by
B.J. on
8/19/2003 10:01:00 AM
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Friendster: The Asian Thing to Do ! :karate chop:
In addition to drag racing, anime, and drinking boba here's yet another Asian thing to do: join Friendster and see how many friends you can get ! :Wide, slap-happy Asian smile:
What makes this site so appealing to such a broad group ?
I joined initially because my godsis invited me to join. It was by word of mouth, the strongest medium of communication. I didn't join because I am Asian, and it's what typical Asians do.
OK.
There is no 'typical Asian'. I fight the implications of the label "typical" of any person as a whole because it carries the implication that people want to be similar and revel in having the same interests. It's funny every time someone within the Asian ethnicity uses it to disregard all other Asians that person does not know. They proclaim how they hate 'typicals' but then all their friends fit the profile of "typical."
I just think that they ('typical Asians') like human beings in general are results of their environment. So while I don't think there's anything 'typically Asian' about joining Friendster, I think there's something about Friendster that attracts Asians together like light to a moth. Basically, they're generally behaving in a way anyone else would given the same situations.
Minorities in general feel the need to stick together. Those who don't are usually economically well off on their own and somewhat in sync with the U.S.' standards and institutions. However, in crunch time or whenever an important financial decision is to be made such as buying a house or a car, they will most likely run towards that minority or whoever looks trustworthy.
This tending of minorities towards each other is about whom they can instantly trust. And that instant trust and rapport is important in such a fast-paced society as the urban United States because it helps connect strangers in an otherwise polarized, individualized society. For example, when buying a car, my dad will automatically go towards the car salesman who happens to be Filipino. Not that he's racist, but he can automatically and instantly build a connection with the salesman who happens to be Filipino by just speaking the native Tagalog.
The best way to eliminate dependency on race to connect with strangers is still to get to know strangers as people. But that method of course, takes quite a bit of time. These stereotypes are something only gradual assimilation into society via more media exposure on different opinions and powerful positions in society can fix. And hopefully continued media exposure, and thus varied opinion and authoratative positions can help dissipate these stereotypes and polarity between races and ethnicity. The latest movie I saw, Freaky Friday (with the fam ahem), did not help at all with its portrayal of these two Asian women as smiley and complacent. . .
Labels: Racial Misunderstandings, Social Spaces