothing really.”

In conclusion, although intoxicants have
been around since the beginning of time,
they have gained prominence in the Indian social sphere only recently, and are
definitely here to stay.

61

It’s Natural!

Time immemorially, drugs have established themselves as the badasses
among intoxicants, akin to the image of
a Harley Davidson in a sea of motorbikes. Historically, drugs have been
thought to alter personalities, and thus
been viewed very distastefully. Drug
abusers have been constantly accused
of committing crime and being unproductive, and have been labeled as ‘outcasts’ as well on several occasions. The
urban Indian youth however, have a different story to tell.

To begin with, the youth draws a firm
boundary between marijuana and other
narcotic substances. Weed has been redeemed of its past perceptions and now
is thought of to be fairly harmless. The
internet has been a facilitator in this
process by giving the youth easy access
to information about marijuana on forums that sometimes could include
doctors.

Several conversations across the internet and otherwise talk of the good effects of marijuana and have helped by
lending to it, a less negative image. As a
result, 30% of marijuana users across
the country are slowly turning away

from cigarettes, fighting the urge by
simply lighting up a ‘spliff’. The ill effects of cigarette smoking are incessantly spoken about via myriad
platforms in an attempt to dissuade
smokers. Their easiest escape lies in the
reassurance that they get when they
light a joint, popularly known to be medicinal, therefore serving a smoker’s
larger purpose. Furthermore, the celebration of marijuana as a recreational
drug by Western societies and its legalization in some countries has egged the
youth on to first try and then indulge in
marijuana consumption.
“I email my mum articles about the benefits of marijuana all the time. I wish she
would smoke a joint sometime. It’ll do
her stress good.’’, said a 25 year old regular marijuana smoker from Bangalore,
who has been sustaining a well paying
job for three years.
As an activity, smoking pot has been on
the rise in the recent past amongst a
wide variety of people, given that the
entry barriers have been severely lowered. From youngsters to independent
entrepreneurs to corporate executives,
almost 60 percent have tried it and al-

most 20 percent relish it as a regular
habit. There is no longer a taboo attached to smoking weed, and being a
‘junkie’ was never considered cooler.
Marijuana almost never lets one go out
of hand and behave abnormally, as opposed to alcohol.

“How is alcohol even legal?” asks Avantika Bahl from Delhi, a final year psychology student who claims that
alcohol has more ill effects in the long
term on an individual’s personality than
marijuana.
Further, the ill effects of alcohol are considered far more harmful than those of
marijuana. Lack of control and fluctuating temperament are often associated
with alcohol, while stability and calmness, with marijuana. The youth are very
aware of these specific and different behavioural changes, having tried both
themselves. This drastic change in perspective will set the ball rolling towards
legalization of marijuana in India.

63

Smoking Slims
The previous decade saw a steady rise
in tobacco consumption by women.
Cigarettes have been thought to be dangerous from a pregnancy and fertility
point of view, but for today’s career-oriented woman who doesn’t aspire to
have children immediately, this threat is
barely considered. Even today’s youth
that lives for the present without giving
much thought to their future in many
aspects of their lives are hard to fluster.
They can’t be veered away from this
habit given its biggest off-take – easing
awkwardness in social situations, and
enabling social inclusion. The ongoing
third wave of feminism has only aided in
bringing equality to the table, and allowing women to make an unbiased choice,
without having to respond to being constantly judged. It’s not unusual to see
women engaging in sports that were
previously male dominated such as
football or cricket, or for that matter –
lighting up a cigarette.

“I picked up this habit from my
boyfriend. Now, he doesn’t smoke anymore, but he never says anything to me
if I do. Why would he?”’ said Dia Motwani, a 25 year old client servicing executive from Bangalore.

The previous generation, now at ease
with young boys smoking and making
peace with marijuana, is yet to accept
their daughters picking up similar
‘vices’. This daughter is, however, rescued by the dynamically changing environment at urban homes where both the
male and female children are given the
same privileges and deadlines, without
imposing stricter rules for the girls. The
likelihood of a fourteen year old girl
picking up a cigarette out of curiosity is
similar to that of a fourteen year old boy,
and neither of them bothers with concealing their ashtrays or cigarette
packs.
Establishments that serve alcohol such
as bars and clubs, that have traditionally
subjected women to the male gaze and
being
predominantly
‘masculine’
spaces, have also altered their ambience and feel to be as welcoming and
intriguing to women. The woman is no
longer subjected to unwarranted, incomprehensible glances if seen buying
and smoking a cigarette in public. The
tobacco industry has also started catering to its female audience by introducing
flavoured variants to make smoking a
fun act.

