If you're a person of the new Thai generation (or have your own children but are still down with the kids), you know the bliss and bother that come with living in this era of whitening ads, Facebook and selfies.
However, to gain a deeper understanding on what matters in the minds of young Thais, we scoured opinion polls that surveyed Thais of Generation Y (those born in the early 1980s to around the early 2000s). We stick to those that surveyed people of 15-35 years of age. We also randomly asked some Gen-Yers what the best and not-so-best aspects about living in their generation are. Gen-Y people, you can see how you're doing compared to your contemporaries while people of older generations can gain a better idea of what the new kids on the block are up to.
STAGGERING STATS
Many opinion polls have surveyed young generation Thais on various topics - both serious and light-hearted. You might not think some of the topics merit a survey, but here goes.
GENERATIONWISE?
Let’s hear about the bliss and bother that comes with being a Gen-Y.
Parkorn "Poon" Wangpaiboonkit, 
19, student
+"The best thing about living in this generation is the instantaneous availability of information through smartphones and the internet. In America, if there's an emergency like a child is kidnapped or a tornado or flash flooding, every smartphone in that town will get a warning message. I think readily available information like that really defines the fast-paced lifestyle of this generation."
-"What's the worst? I think it's also the advancement of technology. People can get absorbed entirely into that tiny screen and stare into it for hours on end each day.
I can't remember the last time my smartphone was even three metres away from my body. There's this constant need to check my email, refresh my Facebook, check blogs, news sites and so on. Smartphones also give people an excuse to not interact in person with others. If I don't want to make eye contact or small talk, I stare at my phone."
Yanika "Namwan" Sittisuntorn, 
19, student
+"The world is so close knit because of technology, so much so that I'm able to maintain meaningful friendships with people from across the globe with the simple touch of my finger on a phone screen."
-"The concept of ideal beauty that is portrayed to the youth. It's not right when the clothes that are labelled as standard size can barely cover the body of an average young girl. They are instilled with the idea that to be pretty they must starve themselves to fit into clothes. Beauty should come in all shapes and sizes but people almost always overlook this fact."
Graeme Malcolm, 32, teacher
+"I love the fact that modern technology allows me to watch every Premier League game involving my beloved Sunderland live... 6,000 miles away in Thailand!"
-"I hate that people seem determined to live in fear, with one false scare after another. Everything from the farcical Millennium Bug and H1N1 to the current irrational global hysteria over global warming."
Pichada "Palm" Charoenpanit, 18, student
+"I like how quickly we can look up just about anything on the internet and have the information appear within seconds. My parents had to go all the way to the library to research topics for homework. And for that, I have immense respect for the older generation. I honestly do not know how I would survive without Google."
-"The worst thing about growing up in this generation is how much the media affects our lives. The word 'beauty' is now specifically defined as slim, tall, and with flawless skin. A lot of teenagers are under pressure to look this certain way as they want to be beautiful. However, I disagree with this narrow definition of beauty and despise the fact that teenagers, especially girls, feel that they have to adjust their appearance in order to feel accepted and beautiful."
