A GOOD number of Hongkong people may consider themselves part of the ‘Me Me Me Generation’ (唯我世代) after a third of locals surveyed chose themselves as the most important person in their lives.

Online travel agent Expedia (智遊網) polled 500 Hongkongers, 632 South Koreans and 1,126 Taiwanese aged 18 or above in August and September.

Asked who the most important person in their lives is, 33 percent of Hong Kong respondents replied themselves, with 39 percent indicating it was their parents and 26 percent saying their spouses.

The results are more revealing in South Korea, where 58 percent said they are the most important person in their lives, with just 17 percent indicating their spouses.

Some 28 percent of Hong Kong respondents also said they have considered quitting their jobs to travel, compared to 40.7 percent of Koreans and 57.5 percent of Taiwanese. One in two Hongkongers agrees or strongly agrees that they deserve proper compensation to recover from their exhausting lives, and the same could be said of 86.8 percent of Koreans and 79.8 percent of Taiwanese.

Expedia said the findings are consistent with the ‘Me Me Me Generation’ or the ‘For Me Group’, meaning individuals who are more self-centred, internet savvy, and willing to spend up to the last dollar each month without saving.

Chinese University culture academic Steve Chung Lok-wai (鍾樂偉) said there is nothing alarming about the phenomenon as it simply reflects a changing era in which people grew up in more fortunate circumstances as Asian economies prospered.

He said these people are born into small families with a lighter burden, and are less calculative about expenses.

(This article is published on The Student Standard on 5 November 2015)

Millennials: the Me Me Me Generation
http://time.com/247/millennials-the-me-me-me-generation

Is ‘Generation Me’ a fair label based on the evidence?
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight/201404/isgeneration-me-fair-label-based-the-evidence