65

Digital: The Future of News Dissemination and Crowd-Sourcing Content
Anant Goenka - Head, New Media Group, Indian Express Limited
The digital medium offers tools to improve the quality of stories and storytelling.
There are many theories attempting to
explain why Bill O’Reilly continues to be
the King of Cable news in America. I believe it has to do with the format of his
show.

The idea is that, like most successful
products out of Newscorp’s skunk
works, the show should appeal to the
lowest categories in the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid as possible. So
at 9 pm every night, Fox News’ anchor is
a welcomed friend in American rightwing homes. A television persona who
doesn’t just read the news, but discusses with his viewers by sharing their
insecurities and strengthening their
worldview. Sure, people want dispassionate brave journalism. Nonetheless,
they’d prefer a conversation with a companion, and digital interaction allows
that conversation to grow.

Traditionally, reading a newspaper was
like hearing an experienced grandparent
speak at, or even towards, you. The
modern-platform agnostic newspaper,

is one that converses, and not by cheapthrill augmented reality toys, but by sustained interaction with readers.
At the Express, if a reader reacts
strongly to an article by way of a comment, suggests a follow up, or even just
says “good work” to the author, it means
that there’s someone listening. Really
embracing digital media, however, is
more than reacting to reader feedback;
it’s about involving one's audience in
shaping the content one creates and
building their appreciation and trust
with transparency; and India has a long
way to go to that point.
An enviable case study:

Aside from the constant attempt to tell
stories with embedded maps, graphics
and charts, The Register Citizen, a local
community newspaper in Connecticut,
runs an “open newsroom.” Citizens are
invited to sit-in the 4pm story planning
editorial meetings (which is broadcasted live on their website anyway),
and a café, attached to the newsroom,
has free wifi to encourage local bloggers
(otherwise perceived as threats) and
other active members of the community

to use the Register’s facilities, access
134 years of the paper’s archives, contribute story ideas and interact with the
newspaper’s team of experienced journalists.

As the news and advertising community,
one area that we are missing is the
power of high-quality vernacular language news on the internet. Loksatta –
one of Mumbai’s largest dailies, was the
first in Marathi news to launch a native
android application. The app was downloaded 10,000 times in the first week itself. Comments on their editorials
frequently run into hundreds and the
base of the users is a fraction of most
other English news sites.
We can’t even begin to estimate the
power of crowd sourcing until we start
experimenting with the concept in our
vernacular languages. Really empowering India in the digital world would be to
have dynamic, local-ad supported vernacular news websites with newsrooms
located at popular bus stops or train
stations that welcome interaction with
the community. Granted that we are at a
far more nascent stage in the digital
process in India, but crowd sourced

66

cont.
news doesn’t have to be the shoddy
journalism done by untrained journalists
“empowered” with a camera on their
phones that it is now. It can be a powerful tool to build a connect with one's audience, involving them in the process,
getting story ideas, and measuring how
far or close one is to telling stories that
matter. And there’s no short cut. CNN
took six years to get iReport right.

History shows us that after all the innovation, open newsroom projects and
transparency tricks, the most powerful
way of breaking through the clutter of
the internet is being consistently accurate. No matter what the genre, quality
content will find its reader. Pratap Bhanu
Mehta’s summary of the UPA’s failures
in The Indian Express earlier this week
(While We Were Silent, 11thJuly 2013)
was our most viral column this year. By
noon of the day it was posted online, it
had already earned 100,000 views, 7,700
shares on Facebook and 1200 tweets.

If we have a chance of increasing revenues on digital platforms, it is by creating and growing loyal unduplicated
audiences with quality content. At Express, we’re already seeing this - The In-

dian Express New Media division’s silent
success over the years comes from the
profile of our readers. Further, the true
test of our audience is on digital platforms. When a realty company last
month received 15 filled-out forms and
four confirmed meetings within 16
hours in response to a banner ad for
flats above 4crores in the NCR region on
our site, we are pleased to put our
money where our mouth is; And be reassured that a content-first strategy is
really the only formula that stands the
test of time anywhere in the world.

