The Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (HILL ASEAN) released the findings of its latest study titled “ASEAN’s Millennials: One size fit all? A generation gap in Asean” in HCM City on Friday.

The study which polled 1,800 people born in the 1980s and 1990s in seven ASEAN member countries, reveals the differences in their attitudes to life and work, interactions with digital technology and more between the millennial generations in these countries.

With their fresh values and high degree of fluency in digital technology, the two groups are very different from previous generations and notoriously difficult to reach with traditional marketing approaches.

The research found that millennials are especially prominent in ASEAN member countries, whose populations include a high percentage of young people.

In six countries -- Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Viet Nam, and the Philippines – when respondents were asked if they perceived a generation gap, 70 per cent of those born in the 1980s said they perceived a gap between them and the 1990s-born, with the figure being 71 per cent in Viet Nam.

One reason for the high proportion of Vietnamese perceiving a gap may be the advent of Facebook and smartphones which has impacted their lifestyles.

Asked about the historical event that most impacted their lifestyles, people born in the 1980s cited the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998 while the other group pointed to the arrival of Facebook and smartphones.

The survey found that in Viet Nam and Thailand there is a larger generation gap with respect to the impact of Facebook and smartphones: The impact on those born in the 1990s, who from a young age quickly built communities on Facebook via smartphones, seemed to be stronger than on the 1980s group who were older when they got their first smartphones.

A unique characteristic of Viet Nam was revealed in the reply to the question about the most impactful event, with many nominating the country’s accession to ASEAN in 1995.

The Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN was established in 2014 by Japan’s second largest advertising company, Hakudoho Inc. — VNS