Media Usage and Consumption Practice in Shopping Malls Among Female Youth in Modern Thai Society

Kangwan Fongkaew

Abstract


This paper presents the data derived from the longitudinal ethnographic study on media useage and consumption practice in shopping malls as everyday life practices among female youth in a modern society of Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, which contributed to their distinctive sexual identity construction and expression. Applying Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and Friske’s idea on tactical practice, this paper revealed that the various tactics female youth employed in shopping malls were to express their distinctions from other youth groups belonged to lower classes, as well as to negotiate mechanisms of dominant school and state controls that aimed to regulate their sexual and cultural practices. Female youth in modern society were not only proper “consumers” but also “users” of shopping malls in modern Thai society. Their media usage and consumption practice sought to send the messages that they were the creators of their own selves.


Keywords


Youth; Media; Consumption; Shopping Mall; Thailand

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29313/mimbar.v33i2.2716

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