Globalization, consumerism, and the emergence of teens in contemporary vietnam

The Doi Moi (reform) program enacted by the Vietnam Communist Party in 1986 marked the country's transition from a subsidy to a market economy and signalled profound changes in life experiences for Vietnamese youth. The government-owned media that once indoctrinated youth into the communist ideologies became increasingly dominated by private corporations and opened the door for the rapid influx of Western cultural influences. Through analysis of newspapers directed at Vietnamese youth between 1995 and 2005, this article traces the historical emergence of teen Viet and teen culture. The concept teen broke the continuous life trajectory into discrete stages and marked the shift from an ideologically grounded youth under the Vietnam Communist Party to a market-oriented youth whose individual identities are cultivated through capitalist consumption.