67

How young are you?
A new mindset to connect with the next generation of rewired brains.
Andrés Colmenares - Founder, Wabi Sabi Labs, Spain
We are living in exciting times. During
the last 10 years, we have witnessed
how the first generation of humans
raised in a networked society are
changing the rules of everything, from
commerce to communication.

Some like to call us millenials, others
Generation Y. Our birth-ranges vary according to each category or region, but
beyond the labels or birth years, what
matters is the fact that most of us are
experiencing the same global events, almost in real-time, enhancing the diversity of local cultures and reframing the
meaning of the youth.

The simplicity of traditional market segmentations is not enough to decode the
complexity of our current society. Now
that we are truly living in the "global village" predicted by Marshall McLuhan,
the assumptions of demographic or
economic segmentation are outdated.

We need to reframe questions, develop
dynamic pattern recognition systems to
replace static classifications and most
importantly, we need to change our
mindset in order to evolve and adapt
properly. In other words, we demand an

Operating System (OS) switch, powered
by three key elements: the speed of
change, the hacker attitude and the
remix culture.

Speed: switching from demographics to
technographics. The speed of change is
going up and will go up faster in the future. Ray Kurzweil, the inventor, futurist,
(and now Director of Engineering at
Google) described the Law of Accelerating Returns in his book The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999) , as "the rate of
change in a wide variety of evolutionary
systems (including but not limited to the
growth of technologies) tends to increase exponentially", turning the basic
assumptions tied to demographics as
obsolete as the DVD drive in your Macbook. Access to technology is the key
driver behind this paradigm shift, as it
becomes more powerful, cheap and
portable.
Today, tools such as technographics
become more relevant to identify patterns in usage and ownership of devices
or web services rather than assuming
that a group of persons will think and
act in a similar way because they were
born in the same year or place.

Hack: switching from interruptions for
the masses to meaningful networks for
niches.If there is one influential niche in
this story it is the hacker community, the
people who built the Internet (not the
evil crackers portrayed by Hollywood).
Their mindset, well-described by Eric
Steven Raymond in the hypertext "How
To Become A Hacker", is the soul behind
the revolution of different industries and
systems. Their attitude is focused on
hard work, problem-solving and sharing
ideas through networks, leading to a diverse collective intelligence. Youth
brands now need to design relevant
content and experiences for people connected by a wide variety of shared interests, instead of creating interruptions
for large audiences. Attention now flows
in streams (Twitter) rather than linear
blocks (TV), but both still coexist, demanding a deep understanding of values and behaviors using tools like
network dynamics, social graphs or interest-maps to build valuable relationships with smaller groups.

Remix: switch from a profit-driven market of consumers to a purpose-driven
ecosystem of people. The relationship
between the producer and consumer

68

cont.
has radically changed. We are moving
"from a Read-Only to a Read/Write culture" as Lawrence Lessig, founder of
Creative Commons, would say. A growing percentage of young people are
building their own audiences, creating
their own products and connecting to a
purpose-driven economy. In this organic ecosystem, brands become interfaces opening the door to combine
design thinking tools like User Journey
Maps or Personas, taking a human approach to marketing.
The "installation" of the Speed-HackRemix OS might be complex and will
provoke some chaos, but we need to
trust the process. A simple way to start
is to practice three vocabulary experiments:

1. Change the task name from "How to
classify the youth" to "How to connect
with the youth”.

2. Unlearn the term "consumers" and replace it with "people".

3. Reframe the traditional question
"How old are you?" and ask more frequently "How young are you?".

As Pearl Jam said: "It's Evolution Baby!".

69

The *bliep case study and what Indian telecom providers should learn from it.
Jeroen Bochma - Founding Partner, Young Creators Agency, Netherlands
Co-creation used to be the realm of
software developers, or actually just
(mostly) boys, glued to their computers,
programming mods and additions to
open-source software like Linux and
FreeBSD. Those boys – constantly in
contact with each other on the young
(and for most of us unreachable) Internet – contributed, added and refined.
The real, actual nerds; the prototypes.
The same type of people who build applications for smartphones at home, on
their own. Talent combined with vision.
If you had the vision, but not the talent
in programming, nothing happened and
vice versa.

You needed to be great to be noticed,
and that holds even more true nowadays. In the daily bulk of new applica-

tions, your app needs to be extremely
good, addictive, innovative or useful to
be seen – and therefore used.

