Sunday, May 1, 2022The Influence of the Modernization Era on Lifestyles for Teenagers Modernization is a period of change from traditional society to modern society marked by changes in attitudes and lifestyles based on today's demands. As we know, adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood, at this time they become very unstable and easily influenced by the surrounding environment as well as to something that is currently.
Along with the times, people's lifestyles, especially among teenagers, are growing, not a few of them follow the changing times which refer to and move to a modern lifestyle which can be said to be a trend and need for every society.
However, not all people can follow the modern lifestyle, especially inland communities. Some of the things that cause these people not to follow this modern lifestyle are the lack of sources of information on something new and also the lack of income or economic sources to follow trends, such as dressing fashionable, consuming contemporary food, taking vacations to popular tourist attractions, in which when entering it requires a ticket that is quite expensive. According to Halley (1997), there are two versions of the daily life of modern society today, the first is an aesthetic experience related to democratic values.
The second version is the importance of showing the identity of the ruling class or the powerful class, namely the generation that produces entertainment and luxury goods. The second version happens a lot to teenagers nowadays, but they are there as consumers where they always buy luxury goods so they don't go out of style. This actually triggers negative actions because they live consumptive lives. Today's teenagers have a big enough interest in following the 'fashion' on the market which causes them to buy without paying attention to the use of the item, or in other words, there is a tendency to behave consumptively.
One of the influencing factors is self-concept. Self-concept can influence a person's decision to buy. Most teenagers nowadays like to imitate the lifestyle of k-pop and western culture, starting from the style of appearance (fashion) and the way they socialize. They are always updated about what styles are trending now. By following these trends, they feel more confident because they feel they are not out of date. In addition, the factor that drives them to always follow the modern lifestyle is their inner comfort. Modern clothes tend to be more trendy such as t-shirts, sweaters, jeans and skirts with various models compared to ancient clothes such as the kebaya which is very complicated when used.
Of course, this will trigger a negative impact that causes the decline of the nation's culture. Another thing that is currently rife among teenagers is a consumptive lifestyle, such as hanging out in contemporary or instagramable places. Sometimes, the reason why teenagers engage in consumptive behavior is just to fulfill the need for social media content and lifestyle to be branded as a modern person, especially when it is supported by consuming fast food such as steak, pizza, spaghetti, gelato and others to look like outsiders. a country that is used to eating these foods.
In fact, in one case, a teenager from an economically disadvantaged family acted like someone who had everything, he felt that he should not be outdated and should always have new things according to trends regardless of the family's economic situation. This prestige is not exemplary, because there is nothing wrong with living in simplicity and there is no shame in being said to be out of date as long as we do not harm the lives of others. Not everything that is developing in the modernization era has a negative effect, of course there are also positive influences, such as the rapid development of science and technology.
This makes the public, especially teenagers, have a wider knowledge of both the style of dress, as well as the ease of communicating and finding information on various online platforms. Let's take an example, they easily find unique tourist attractions that are trending in the country which may not have previously been exposed to a wide audience. Of course, this can also increase the tourism sector and income in the area with them visiting these tourist attractions in droves.
The development of this modern lifestyle does not always have a good influence on a person, especially teenagers. Therefore, they need supervision and restrictions from both parents as well as education within each of them so that they always filter the good and the bad when they want to imitate or try a trend from outside cultures. We also have to live according to needs not desires so that we can avoid consumptive behavior that can harm ourselves. And lastly, it is better to get rid of prestige, get along in a good environment, and even though the times continue to develop, always preserve the nation's culture so that it does not fade.
Lead image from unsplash