We don’t see them do exercise, but only sit quietly to think or even better, they pose for photographs. Is that the portrait of young townspeople today?
Idle in the mind
These young townsfolk are easily to make the list of coffee shops or
restaurants, where they can seat but it is hard for them to name the
places for physical movement where they can release energy. Even the
middle-aged people do not know what to do. After parties at the office
of with friends, they only go to a karaoke bar.
Perhaps the
remaining joy of youth, a constant source, is gathering in groups.
Unlike many cities with the aged population in developed countries, in
Hanoi, one can easily see young people. The need to share, gather is
inevitable so the spaces to satisfy their needs thrive.
They
create spaces for themselves around the outstanding architectural works
like the Cathedral, the Hanoi Opera House, Thang Long Royal Citadel, the
path along the West Lake, large commercial centers or simply coffee
shops along the streets of Trieu Viet Vuong, Nguyen Huu Huan and Hang
Non. These spaces give them a sense of companionship: the sitting
position.
Most of them come from more than 800,000 students at
universities and colleges in Hanoi and also young people who do private
business.
Set off to show off
At present,
townspeople account for about one third of the population and the number
of townsfolk of under 40 years old is about 20 million people. This
number is significant when considering the impact of these people on the
common consumer lifestyles and culture.
The young townspeople get
more incentives in the Vietnamese society. They enjoy all the social
achievements the earliest and most rapid. They have the chance to travel
to many more lands. They launched the movement called "phuot” (backpack
traveling). Every corner in the country has had their footprints. They
even go abroad for discovery and adventure, not to earn their living.
So they not only sit. It seems they travel a lot. At first, the story
of a young girl named Huyen Chip who went to 25 countries with only a
backpack and $700 inspired the urban youth. Huyen Chip’s book became the
best-selling work and the author earned a reputation.
However,
this source of inspiration was not created clearly so it made the public
mistrust its motives and whether the book was published with the
support of a project--because the book probably has too much loopholes
and wrong information about the immigration procedures as well as how
the girl earned money on her way.
The crowd who initially
responded passionately when the book was published made a backlash and
then quickly forgotten the book after several months.
Looking back
on the whole process, is it true that the crowd of young people opposed
this adventure? Here we see a selection of values of the youth. In
their protest, which seemed to be extreme, the young urban population
wants the perfect move like in reality TV shows. The story of Huyen Chip
cannot satisfy the requirements of the young townspeople, who are
always skeptic.
Life is always reacting immediately
Young
urban people always appear as energy-consuming machines. They catch the
infectious disease of excessive consumption, sometimes making them as
aggressive and violent when their demand cannot be satisfied.
They
are willing to express their opinions on social networking sites,
online forums and even in parallel with ongoing events. They seem not to
be patient enough to have enough time for thinking. For them, life is
reaction. Life is an instantaneous state, is " What are you thinking
right now? on Facebook, is showing everyone that thing immediately.
To
accomplish this, 15 million Facebook users - the largest social network
in Vietnam, must depend on the Internet, which is associated with urban
areas rather than rural or remote areas. And where are the places for
surfing Internet? At home, offices, coffee shops and Internet shops.
And
at this point, we again see the familiar image of young townsfolk that
was mentioned in the first paragraph: the sitting urban young people.
In
Saigon, “sit on the ground” coffee shops used to be a fashion.
Customers were young people sitting on the pavement to drink coffee cups
offered by vendors. In Hanoi, the “take-away” coffee has become a
fashion for two years but nobody takes the coffee box away but still
sits at coffee shops, on red or green plastic chairs to see the life
running on the street, knowing that the passers-by will see them. They
sit to exhibit their youth.
Nguoi Lao Dong
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