Many cultures in Asia are in the midst of an identity crisis. In effect, they are being torn between two worlds. Pulling in one direction is a traditional value system derived from agriculture-based communities and extended families--that is, elements of a culture in which relatives take care of one another and state-run welfare systems are unnecessary. Pulling from the opposite direction is a new set of values emerging from manufacturing and finance-based economies elements of a culture in which workers must often move to faraway cities to find work, sometimes leaving family members to fend for themselves.
For decades, Western multinationals set up factories across Southeast Asia to take advantage.of relatively low-cost labor. Later, local companies sprang up and became competitive global players in their own right. Spectacular rates of economic growth in a few short decades elevated living standards beyond what was thought possible. Young people in Malaysia and Thailand felt the lure of"Western" brands. Gucci handbags, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and other global brands became common symbols of success Many parents felt brand-consciousness among their teenage children signaled family-wide success
Despite the growing consumer society, polls of young people show them holding steadfast to traditional values such as respect for family and group harmony. Youth in Hong Kong, for example, overwhelmingly believe that parents should have a say in how hard they study, in how they treat family members and elders, and in their choice of friends.
Now globalization washing over India. An explosion in outsourcing jobs is causing a social revolution among India's graduates of technical colleges and universities. Unlike India's traditional high-tech service jobs, young call center staffers are in direct contact with Western consumers, answering inquires on items such as tummy crunchers and diet pills. For these young, mostly female staffers, the work means money, independence, and freedom- sometimes far away from home big cities such as Bangalore and Mumbai. But in addition to the training in American accents and geography, they are learning new ideas about family, materialism, and relationship
Parents are suspicious of call-center work because it must typically be performed nights in India, when consumers are awake in Canada, Europe, or the United States. When her parents objected, than Venugopal quit her call center job in favor of a"regular" daytime job. Binitha says her former coworkers are materialistic, their values are changing, and that dating and live in relationships among them are common. India tradition dictates that young adults live with their parents at least until they get married(typically to someone their parents choose). Perhaps facilitating shifting values in India is an influx of Western professionals, such as lawyers, who accepted good-paying jobs there that could not be found back home during the global recession.
Roopa Murthy works for an Indian company that offers call-center and back-office services. Roopa moved to Bangalore from her native Mysore in 2002 armed with an accounting degree. She now earns $400 per month, which is several times what her father earned before he retired from his government Roopa now wears her hair short, adopted the name Dana as her"telephone job. name," and tossed aside her s kameez, the traditional loose-fitting clothing she wore back home, in favor of designer-labeled Western attire.