Applying Theoretical Paradigms to Indonesian Youth in Reflexive Modernity

Abstract

There is considerable anxiety and tension in the current generation of Indonesian youth about the future. They grapple in the particularly harsh ‘precariat’ of insecure work. Traditional expectations and fixed life roles have been unsettled to a great extent in urban areas by democratization and rapid economic growth. Moreover, while some young Indonesians are still engaged in political struggle (Azca et al. 2011), most are not. They are actively engaged in building the successful ‘entrepreneurial self’ in late modernity, seeing themselves as responsible for shaping their personal future and managing the risks they face (Parker and Nilan 2013). However, this process is not identical to what takes place in the West.