{"id":412,"date":"2010-05-21T00:06:11","date_gmt":"2010-05-21T04:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tobeycat.com\/ub\/?p=412"},"modified":"2010-05-21T00:06:11","modified_gmt":"2010-05-21T04:06:11","slug":"beyond-the-label-of-%e2%80%9cpost-80s%e2%80%9d-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/?p=412","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Label of \u201cPost-80s\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anna Chan Choi Cheng and Gary Lai Io Fai<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>While some youngsters think that the post-80s in Macao are different from the older generations, experts believe that the popular discussion of this phenomenon is simply a result of the labeling effect of the mass media.<\/p>\n

The \u201cpost-80s\u201d\u2014the term referring to the generation who were born between 1980 and 1989\u2014has been extensively discussed in society recently. Originated in mainland China, this new term came into use in Hong Kong and Macao between 2009 and 2010, especially during the course of the opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. Despite its frequent use, no fixed or common meaning of this term is agreed upon among people in Macao.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, the post-80s, are aggressive, energetic, and full of dreams,\u201d says Fanny Cheong, a Year 4 student of Macao Polytechnic Institute. \u201cWe are self-assertive and confident of our thoughts and creative ideas. However, we usually discuss social issues aggressively and critically only on the Internet. I am sure few would dare to participate in public discussions in society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCompared with the post-70s, the post-80s pay more attention to the present enjoyment rather than to the future,\u201d says Rebecca Chai, a Year 4 student majoring in Finance, who thinks that the post-80s are different from the post-70s in terms of the lifestyle. \u201cThe post-70s would put their savings in the bank for future use. In contrast, the post-80s would spend money on luxury goods like brand-name handbags and cameras, even though they know the economy is bad,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

The media discourse, especially that in Hong Kong and mainland China, often associates this young generation with words like \u201cself-centered\u201d, \u201cindifferent\u201d, \u201cignorant\u201d, and other negative adjectives. However, Sunny Wong, deputy executive-director and secretary-general of Macao New Chinese Youth Association, says that the media misleadingly generalizes the characteristics of the post-80s based on a number of individual cases, which he thinks is unfair to the young generation. \u201cThe older generations should change their perceptions of the post-80s,\u201d he says. \u201cTheir thoughts are built on their own experience and values, which are definitely different from those of the post-80s. Therefore, they should not label the young generation with their point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sunny Wong, deputy executive-director and secretary-general of Macao New Chinese Youth Association.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wong thinks that the \u201cpost-80s phenomenon\u201d in Macao is not as obvious as that in mainland China. According to him, most of the young generation in China is affected by the one-child policy; therefore, the phenomenon is great and can easily be analyzed. In Macao, there was no such a dramatic change in the family structure, which would lead to a more obvious phenomenon of the generation gap. Nonetheless, he has come up with some observations about the post-80s in Macao. \u201cThose whose parents emigrated from China to Macao in the 80s are less radical than those whose parents were born in Macao.\u201d He explains that the former ones, whose parents often bring them back to the hometown in China, associate themselves more with the mainland, and therefore are more patriotic and pro-China. On the other hand, the latter ones, whose families have roots in Macao, engage in local issues and concerns; hence they have a sense of mission to strive for a better Macao.<\/p>\n

When asked about if the post-80s in Macao are less serious about their jobs than the older generations are, Wong says that it is difficult to make a direct comparison. \u201cUnlike the older generations who are less educated, the new generation have more specialized knowledge and skills. Therefore, they do not mind shifting jobs until they find one which allows them to utilize their talents.\u201d In addition, he encourages the post-80s in Macao to engage in self-enhancement, and to accept challenges. \u201cHaving the courage to accept challenges will lead you to become a successful person,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n

The \u201cPost-80s\u201d definition: \u201cempty\u201d and \u201cdiverse\u201d<\/p>\n

The media have played a crucial role in assigning negative connotations to the \u201cpost-80s\u201d generation. In particular, the media in China have depicted youngsters as a problematic, self-centered, and spoiled generation, who need help from society to become \u201cnormal\u201d. The media in Macao have also been influenced, and applied a similar label to the local post-80s.<\/p>\n

Liu Shih-diing, associate professor of the Department of Communication at the University of Macau, argues that the meaning of the \u201cpost-80s\u201d has nothing to do with the personalities of the young generation; instead, it is a political word and rhetorical tool, defined by dominant social groups, for manipulating the society and suppressing criticisms. \u201cThe definition of \u2018post-80s\u2019 is empty,\u201d he says. \u201cDifferent social groups, such as the government and the media, try to construct its definition in their own favor. By doing so, these dominant groups can then protect their vested interest and the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Liu Shih-diing, associate professor of the Department of Communication at the University of Macau.<\/p><\/div>\n

Liu also says that the \u201cpost-80s\u201d is a relative concept whose meaning is to be fixed and invested. \u201cIt is not a closedconcept, nor is its meaning self-generating. It is a term to be manipulated and abused in different social contexts, which is why the meaning of the term is so diverse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, he thinks that the meaning of \u201cpost-80s\u201d is more complicated in Hong Kong. \u201cThe meaning in Hong Kong, which is highly mobilized by self-organized social movements, is intimately connected with democracy, equality, freedom, and social justice,\u201d Liu says. He also argues that the term is a political symbol used to represent different critical complaints against unpopular government policies and unfair treatment. \u201cThis symbol, which represents the resistance to the form of life, can motivate females, laborers, and cultural conservationists, the unemployed and other minorities to protest against the dominant groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liu thinks that the discussion of the post-80s is not objective, but is a power language of the older generations. \u201cI don\u2019t think the post-80s are inferior to the generations born between the 40s and 60s. However, since the old generations mainly control the resources and power of society, the post-70s and the post-80s lack a sufficient decision-making and economic power. The post-80s therefore become the scapegoat to be blamed so as to release social anxieties.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thinks that the definition of the term \u201cpost-80s\u201d does not exist, and it should be open for different manipulations and properties. \u201cA potential possibility of the content may be the pursuit of social justice and genuine freedom,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While some youngsters think that the post-80s in Macao are different from the older generations, experts believe that the popular discussion of this phenomenon is simply a result of the labeling effect of the mass media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=412"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":413,"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412\/revisions\/413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wancatcat.com\/ub\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}