The Conceptualization and Representations of Adolescence in Vietnamese Media during the "Reform Era" of Vietnam (1986–1995)

In: Journal of family history: studies in family, kinship and demography, Band 40, Heft 2, S. 172-194

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the conceptualization and representations of adolescence in the Vietnamese media during the Reform era (1986–1995). Analyzing newspapers targeting adolescents, I argue that the Reform era marked a departure from the conceptualization and representation of Vietnamese adolescents as miniature communists, which dominated the media in pre-Reform decades. It also marked the emergence and convergence of Vietnamese adolescence into a global adolescent sensibility, which emphasizes identity search and mood swings. Factors contributing to these conceptual changes include the adoption of a market economy, a new high school system, and family planning policies.