Increation works in the same manner,
but we stopped using the word co-creation to distinguish it from the we-havean-idea-you-can-advance kind of
creative process. Increation merges talent and love. Love for what you do and
want to create, along with the talent to
pull it off. You can do this, everyone can
do this, not just the fans. Every startup
company has a true fan and visionary at
its core, plus the right can-do attitude.
The real fans are in every company,
they're the ones who chose specifically
to work for this or that company out of
the love of their ideas or products. If
your company is sadly without anyone

that meets the criteria of an integrated
fan/talent, look outside and get your
outside fans to be your creative conscience. Pity though, not having any
fans within...
A real fan is more than somebody who
just likes your product or service. However easy it is to like something on
Facebook, it gets irritating when they
start spamming you. Being fun goes
only so far, being loved goes a lot further. We people are able to feel real love
for products or services, with every consequent emotion attached. Love can
move mountains, make blind, do good or
evil, is active, wants and has needs.
In the name of love, wars were started
and ended, and if Paris and Menelaus

70

cont.
had thought Helen of Troy just a nice
girl, Homer would have found a different
subject to write about. Love makes deep
connections, sometimes eternal, while
liking is temporary: something you like
now can easily be replaced by something new you like later.
Products made from love are fantastic,
product managers who love their own
products and brands sell more. Being
liked on Facebook is not enough; you
have to create something people can
love for real.

The question “How can I make somebody love me?” is as old as time. It’s the
driving force of stories and mythology,
of fairy tales and love potions, of love
songs and heartache... And easier said
than done. Think back on those times
when you did your stinking best to get
someone to fall in love with you, how
witty you were, how fashionable you
dressed, how you were the best you
could be (or acted as a completely different person). It didn’t work. You can’t
force somebody to love you, you have to
find the person who fits you and loves
you just for yourself.

However, you can help the process a bit.
Try the opposite: start loving first. Love
young people. Don’t ask them to love
you, love them instead. Be a real friend.

This is how the dutch startup of the year
started, *bliep started with young talented people before we had a brand or a
product. From day one, these young talents between 13 and 18 years old were
the heart and soul of this company.
They are the management team, the
creative team and the reason why it is
such an incredible success.

71

The Future of Fashion in India
Maia Sethna - Fashion Blogger

India has undoubtedly come exceptionally far in the world of fashion and playing dress-up. The enormous infusion of
western influence and social media, especially targeting the younger generation, influences Indian trends, the way
we dress and what we feel is ‘fashionable’. However, there remains an element of stagnation, due to the cultural
aspect and its norms. As a nation, we
are drawn toward a more traditional
school of thought, often accompanied
by rigid stereotypes and narrow-mindedness.

The regression, in terms of the way
women are viewed today , has come to
light in recent events. Consequently, this
has resulted in women holding back on
developing and expressing their personal style and sporting the latest
trends, seen in international magazines,
on the runway and in popular television
shows and cinema. Mimicking trends
like crop tops and cut out dresses for
example, become difficult for most, as
there is the question of "indecent exposure" or revealing ones midriff. When in
the west, subcultures like goths, punks,
and hipsters prevail, having the freedom
to express themselves through their

style and wardrobe, why is this something that we frown upon? The reason
for holding back on experimenting with
ones style fundamentally stems from
not wanting to hurt cultural sensibilities,
to appear modest in a society that is not
accepting of people dressing-up outside
boundaries of what is deemed ‘normal’
and ‘acceptable’; but above all in the
case of women, to stay clear of unwanted glances and attention that one’s
outfits might receive. This prevents a
number of western fashion trends from
prevailing in our nation.
The weather, of course plays a significant role in this as well. given the extreme heat and often humid climate,
styling your outfits becomes very limiting. Fancy leather jackets, well tailored
suits and faux fur – fashion accessories
that are very popular in the west become very difficult for us to accommodate in our daily wardrobes and limits us
to pulling them out only when one is on
vacation or if one is in a colder climate.
Progress- market growth, awareness of
global fashion trends, demand and easy
accessibility are invariably making
themselves felt, nonetheless. The intro-

duction of high street international
brands like Zara, Forever 21, Mango and
Marks & Spencers, whose availability
was once limited by an international
flight, are now available at virtually every
mall and shopping center in commercial
Indian cities.
International luxury
brands like Hermes, Burberry,Tom Ford,
Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Todds have
their flagship stores set up in major
metro cities. If that isn’t enough, consumers find themselves just a click
away from retail heaven by ordering
from popular online shopping facilities
like Net-a-porter, Asos and several others which now boast of worldwide delivery.
With the rise of social media – fashion
bloggers and trends like street style are
now influential factors, and play a key
role in addressing worldwide trends and
decoding the season’s ‘must have’
pieces. The increasing numbers of ecommerce websites have a brand identity which not only targets the young
population but men and women of all
ages, resulting in easier access to the
latest brands, styles, trends and collections. Premium Indian designers use
western influences in their contempo-

