I think a similar message on the awareness of public health can be sent to Singaporean youths through online social networking sites. This is because a wide number of youths can be reached through social sites like Facebook as many of the Singaporean youths have profiles on Facebook in order to interact with their friends. Thus, a wide audience can be reached.
Also, due to the mostly Asian culture of Singapore, it might be easier to spread these awareness messages to Singaporean youths as they are thought to be more conservative compared to American youths, thus there is a higher chance that they may heed the warnings on posting racy things on their profiles instead of just ignoring them and having negative reactions.
However, there will still be some youths who are rebellious and do not heed the advice that professionals give. Moreover, it is quite difficult to influence youths just by sending a single message as it may seem boring and insincere, leading to them not responding to the message. Talks could be given or videos could be made and posted online to appeal more to them youths and compel them to watch and learn their lesson.
Also, due to the mostly Asian culture of Singapore, it might be easier to spread these awareness messages to Singaporean youths as they are thought to be more conservative compared to American youths, thus there is a higher chance that they may heed the warnings on posting racy things on their profiles instead of just ignoring them and having negative reactions.
However, there will still be some youths who are rebellious and do not heed the advice that professionals give. Moreover, it is quite difficult to influence youths just by sending a single message as it may seem boring and insincere, leading to them not responding to the message. Talks could be given or videos could be made and posted online to appeal more to them youths and compel them to watch and learn their lesson.
Question
ReplyDeleteDo you think a similar message on awareness of public health can be sent to Singaporean youths through online social-networking sites?
Also, due to the mostly Asian culture of Singapore, it might be easier to spread these awareness messages to Singaporean youths as they are thought to be more conservative compared to American youths
You need to explain the link between the perceived conservative Asian culture and the receptiveness of these 'conservative' youths.
Perhaps the idea of 'shame' or 'face' is more important in the Asian context? Hence youths are more sensitive to their reputation amongst their peers?
But one can also highlight the Japanese sub-culture, one of which involves very sexualised images of schoolgirls (without underwear on?) is this a reaction to such conservatism? If so, how can technology be used to make youths aware of the health concerns when it comes to certain types of behaviours?
Talks could be given or videos could be made and posted online to appeal more to them youths and compel them to watch and learn their lesson.
I like this part of your answer, where you provide examples of what more can be done with technology. In Singapore, there have been many strategies to reach out to youths including online design competitions, video/film submissions, SMS freebies etc. Find out what other countries are doing with technology and which organisations are doing it!
Christopher... 3:40am?! Get more sleep! =)