Predicting the Nation’s Future by Tapping into the Pulse of “Thai Digital Identity” Chula Wins the 2022 Very Good Research Award from NRCT

Chula researchers collaborate with multidisciplinary researchers discovered the identity and attitude of Thai digital citizens, hoping to reduce the generation gap and creating understanding in society.

“Manut Paa (literally “a middle-aged female human being)” or a “harpy” is a word that may be hurtful to many people, but for Associate Professor Dr. Chulanee Thianthai, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, this short word helped to open up a conversation between professors and students 3 years ago that led to a 3-4 page draft that finally became the research project: “Understanding Future Behavior and Attitudes of Thai Digital Citizens”, which received the 2022 Very Good Research Award in Sociology from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT).

“Thai digital citizens are the future of the nation. This group of people plays a crucial role in the development of the country, as the workforce, and those who dictate the political and educational directions, as well as social and cultural changes. The Thai digital citizens of today will transfer their ideology and attitudes to future generations,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chulanee Thianthai elaborated on the importance of this research.

This study provides new knowledge about the process of thinking, attitudes, and behavior of Thai digital citizens, which has never been studied in Thailand before.

“Parents and guardians will understand their children.  Employers will understand their subordinates better.   Teachers and educational institutions will be able to apply the research results to adapt their teaching style and methodology to better suit their learners,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chulanee gave an example of how to apply the research findings in different dimensions of society.

Multidisciplinary collaborative research to understand the Thai digital citizens

This research was funded by NRCT under the Integrated Strategic Plan for Social Goals “Thais 4.0”, in collaboration with faculty members from various fields such as Political Science, Architecture, Demography, etc., from several institutions including Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Ramkhamhaeng University, and Nakhon Phanom University.

For over 7 months, the research team conducted qualitative research gathering data from the 910 Thai digital citizens aged between 13 and 38 in 3 areas: 1) Bangkok (inner, middle, and outer districts), which represents the capital; 2) Chiang Mai as a major city, and 3) Nakhon Phanom as the secondary city. Moreover, parents, teachers, professors, and employers relating to digital citizens were interviewed for various angles of information and opinions.

“The Thai digital citizens in this study belong to Gen Y, and Gen Z and are classified into five groups: middle school students, high school students, college students, people entering the workforce, and people in mid-career. This group, especially Gen Z, aged between 7 and 25, was born and raised with technology, and have spent most of their school and work lives on the computer and smartphones, is a large population that is critical to driving Thailand in the digital world.” 

The main goal of the research is to perceive the identity of Thai digital citizens, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed in learning and working, as well as their perspective on the future, their fears, hopes, and dreams.  A variety of research techniques were used including survey interview questionnaires, free-listing, pictorial ethnography, semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews, as well as online text extraction from and analysis of Twitter.

“These issues are crucial to reaching and understanding the next generation who are affected by technological development and their self-defined identity.  The findings, in turn, can be a mirror reflecting what this generation perceives as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to live their lives now and in the future.  This way, adults, people from different generations, and the policymakers can develop an understanding that will significantly benefit the maintenance, development, and promotion of their lifestyle, be it their education or work life.”

Thai Digital Citizens Identity

The common definition of “digital citizens” found in Western studies is often based on age, but the findings of this research further reflect that “Thai digital citizenship” is not necessarily tied to age that’s merely a number.

“Because each individual belongs to both old and new generations,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chulanee said, outlining three key characteristics of the Thai digital citizens:

1. Being open to other people’s opinions, accepting differences, willing to adapt, and not too attached to their frame of reference.
2. Using technology for both work, leisure, and communication.  Most importantly, being technologically literate, for example, not sharing fake news,
3. having a unique lifestyle, not stuck on the old frame of reference, such as Thai digital citizens care about health, work-life balance, fear of missing out (FoMo), loving to stay informed and keeping current on the changes, understanding the jargon and language use of various generations.

“Digital citizens’ lifestyles do not adhere to a particular framework or model, and can be followed by populations of all ages, also known as the “Stay Young Forever”.

Many characteristics of Thai digital citizens are similar to those of their overseas counterparts, but there are some differences in terms of independent decision-making, fun-loving attribute, and mixed feelings of confidence and insecurity in social media expression, for instance.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chulanee explains that “both Western and Thai digital citizens love freedom”, but their interpretation and the contexts of the term “freedom” may differ.  For example, Thai digital citizens interpret “freedom” as acting and making decisions freely. It turns out that having a mobile phone is both a tool that helps to build independence, but also enslavement to the device as well.” 

Another distinctive characteristic of the Thai digital citizens is the mixed display of humor and satire that blends with real and virtual (online) stories and situations. Moreover, they also possess a mix of self-confidence and insecurity.

“An example is that while the Thai digital citizens may like to post their pictures, and other things to show their uniqueness, but at the same time don’t want to be different, and fear falling off the trends — which shows that in the self-confidence has insecurity hidden in it.”

Technology that bridges the generation gap

in the context of Thailand which has now fully become an aging society.  As the elderly population continues to grow, the age gap will inevitably widen.  However, this study suggests that Thai digital citizens continue to value family relationships and see ways to reduce the generation gap in the family with technology.

“Family institutions play a very important role in Thai society. The Thai digital citizens are still attached to the family, which can now be connected by technology. They can teach the seniors in the family to use technological gadgets and teach them to use modern media communication such as Facebook or Line as a means to connect the different generations and build family relationships.”

Digital citizens and the direction of future policy-making

This research is a valuable source of new knowledge, from the family level, and public and private organizations to national policy planning, especially in the educational arena.

“The learning method suitable for digital citizens is learning while doing, especially when it is demonstrated how the learning can be applied to different areas in real life,” says Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chulanee. 

Digital citizens are not as attached to learning in educational institutions as they used to be. Their learning space extends across physical and online spaces, all of which affect their thinking and behavioral skills.

“The lifestyle of modern digital citizens is fast, and consumption of news and information can be done through a variety of channels simultaneously. Making things concise is what the young digital citizens want. Teachers are no longer educators or the center of information, but a catalyst of learning through the use of different forms of teaching materials to stimulate the thinking process of the learners,” concluded Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chulanee.

Based on the current generation of Thai digital citizens, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chulanee is currently working on “Developing the potential and identity of Thai workforce with vocational degrees in 3 major industries: Analysis through the mapping of their path of entry into the workforce under the New Normal”. This is a study that looks at the value, strengths, and uniqueness of vocational education in various aspects that are rarely publicized among the general society.

Interested parties can follow the research findings on “Understanding the Future Attitudes and Behaviors of the Thai Digital Citizens” in the form of an e-book on the Thai People’s Plan 4.0  website https://www.khonthai4-0.net/content_detail.php?id=77.

You can also view short film material based on some of the results of the study at https://www.khonthai4-0.net/academies_knowledge_video_detail.php?id=5&sub_category_id=32&content_id=45.

Alternatively, you can download the complete research report at https://www.khonthai4-0.net/content_detail.php?id=328.

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