72

cont.
rary designs, they often merge current
global trends with their own collections.
Men's and women’s Indian fashion designs are given equal importance, and
receive global recognition, while fashionistas world wide sport Indian outfits
and accessories like the saree, Jodhpuri
trousers and kolhapuri's. Ethnic clothes
are a huge section of the fashion industry in the market especially for bridal
couture and the demand for real jewelry
is massive.

The demand for Indian designer couture
and authentic jewelry is steadily increasing with the emergence of several
young, fresh designers each season,
with a host of existing designers, proving the field to be highly competitive . An
analysis of the average Indian’s fashion
choices demonstrate that they are
highly Bollywood-centric, as actors and
models are primarily fashion and style
icons that influence the masses.

Whether we progress with western influences or stagnate due to cultural confinements isn’t entirely certain, but what
remains assured is that Indian women
and men love dressing up. Even the lady
that sells magazines at the corner of the

street dresses in vibrant hues with a
delicate flower tucked behind her hair
and has taken pride in picking out her
outfit, which leads us to believe that the
future is hopeful.

The juxtaposition of both sides of the
story allows us to observe and question;
are we, women in particular, being muffled? Is our integrity and individuality
being limited due to restrictions on what
we can wear? Do men have it easier?
The inability to express oneself through
fashion is often hampering. Will we continue to grow and evolve in a global
sense or stagnate and remain within our
own comfort zones, or break out and
have the courage to express ourselves
freely? Evidently, this paradox needs to
be addressed as it threatens the very
essence of the right to expression, a
virtue that remains priceless. The ability
to enjoy an identity with various manifestations like clothes and make up is
certainly not a ‘label’!

73

The world is small - or is it?

Mikko Ampuja - Business Development Director, 15/30 Research, Finland
Sometimes people say that the young
generation is the same everywhere. The
internet changed everything and now
you can see what’s happening on the
other side of the world within minutes of
the birth of a new phenomenon. Yes, in
some aspects, the youth seem to be the
same everywhere. Many movies or
games can be globally appealing and it
is not uncommon to hear the same
songs in clubs and bars where ever you
travel. However, there are a lot of differences as well.
Here are some of my observations.

1.The Finnish youth are starting to move
to a post materialistic view of the world.
In many cases, money or displaying material wealth is not the best way to build
one's status. For example, a high salary
is quite low in the many criteria of how
graduates choose their new jobs. Also,
showing your money and wealth are
usually frowned upon as modesty is one
of the celebrated virtues in Finland.

2.Yet, the brands you buy and display
say a lot of the young person you represent. People buying iPhones are usually
trendier and more open to new things

than the people buying Nokia (Nokia is
a Finnish brand). Now, the trend seems
to be favoring Samsung.

However, the interesting thing about
youth and brands in Finland, is that what
you don’t buy, says quite a bit about you
too. In many cases, the youth have very
loud opinions on which brands
shouldn’t be bought for ethical reasons
or sometimes for just being very boring.
3.One thing that struck my eyes when
traveling in India and talking with my
colleagues over there, was the hunger
and passion for building a better future.
Finland and many other western countries have been wealthy for a bit longer
than one generation, so abundance has
become the norm. Working harder will
buy you a 60” TV instead of a 42” or
maybe a nicer car. In any case, you will
be able to buy a TV, car, smart phone
and a flat even with a relatively less effort.

This combined with the news about
poor economy and even crisis has resulted in a generation which is not very
excited about working hard in order to
succeed and build a better tomorrow. In

India, I think the future seems very different, very promising.

In the 80’s and 90’s, the US seemed to
be the place where young people followed the trends and picked up new, interesting things. Between 2 000 - 2010,
Berlin and Scandinavia seemed to be
the place all the cultural change was
happening. After 2015, I think India,
China and Brazil will show us the way.
Today, there’s even a Hindi themed bar
in Helsinki.

DDB Mudra Group Releases Youth Report 2013

DDB Mudra Group Releases Youth Report 2013

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DDB Mudra Group Releases Youth Report 2013