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.








Sunday, July 27, 2014

The 'social research' videos by young activists are spreading the social awakening in India


While checking the Facebook home page, an update caught my eyes. The header was “This Will Change The Way You Think” which had likes of more than thousand and similar number of shares. Below this, was an ongoing serious discussion where everybody was brainstorming on why / how ‘poor’ have more ‘giving mentality’ than the rich (in India). The youtube source showed that it was uploaded by ‘Trouble Seeker team’ which has a flourishing facebook page.  In next few hours similar videos popped up in my FB wall and Twitter (all virally spread by the youth). These videos were tagged as “Pranks”. Most of these ‘pranks’ are properly planned (and scripted) to highlight various prevalent social issues that needs public awakening. Mostly related to social emotion and the eroding social ecosystem. How we don’t give space to Ambulances, how we ogle to others disrespectfully, how we don’t give food to needy but a poor street dweller gives it even when he is not getting enough food! Day after, I met many youth who were excited and agitated over these facts and reconfirmed on ‘how true these videos are’!



An article in OPEN magazine coined the term ‘social experiment videos’ for these pranks. The article stated ‘A little like prank videos, at least in their staging, such social experiments aim to see how people would respond if faced with a person in real trouble. Broadly, an act is staged in the middle of the street with a camera recording reactions of ‘real’ people to the situation portrayed by the act. The video is then uploaded online on YouTube and if it goes viral, YouTube ‘monetises’ the video—sharing revenue generated via the video based on the number of ‘views’ and ‘likes’ it gathers.’  This article further added ‘A Nirbhaya video shot by actor Varun Pruthi recreates the Delhi gangrape scene by having in in make-up that makes him look severely injured and bleeding. Through the seven minutes of the clip’s running time, Pruthi tries to stop vehicles in broad daylight, asking for help, but none pulls up. Videos with somewhat ‘lighter’ social messages, like Free Hugs shot by Bedi and one about littering in public places by a channel called Awkward Unlimited, have been doing well. The months of May and June alone have seen at least half a dozen ‘social experiment’ videos being uploaded on the net.
Another offbeat experiment, put up recently and made by YTV, tackles the issue of homosexuality and public responses to it through the video of a girl who discloses to her mother that she is a lesbian. The message of the video, explains YTV founder Naman Sharma, is to get the nature of the problem across to viewers. “The biggest problem that young people face is lack of communication with parents. The video aims to tackle that,” says the 26-year-old, who founded his company only two years ago after completing a Phd in business and finance and a teaching stint in Melbourne, Australia. The video has already garnered as many as 3.6 million views.” The video posted by Awkvid shows how the ‘dropped wallet’ is picked by another youth in front of all as nobody protests or tries to return the wallet! Awkvid, in their Facebook page wrote “wkvid creates Awkward Videos that are fun to watch and share”. While posting these prank videos, they writes ‘social experiment’ in the title to ensure that the videos are taken seriously.  



The Telegraph Newspaper reported another video of ‘screaming woman’ inside a van. It mentioned “Experts and activists said the video posted on YouTube pointed to a general apathy in India about violence against women despite outrage in some quarters over the gang-rape and lynching of two girls in the country's north. "There's still an apathy about what's happening to women, an insensitivity on the issue, although attitudes are changing," said women's activist Ranjana Kumari.  The video, which has been viewed more than 1.2 million times since it was posted last week, shows a white van parked in a secluded area of Delhi with the windows blacked out at night. Although the screams of a woman are clearly heard coming from inside, a handful of men are seen walking and cycling past. Some stop to listen before calmly moving on.  Finally, a young man tries to break into the van, clearly upset about the 'staged rape' occurring inside. An elderly man is also seen attacking the van with his stick. The video was posted by a group called "YesNoMaybe" in what they said was a social experiment in the wake of the horrific attacks on the two girls, aged 12 and 14, late last month in Uttar Pradesh state. The attacks reignited anger over violence against women with small-scale protests held in the state capital and in Delhi, while a political row erupted over a perceived lack of law and order in Uttar Pradesh.  Since then, the media has highlighted a string of alleged rapes and hangings of women in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state.  The attacks came just 18 months after the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in Delhi, a case that made global headlines and left India reeling over its treatment of women. The video sparked an outcry online, with some saying they were "ashamed", while others said the lack of help was probably reflective of attitudes in most capital cities. The group that posted the video did not draw any conclusions. "We hear about rapes every day in India, which leads to widespread protest," the group said in a message accompanying the video. "Thousands of people attend candlelight marches but only a handful of people act when it really matters. "So we set out to find how many people would actually help if someone's in trouble." Kumari told AFP that many were reluctant to intervene, fearful of being dragged into a lengthy police investigation or even face charge themselves in India's notoriously inefficient criminal justice system. "There is also still this rationale that the woman must have done something to deserve the attack. There must be some justification for what is happening to her," said Kumari, director of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research.

 Social scientist Shiv Visvanathan said he was wary of drawing conclusions from the video but he said many Delhi residents were scared of being attacked themselves if they intervened. Visvanathan, a professor at the Jindal Global University just outside Delhi, said the capital drew millions of young men from impoverished and remote rural areas searching for work. As a result, he told AFP: "There's an absence of a community spirit in many parts of Delhi, a feeling that we should work together to stop these attacks happening. It's a city of strangers."

 For past 5 years there’s a series of social awakening activities among the youth in India. The funny yet convincing way to spread awareness or ‘change’ social mindset started with the Pink Chaddi’ campaign in the year 2009.

 In that year Times of India news paper wrote “Perhaps never before has underwear played such an important part in Indian cultural history. The `Pink Chaddi' campaign, launched by the Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose Forward Women, has attracted hordes of members — the number has touched 34,032 and still counting — making it one of the most popular sites these days.  With barely a few hours to go before D-day, or V-Day in this case, women and men from across countries have joined the campaign against an unsuspecting Pramod Muthalik, the Sri Ram Sene chief who has claimed responsibility for attacking women in a Mangalore pub earlier this year.” The rude shock of receiving chaddis (female underwear) ensured that the extremists stopped catching and harassing young couple during Valentines day. 


DNA news paper stated “Faced with a deluge of pink underwear from women across many cities, Sri Rama Sene convener Pramod Muthalik seems to have gone weak at the knees. No demonstrations or dharnas before pubs and other happening places on Valentine’s Day, but only affectionate advice for unmarried couples… the Sri Rama Sene’s sudden change of heart on Wednesday should perk up spirits of lovers here. Muthalik told DNA, “We will not force couples to tie mangalsutras, to solemnise marriages, or a rakhi, a symbol of sibling relationship. I have instructed my workers not to trouble people, but only advice lovers humbly to get married to honour their love.” 


For past, I have written about much such activities in this blog. The social experiment videos are new addition in it. The definite way to ‘change’ mindsets of people and spreading ‘social good’.




 

 

 

 

 

 


Similar videos can be seen at Varun;s channel" https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5GMWJmrR0LDUQ8MojJyXEQ

Reference articles: http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/age-of-the-clickactivist

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10897387/India-rape-screaming-woman-ignored-by-passers-by-in-social-experiment.html



 
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report-sene-crumbles-under-undies-crush-1229995



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