About INgene blog : First ever Indian Youth trend Insights blog

About INgene : First ever Indian Youth trend Insights blog:
This blog explores the detailed characteristics of Young-India and explains the finer & crucial differences they have with their global peers. The blog also establishes the theory of “adopted differentiation” (Copyright Kaustav SG,2007) and how the Indian & Inglodian youth are using this as a tool to differentiate themselves from the “aam aadmi” (mass population of India) to establish their new found identity.

The term youth refers to persons who are no longer children and not yet adults. Used colloquially, however the term generally refers to a broader, more ambiguous field of reference- from the physically adolescent to those in their late twenties.
Though superficially the youth all over the world exhibits similar [degree of] attitude, [traits of] interests & [deliverance of] opinion but a detailed observation reveals the finer differential characteristics which are crucial and often ignored while targeting this group as a valued consumer base. India is one of the youngest countries in the world with 60% of its population less then 24 years of age and is charted as the most prospective destination for the retail investment in the A. T. Kearney’s Global Retail Opportunity Report, 2007. With the first ever non-socialistic generation’s thriving aspiration & new found money power combined with steadily growing GDP, bubbling IT industry and increasing list of confident young entrepreneurs, the scenario appears very lucrative for the global and local retailers to target the “Youngisthan” (young-India). But, the secret remains in the understanding of the finer AIOs of this generation. The Indian youth segment roughly estimates close to 250million (between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five) and can be broadly divided (socio-psychologically) into three categories: the Bharatiyas, the Indians & the Inglodians (copyright Kaustav SG 2008). The Bharatiyas estimating 67% of the young population lives in the rural (R1, R2 to R4 SEC) areas with least influence of globalization, high traditional values. They are least economically privileged, most family oriented Bollywood influenced generation. The Indians constitute 31.5% (A, B,C, D & E SEC) and have moderate global influence. They are well aware of the global trends but rooted to the Indian family values, customs and ethos. The Inglodians are basically the creamy layers (A1,A SEC) and marginal (1.5% or roughly three million) in number though they are strongly growing (70% growth rate). Inglodians are affluent and consume most of the trendy & luxury items. They are internet savvy & the believers of global-village (a place where there is no difference between east & west, developing & developed countries etc.), highly influenced by the western music, food, fashion & culture yet Indian at heart.








Friday, October 24, 2008

exhibitionism is GORWING

With the ever-growing confidence level and money power Indian youth are becoming habitual exhibitionists. As the population of novo riches are growing in the segment of Inglodians the difference in the pattern of exhibitionism is also increasing in between them and the traditionally rich Indian youth; where the former is showing off extravagance through conspicuous consumption and the later is resorting into more “antique” and traditionally own family wealth through elegant yet not-so-loud (“if you have the eyes you will see it”) exhibitionism.

“Its all about celebrating yourself, feeling good about who and what you are, about finally coming to your own”, is how Sakhi Rao, a first year college student chooses to describe what liberation in 21st century India means to her. A fair enough description, except that her idea of celebrating herself begins and ends with “making sure that in every room I walk into, I turn heads”. “For years we have been pushed behind the veil, and now we are hitting back with a vengeance” she says (The Week).

As Hebdige once stated “the politics of youth culture is the politics of metaphor…it forms up space between surveillance and the evasion of surveillance, it translates the fact of being under scrutiny into the pleasure of being watched. It is a hiding in the light”. The fine balance between the pleasure of “showing off” (to the peers & other half of India) and “hiding in the light” is the factor which is shaping the consumerism of young India.

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